Poll on TV habits bad news for NFL

It isn’t that hard for the NFL to explain away the 9.7 per cent decline in its television ratings this season (which followed an eight per cent drop in 2016). Everyone is watching less network TV, they can say, and ratings are down for programming across the board.

But new poll results from the Wall Street Journal and NBC News, released just two days before the Super Bowl, might be a little tougher to dismiss.

In a survey of 900 adults conducted Jan. 13-17, the two news organizations found the number of adults who say they follow the NFL closely has dropped nine per cent since 2014.

That might not even be the poll’s worst revelation for the league, because it also found only 51 per cent of men aged 18 to 49 — the league’s core audience — say they follow the NFL closely, a 24 per cent drop from four years ago.

The poll did not ask respondents why they are following the league less than before, but a separate set of questions may provide part of the answer. According to the poll, 53 per cent of mothers said they would encourage their child to play a sport other than football due to concerns about concussions, up from 40 per cent in 2014.

The NFL has received its share of negative publicity this season thanks to a perfect storm of events: players protesting and President Donald Trump criticizing them for it, throwing gasoline on an already fiery debate; injuries to star players; the league’s baffling inability to pin down what, exactly, constitutes a catch; unappealing matchups for nationally televised games; and teams either fumbling or ignoring the league’s protocol for dealing with head injuries.