Have all of the recent scandals and controversies around the NFL had an impact on television ratings? The answer to that question is a resounding “no” unless you expected them to have a positive effect.
The NFL’s PR Office has stated that the league is averaging a massive total of 18.2 million viewers per game in 2014. This total is a 6% improvement compared to 2013 and a 9% improvement over 2012 through Week 5’s games. There’s still a lot of time left in the 2014 season, but so far the NFL is crushing it in the ratings department as usual.
The NFL’s big ratings are noteworthy for two reasons. First, there’s the fact the ratings are up by a significant margin despite all of the recent scandals. You may have heard of various groups and individuals trying to stir up a boycott and convince people to tune out, but clearly that hasn’t been seen in the ratings. Secondly, there’s the fact that the NFL continues to grow. Even in the face of some ugly PR, the NFL just keeps on expanding. Each time we think the NFL may have reached its peak, new numbers come out proving that the ceiling may still be a long way off.