Even Teflon NFL Subject to Vagaries of Nielsen Ratings

The National Football League isn't immune to societal trends driving people away from the television screen as a primary entertainment hub.

As further proof, ESPN's "Monday Night Football" telecast last night had an 8.2 big-city Nielsen rating for Titans-Saints, 20 percent lower than last year's comparable Falcons-Saints game. Granted, last year's game benefited from much hype surrounding the re-opening of the Superdome after its Hurricane Katrina-caused closure.

Meanwhile, Mediaweek notes that through the first two NFL weeks, ratings for NBC and ESPN's NFL telecasts are off last year's pace "by a discernible margin."

For NBC, that is partly due to two of the three games being blowout and the Sept. 16 Patriots-Chargers Sunday night game may have lost some Northeastern households to ESPN's New York Yankees-Boston Red Sox coverage.

"There's something happening here that has less to do with erosion of the TV audience than a comprehensive change in how fans are consuming media," ESPN/ABC Sports Consumer Marketing & Sales President Ed Erhardt said.

Or as Optimedia Director of National Electronic Media Larry Novenstern said: "It's not just an NFL or just a sports-related issue. It's an overall TV issue."