The NFL can usually draw higher ratings than any other TV event, but league officials knew better than to contend with this weekend’s New Year’s Eve parties and cancelled “Sunday Night Football” on Dec. 31.
It’s not just the impending holiday that has the league rearranging their schedule. They’ve been making efforts to schedule important, high stakes games in a certain order to hold the attention of fans. This Sunday will see the last games of the season, and usually they reserve the last Sunday night spot for games with playoff implications for at least one of the teams playing.
Videos by PopCulture.com
This year, they didn’t have any games left that had high enough stakes for the coveted Sunday night spot, so they decided to scrap it.
Still, fans won’t be left completely high and dry this week. There will be seven games scheduled for 1 p.m. ET, and nine games at 4:25 p.m. By 8:30 p.m., the NFL figures everyone will be at a party getting ready for the ball to drop, so they’re relinquishing their claim to the time slot
“We felt that both from a competitive standpoint and from a fan perspective, the most fair thing to do is to schedule all Week 17 games in either the 1 p.m. or 4:25 p.m. windows,” said Howard Katz, the NFL’s broadcasting chief, in a prepared statement.
All of this week’s games will be on Fox or CBS. The NFL made no comment about the lost broadcast for NBC and whether the network will be compensated.
NFL viewership is still suffering. Their ratings are down 9% from last year — which was already a historic low. However, unlike 2016, the league can’t blame the presidential election for stealing focus this time around.
Most Viewed
-
(Credit: Rafa Jodar / Getty Images) -
NORTH BERGEN, NJ – AUGUST 23: Exterior view of a Walmart store on August 23, 2020 in North Bergen, New Jersey. Walmart saw its profits jump in latest quarter as e-commerce sales surged during the coronavirus pandemic (Photo by Kena Betancur/VIEWpress via Getty Images) -
TV talk show with female celebrity flat vector illustration. Woman sitting on sofa and talking with host, discussing news in studio. Videographers filming broadcasting. Television, interview concept -
A ring of vibrant marigold flowers with glowing candles at the center, set against a dark background. (Credit: Eduardo Monroy Husillos / Getty Images) -
Netflix logo is displayed during the 'Paris Games Week' on November 02, 2017 in Paris, France. (Credit: Chesnot / Getty Images) -
NEW YORK CITY – DECEMBER 19: "Toil and Trouble" – Elsbeth is thrown into the world of television after the showrunner of a long-running police procedural is brutally murdered in his office, and although it appears to be the act of a disgruntled fan, she begins to suspect the show's longtime star Regina Coburn (Laurie Metcalf) who yearns for artistic fulfillment. Meanwhile, Judge Crawford (Michael Emerson) continues to be a thorn in Elsbeth's side, on the CBS original series ELSBETH, Thursday, Dec. 19 (10:00-11:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network, and streaming on Paramount+ (live and on demand for Paramount+ with SHOWTIME subscribers, or on demand for Paramount+ Essential subscribers the day after the episode airs). Pictured (L-R): Carrie Preston as Elsbeth Tascioni and Carra Patterson as Kaya Blanke. (Photo by Michael Parmelee/CBS via Getty Images) -
Official promotional artwork for <em>The Voice</em> -
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – APRIL 13: (L-R) Katy Perry and Orlando Bloom attend the 10th Breakthrough Prize Ceremony at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences on April 13, 2024 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Jon Kopaloff/Getty Images for Breakthrough Prize)
