one. The fans returned to the stands, the announcers returned to the stadiums, and until omicron decided to wreak havoc on us in December, it seemed like the pandemic was on the decline.
All of that added to substantial increases in viewership ratings this regular season for every network the NFL aired.
Via Austin Karp of Sports business journal, NBC and ESPN enjoyed a 10% year-on-year increase in ratings, while CBS saw a 9% increase and Fox generated a 3% increase.
While the picture of the playoffs is not fully established yet, it’s easy to see that the grade increases should continue and will be quite significant.
The league has the perfect mix of postseason teams, players and storylines.
No one draws more fringe viewers and casual fans than Tom Brady. Aaron Rodgers has become an enemy to some and a hero to others. Either way, that will bring eyes to the TV. The Chiefs are once again the most entertaining soccer team in the league. The NFL’s biggest draw, the Dallas Cowboys, are in the playoffs. And two teams in the nation’s second-largest television market, the Chargers and the Rams, will be in the postseason.
Despite the problems caused by the pandemic last season, the NFL managed to finish 2021 with nine of the 10 most-watched shows of the year.
Two things stand out here:
One, the Christmas Day game between the Browns and Packers was a huge success for Fox, as it was the ninth most watched show of 2021. The NFL game at 4:25 pm ET on Christmas Day came for to stay.
Two: the power of the Cowboys is still real. The only non-holiday regular season game that made the top 10 was the Week 11 matchup between Dallas and Kansas City.
Without a presidential inauguration this year and the great mix of teams and players in the playoffs, it could be 10 out of 10 for the NFL in 2022.
two. This week SI Media Podcast, which launched Thursday afternoon, is a roundtable edition with Al Michaels and Tom Rinaldi on the career of John Madden.
Michaels, who worked with Madden for seven seasons, and Rinaldi, who was the director of the recent Fox Sports documentary on Madden, share behind-the-scenes stories, give us insight into Madden’s personality, and discuss some of the memorable relationships Madden had. at all times. his career.
Everything from Madden’s fear of flying to the Madden Cruiser to his association with Pat Summerall and much more is covered.
Following Michaels and Rinaldi is the weekly segment “Traina Thoughts” with Sal Licata from WFAN and SNY TV in New York. This week, Sal and I talked about his fight with COVID-19, the reaction to a Wizards announcer who made an innocent mistake, Kirk Herbstreit’s recent controversial comments, and the best things we saw over the holidays.
You can listen to the podcast below or download it at Apple, Spotify Y Stapler.
You can also see the SI Media Podcast in Youtube.
3. Do you know when you go to the barbershop and have the poster on the wall with the different haircuts you can get? Kenny Smith believes he found one such poster featuring a young Charles Barkley, and Smith hilariously confronted Barkley about it on Inside the NBA last night.
Four. Remember back in early November when Nikola Jokić gave Markieff Morris a brutal blow from behind?
Markieff has been on the sidelines since that incident and his brother Keef shared his thoughts on the situation yesterday with an incredible tweet.
5. ESPN has announced that its new Sunday night baseball The team will be made up of Karl Ravech, David Cone and Eduardo Pérez.
6. Yes, like me, you have fallen in love with Wordle and I need a solution more than once a day, one of my Twitter followers has come for us.
7. RANDOM VIDEO OF THE DAY: I saw this on TikTok yesterday and I have never seen it before, I have no idea what company it is for and I have a lot of questions.
Be sure to catch up on past editions of Traina Thoughts and look at the Sports Illustrated Media Podcast Presented by Jimmy Traina at Apple, Spotify or Stapler. You can also follow Jimmy on Twitter Y Instagram.
www.si.com
Eddie is an Australian news reporter with over 9 years in the industry and has published on Forbes and tech crunch.