Miles Sanders #26 of the Philadelphia Eagles is tackled by Deone Bucannon #29 of the New York Giants at MetLife Stadium on December 29, 2019 in Eas
Miles Sanders #26 of the Philadelphia Eagles is tackled by Deone Bucannon #29 of the New York Giants at MetLife Stadium on December 29, 2019 in East Rutherford, New Jersey.
Steven Ryan / Getty Pictures
NFL viewership rankings are on the rise for the second straight 12 months, giving league officers an edge in pushing to boost broadcast charges and lock in multiyear media offers lengthy earlier than they’re set to run out on the finish of 2022.
Viewership plummeted throughout the 2016 and 2017 seasons after former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick quietly divided soccer followers by taking a knee throughout the nationwide anthem to protest police brutality in opposition to folks of coloration. President Donald Trump additionally known as for followers to boycott NFL video games in 2017.
However NFL rankings have rebounded since then, rising 4% to this point this season with a mean of 16.5 million viewers via week 16 in contrast with the identical time final 12 months, in keeping with preliminary information obtained by CNBC. The NFL’s rankings additionally jumped final 12 months, rising 5% from 2017 with a mean of 15.eight million viewers. The upper rankings additionally could give the league the leverage it wants to boost the greater than $5 billion in annual charges it expenses for the broadcasting rights to its video games, league and community officers say. They requested to not be named as a result of the discussions are non-public.
Extremely motivated
The NFL ought to “push…