Super Bowl LIII Fiasco Produces Lower TV Ratings

The collateral damage is starting to mount up following what is easily the most miserable and unwatchable Super Bowl of the past generation. As if the game wasn’t bad enough–for those of you fortunate enough to miss ‘the big game’ the New England Patriots beat the Los Angeles Rams 13-3 in the lowest scoring Super Bowl ever. In addition to the preseason NFL level of play from purportedly the two best professional football teams in the land the overall tempo of the game made it like watching paint dry or grass grow.

The big difference, of course, is that watching grass grow can be pleasant in a pastoral sort of way. And unlike Super Bowl LIII when you watch grass grow you don’t have media shills bloviating about how its really the most exciting thing you’ve ever experienced. ESPN long ago gave up any pretense of journalistic standards and is now working overtime as the paid shill for the National Football League. Their attempt to convince the public that Super Bowl LIII was really an exciting defensive struggle is now reaching downright bizarre and preposterous levels. They’ve somehow deluded themselves into claiming with a straight face that the Patriots’ win represents the ‘greatest defensive performance in Super Bowl history‘. Somewhere the late Buddy Ryan–architect of the 1985 Chicago Bears’ suffocating defense–is rolling over in his grave. It’s as if Seattle’s ‘Legion of Boom’ or Pittsburgh’s ‘Steel Curtain’ never existed. ESPN is trying to do the Obi-Wan ‘these aren’t the droids you’re looking for’ routine but they’re no Jedi masters and no one is buying it.

It’s no surprise that TV ratings were down significantly from a year ago. The CBS Super Bowl broadcast averaged a 44.9 household Nielsen rating which represents a 5 percent decline compared to last year’s 47.4 and the lowest overnight rating since 2009. But leave it to ESPN to put a completely implausible and statistically laughable spin on the decline. It’s all because of the blown pass interference call in the NFC Championship game. I’m not joking. Here’s their pitiful rationale: in most years, the New Orleans area turns in strong Super Bowl ratings. This year, however, the ratings were only half what they usually are due to the area’s disgust at the situation. Never mind the fact that the Super Bowl viewership was down over 5 million from last year. That’s significant because the population of the New Orleans Metro Area is just 1.2 million. Even if everyone in the area watched the Super Bowl last year and none of them watched it this year that would account for less than 25% of the decline. Of course, that didn’t happen–more accurately about 600,000 or 700,000 New Orleans viewers watched last year with only half watching this year. In other words, it *may* have been responsible for 5% of the decline but likely much less.

An Advertising Age magazine article by Anthony Crupi gives the real reason behind the viewership drop. He succinctly submits that it was “one of the most dispiriting, uninspiring Super Bowls in recent memory.” Viewers–particularly casual fans and non-fans–couldn’t turn the TV off fast enough. It’s understandable why the NFL is trying to spin their way out of the mess. In the span of one afternoon their marquee media property lost a significant amount of its value. The NFL will feel the hit when they negotiate broadcast rights with FOX prior to the start of the 2019 season.