The NFL’s Playoff Slump

Football
Two weeks ago, the six wild card weekend playoff games were down more than 9 percent across Amazon, CBS, ESPN, Fox, and NBC. Last week, the four NFL divisional playoff games were down 7 percent. These drops follow a regular season that was down 2 percent. Photo: Nic Antaya/Getty Images
John Ourand
January 24, 2025

A funny thing has happened amid the National Football League’s manifest destiny to rule over the remains of linear and the future of streaming. Some 90 percent of the most-watched shows on broadcast every year are NFL games. But, strangely, ratings for the NFL playoffs are down close to double digits so far this season.