The ratings for the National Football League’s flagship ‘Monday Night Football’ continue to plummet, with angry fans changing the channel after weeks of player protests during the performance of the national anthem.
The problems plaguing the NFL continue to spiral out of control as owners and officials struggle to ease fans’ fury over the protesting players. According to Deadline Hollywood, the NFL’s sixth week of the season reached record lows, as television viewership fell a shocking 13% from this time last week.
“In a season stained by overall ratings declines and political controversy, that NFLWeek 6 rating is down 13% from the early numbers of the much tighter October 9 matchup between the Minnesota Vikings and Chicago Bears,” writes Deadline. “That MNF season low went on to deliver a 3.7 rating among adults 18-49 and a total viewership of 10.3 million. It’s worth noting that the peek of last week’s MNF came at halftime on the Disney-owned cabler when the new Star Wars: The Last Jedi trailer debuted.”
Last week, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell released a statement saying every professional athlete should remain standing during the performance of the ‘Star-Spangled Banner,’ but has yet to reveal policies or guidelines that enable owners to discipline protesting players.
In an attempt to ease tensions, television networks and the NFL have been refusing to broadcast the performance of the anthem; cutting to the live-coverage as players rush the field.