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Survey: National Anthem Protests Reason For Poor NFL Ratings

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Kent Strobl Sports Intern
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National anthem protests were the main reason why NFL games lost viewers last season, according to a survey released Wednesday.

The survey included 9,200 respondents and asked questions regarding whether they tuned into less games last season and, if so, why. Twenty-six percent of viewers said they watched fewer games because of the national anthem protests made popular by NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick. Off-the-field concerns, like domestic violence and game delays, came in second at 24 percent.

Much of the blame for the steady decline in viewership was originally directed toward the presidential election. The Atlantic even ran a story in which it completely disregarded the protests as a reason for poor ratings. However, ratings had a slight increase immediately following the election, making this assertion unviable.

The presidential election came in fourth, 16 percent, in reasons why people didn’t tune in to watch the NFL, according to the survey.

Other reasons for why viewers wouldn’t tune in were excessive commercials, 20 percent, and a lack of cable, 5 percent.

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