The NFL doesn’t just have a ratings problem, it also has a major attendance problem. Particularly among the California teams, who don’t appear to be able to draw flies.
Each of the season’s first three games saw dwindling attendance for both the Los Angeles Rams and the Charges so far this season, and many posts on social media have featured nearly empty stadiums for the two Los Angeles-based teams.
Even with the game played in San Francisco on Thursday night, The Rams and 49ers had trouble filling Levi’s Stadium:
At Levi’s Stadium for @49ers vs Rams game I found cobwebs in my row. #cheapseats #signofthetimes #GoNiners #49erFaithful pic.twitter.com/NCnOtdUZ1k
— Michael Peredo (@MichaelPeredo) September 21, 2017
Kickoff at the Coliseum between the Rams and Redskins. Not many here to see it. pic.twitter.com/XAwandU2l6
— Lindsey Thiry (@LindseyThiry) September 17, 2017
You never judge a crowd at kickoff but… pic.twitter.com/v7BHMLzJFZ
— Dan Woike (@DanWoikeSports) September 17, 2017
StubHub Midas through first quarter. End zones look full. Most empty seats in most expensive sections. #Chargers pic.twitter.com/koAKOR9EsV
— Mike DiGiovanna (@MikeDiGiovanna) September 17, 2017
L.A. radio host Judson Richards also noted that there seemed to be as many fans for Miami in attendance as there were for the Chargers in Week Two.
The Big Lead called the numbers “a massive embarrassment for the league,” while pointing out that a college game in San Diego earned 43,040 fans in the seats.
Even L.A.’s Mayor said that his city doesn’t really need two NFL teams. Mayor Eric Garcetti recently said, “We embrace any team that comes. We’re certainly happy to have the Chargers in L.A., but I think we could have been happy with just the (Rams).”
According to The Big Lead, the league has been alarmed by the low turnout at stadiums across the country and are watching the matter closely. The attendance problem in California isn’t entirely surprising. Pretty much everyone figured that the arrival of the Rams and Chargers would be a dud in Los Angeles. The NFL was always far more into L.A., than L.A. was into them.
The 49ers are a bit surprising, though, they’re also a terrible football team. So some of this can be explained by that dynamic as well.
Week Two TV ratings were also underwhelming. While Fox saw pretty good ratings, NBC and CBS saw the opposite, Breitbart’s Dylan Gwinn reported.
Week Two came in at new lows on TV, both over Week One ratings as well as that of last year.
Ratings are so bad that some analysts are warning that the networks could lose up to $200 million in lost ad revenue and earnings this season.
Follow Warner Todd Huston on Twitter @warnerthuston.
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