The NFL has not yet played a game, but if the first episode of the fan’s first look at the league this season in any indication, fans are not anxiously anticipating its return.
HBO’s Hard Knocks, has been the show that has given fans the first real glimpse of NFL action for years. However, ratings for this year’s debut drew a mere 273,000 viewers, a massive drop from the 705,000 viewers who tuned-in for last year’s season premier.
Wow was I wrong on expecting a big audience for Hard Knocks on HBO this year.
Tuesday premiere averaged 273,000 viewers on TV. Lowest figure I can find for a Hard Knocks episode. No streaming figures yet.
Last year, Episode 1 for Browns averaged 705K on TV (879K with streaming)
— Austin Karp (@AustinKarp) August 13, 2020
While fan disgust at the NFL’s social justice stances likely play a major role in that number, there are probably other factors as well. Such as perhaps too much of a Los Angeles focus as the show opted to feature the Chargers and Rams. Or, maybe people are just getting sick of the show?
Whatever the reason, those are not the numbers that one would expect from a sports-starved country.
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