As if any further proof was needed that the NBA has too many divas showing off to care on a national scale about it while baseball features a bit too many crotch adjustments and spitting tobacco shots, the NFL has dominated American television viewership once again to take its place as the prime outlet for entertainment in the United States. Check out part of the press release below to see just how amazing the NFL's reach is:
According to The Nielsen Company, the 2011 regular season reached more than 200 million unique viewers. NFL games were watched by an average of 17.5 million viewers -- the NFL’s second highest viewership average since 1989 (17.9 million in 2010), before the explosion of viewer choice on television and online. NFL games accounted for 23 of the 25 most-watched TV shows among all programming and the 16 most-watched shows on cable last fall. In addition, a record 37 NFL game telecasts averaged at least 20 million viewers – topping the previous mark set last year (35) and up from 16 in 2006.
This is the reason why the players and owners were fighting like they were just months ago -- because there's so much money at stake. It's hard to feel bad for anyone involved, but our dollars are the reason they have something to fight over. Given the playoffs coming soon, the viewership is only going to grow.