MORE DECLINE FOR THE NFL – AT 10:18 A.M. ET:  This is getting serious.  NFL TV ratings prop up the profits of broadcast networks and their cable counterparts, and presumably the companies that advertise during NFL games.  The ratings are tumbling.  From Deadline: 

It felt like a little bit of history was being made on Monday Night Football as the Tennessee Titans finally snapped their 11-game consecutive losses to the Indianapolis Colts last night.

However, as the Titans stopped the streak going to a clean dozen with a 36-22 win and social media sparked with ESPN not showing the playing of the national anthem, another type of history was also being made. Last night’s primetime broadcast of the NFL game stumbled to a season low with a 6.1 in metered market results.

In a season stained by overall ratings declines and political controversy, that NFL Week 6 rating is down 13 % from the early numbers of the much tighter October 9th match-up between the Minnesota Vikings and Chicago Bears.

COMMENT:  The NFL owners will huddle in New York today to wring hands, slap backs, and contemplate what to do next.  Taking a knee might be a slick political gimmick, but it has the potential to kill the goose that laid the golden egg.  Viewers are turning off.  Advertisers are turning away.  The NFL brand is seriously tarnished, and trips to Stop and Shop to buy brass polish aren't doing any good.

You may be sure that part of any solution will be a major shakedown, money for silence.  It's one of the oldest games, and Al Sharpton will show the NFL just how it's done.

October 17,  2017