Welcome to the fifth episode of Full-Court Finance, the new podcast from Zacks Investment Research focused on the intersection of sports, business, and the stock market. On this week’s episode, we take a look at how the NFL’s slumping television ratings are impacting the league’s advertising and broadcast partners.
The NFL is more than halfway through the 2017 season, and TV ratings are down again, leading many companies and investors to wonder how they should proceed.
How the league and those that stand to profit from it handle the slowdown in TV viewership is made even more precarious as many point to the controversy surrounding the national anthem as the primary reason for declining ratings.
Those involved in the business of America’s most popular sport began to worry last year after a substantial drop in ratings. Now, with this year’s slide, the NFL’s broadcast partners—NBC parent Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) , CBS (NYSE:CBS) , Twenty-First Century Fox (NASDAQ:FOX) , and Disney-owned ESPN (NYSE:DIS) —are nervous that one of their biggest TV revenue generators might be in real danger.
Concerns surrounding the national anthem issue have forced major NFL sponsors, including Anheuser-Busch InBev SA (NYSE:BUD) , to address fan and investor concerns about its ties to the league. Papa John's (NASDAQ:PZZA) even went as far as to blame its slumping sales directly on the NFL’s ratings and the league’s handling of the anthem issue.
With team owners, commissioner Roger Goodell, and the league’s business partners searching for answers, investors might consider tracking the NFL ratings more closely than ever.
Make sure you listen to the entire episode of Full-Court Finance if you want to find out more about the NFL’s ratings and how they might impact the league and its partners, both today and in the future.
If you have any questions about this episode of Full-Court Finance please feel free to shoot us an email over at podcast@zacks.com. Please also make sure to check out all of our other podcasts at zacks.com/podcast and remember to subscribe and leave a rating in iTunes.
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CBS Corporation (CBS): Free Stock Analysis Report
Walt Disney Company (The) (DIS): Free Stock Analysis Report
Anheuser-Busch Inbev SA (BUD): Free Stock Analysis Report
Comcast Corporation (CMCSA): Free Stock Analysis Report
Papa John's International, Inc. (PZZA): Free Stock Analysis Report
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Zacks Investment Research