Trump Lies About the NFL’s Ratings Falling 20 Percent

Trump lied again – but what’s new? Trump claimed the NFL’s rating had been declining but they’ve been doing the exact opposite.

On Thursday, Trump visited Great Falls, MT and spoke to an audience of Trump supporters. While mocking the “Me Too” movement and insulting Sen. Elizabeth Warren claims of being of Native American descent – which he ignorantly referred to as “Indian” – he left room to lie about how the league’s ratings have declined by 20 percent.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

“This commissioner [Roger Goodell], where this guy comes from, I have no idea,’ Trump said, referring to the controversial son of former Republican congressman Charles Goodell. “They’re paying him $40 million a year and their ratings are down 20 percent. But you know why the ratings are down? Yes, the flag.”

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However, that was a lie. NFL’s ratings have only decreased by about 9 percent and 8 percent in 2017 and 2016. But when you think about how much streaming services like Netflix an Hulu have bulldozed over the television industry those numbers don’t look so bad compared to other networks. 

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NFL’s share of the television audience has actually increased since 2017. According to the Nielson, some networks like CBS, NBC, Adult Swim and E! lost more than 15 percent of its viewers. Overall, broadcast networks lost 16% of their viewers in 2017; cable networks lost 11%.