The National Football League was able to push the politics into the background for the 2019 season and as a result, its TV ratings saw a 5 percent bump.

The 2016 and 2017 seasons were shot through with protests against the country, attacks on Republicans and President Trump. And during both of those seasons, the league’s ratings cratered.

But, for the second year in a row, the NFL has seen significant ratings gains in the absence of overt political acts. In particular, 2019 saw a concerted effort to get back to football and push the politics to the rear. And now, it seems that the NFL’s 2019 ratings were rosier than its previous three seasons.

Sports Business Journal reporter Austin Karp noted that viewership was up 5 percent for 2019 compared to 2018. The average game for 2019 earned 16.498 million viewers, whereas the 2018 season only saw 15.759 million viewers.

Karp added that “CBS, NBC, Fox, ESPN each post solid gains.”

NFL viewership was up 5% across the board for 2019 season (16.498 million viewers vs. 15.759 million). CBS, NBC, Fox, ESPN each post solid gains. Despite a Week 16 Saturday tripleheader helping NFL Network to its best day ever, the network was down 8% for season for game coverage — Austin Karp (@AustinKarp) December 31, 2019

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