NFL Ratings Are Slumping, But Twitter's 'TNF' Live Stream Grew 34%

The NFL ratings may have hit an inflection point, and it has the NFL players' association concerned.

Through the first two weeks of the regular season, Sunday Night Football and Monday Night Football are both down 12 percent in viewership from last year. Viewership for the NFL is averaging 18.3 million viewers, down from 20.1 million over the same period last year.

With the presidential election airing tonight at the same time as ESPN (Walt Disney Co DIS)'s Monday Night Football, viewership is likely to stay down due to what could be the most watched presidential election in history.

Related Link: Nike In Trouble? Adidas Is Dominating Casual Athletic Space

One spot that is growing viewership in the NFL is Twitter Inc TWTR's Thursday Night Football live stream, where average viewership saw a 34 percent week-over-week increase in its second week. Total viewers rose about 100,000 to 2.2 million in the second of ten games that will be shown on Twitter this year.

The live stream has prompted many new users to create new Twitter accounts to watch TNF, and it is starting to create a little buzz as it continues to gain more traction. The viewership growth is impressive considering the blowout that occurred, with New England trouncing the Houston Texans 27–0.

Twitter is also set to live stream all three presidential debates.

Full ratings data available on Benzinga Pro.

Do you have ideas for articles/interviews you'd like to see more of on Benzinga? Please email feedback@benzinga.com with your best article ideas. One person will be randomly selected to win a $20 Amazon gift card!