This is a new trend, internet content has depleated viewers in some segments of the population, NFL said it was issuing the memo to all the teams in response to media inquiries about the decline in ratings. Long seen as invincible against the trends and changing media habits that have negatively affected other programming, network executives and advertisers have been scrambling to figure out if this, or the start of a long-term cycle
Some industry analysts note that as the NFL continues to place product on more digital platforms, a negative hit to the broadcast partners is more likely. Others cite that the NFL may have hit saturation level with games on all day Sunday, as well as a Monday and Thursday game.