Al MIchaels: NFL ratings talk is a joke

Al Michaels has heard enough from people who push the narrative that the NFL's ratings are tanking this season, saying that people will point out the slightest drop in viewership while ignoring the fact that football outperforms all other programming by an extremely healthy margin. 

"The biggest joke to me is when I look at some of these websites that deal with ratings and Hollywood and all his stuff," Michaels explained to Sports Illustrated. "It's always like, 'Sunday Night Football ratings tank.' I'm going, 'EXCUSE ME?!' It's been No. 1 for 10 years in a row. You look at the Emmys—the Emmys—we beat the Emmys 3 to I'm sorry, but there's a part of me that wants to go, 'Stop it already. What are you talking about?' Ratings tank because it's down to 19 million from 20 million? So when it comes to ratings that's my feeling and I'm sticking to it."

Michaels' argument is largely supported by the numbers that show NFL games are still easily the most-watched events on TV. This past Sunday's Cowboys-Seahawks game was the most-viewed program on TV for the week, with 22 million people tuning in for the game. 

While ratings are down a bit, they have mostly stayed steady, especially compared to the ratings in all other sports. The Emmys, by comparison, were watched by just 6.1 million viewers on Sept. 21, the lowest ratings in the ceremony's history.

Having worked in this business for decades, Michaels probably knows that some people will continue to push the narrative that football is in trouble because it is down a million viewers from week-to-week.