David Kenyon
If you didn’t believe that the National Football League owns America, well, it’s about time to start entertaining the idea.
According to John Ourand of the Sports Business Journal, a re-broadcast of the preseason meeting between the Detroit Lions and Washington football team averaged more viewers than any show on Fox Sports 1, NBC Sports Network and MLB Network did at any point of the day.
NFL Net's midnight-3am REPLAY of Lions-Redskins preseason game averaged 308,000 viewers, more than any show yesterday on FS1, NBCSN, MLBN.
— John Ourand (@Ourand_Puck) August 21, 2015
That’s a staggering fact, considering it’s only the second week of the NFL preseason. A strong majority of the starters on both Detroit and Washington either did not play or were replaced before halftime.
Then again, perhaps Washington coach Jay Gruden’s ridiculous decision to subject beleaguered quarterback Robert Griffin III to constant pain attracted a multitude of viewers who wanted to see the plays live.
Here all the hits RG3 took tonight, #Ouch http://t.co/9TqQxo2rk7 http://t.co/CKYNny8MBn
— Gifdsports (@gifdsports) August 21, 2015
Regardless, if the nationwide draw of watching replays on NFL Network during the preseason is any indication, the league is preparing to set viewership records during the 2015 season.
And hopefully for RG3’s sake, fans won’t watch him experience so many big hits—if he’s even alive by mid-September.
