“Falling TV ratings across most sports? Here are four reasons to explain drop during pandemic.”

Dennis Deninger, professor of practice in the Newhouse School and Falk College, was quoted in the USA Today story “Falling TV ratings across most sports? Here are four reasons to explain drop during pandemic.” When the pandemic halted most televised sports many had anticipated their eventual return would be watched in huge numbers. However, this has not been the case. Deninger, an expert on sports television and media, theorizes one reason televised sporting events have not had high viewership is because they have been moved from their typical seasons. “We get used to watching certain things or having particular sports be part of our lives at certain times of the year. If you move sports from their natural positions to places that they’re unfamiliar, they’re competing with sports that are traditionally seen in those time periods and everyone suffers a little bit,” says Deninger.