NFL primetime TV ratings are down; blame Clinton and Trump?

The Vikings will play in primetime for the second time in four weeks when they take on the Giants in Monday Night Football. When they do, there's a good chance fewer people than we've come to expect will be watching.

That's because viewership for many live sports events — including primetime NFL games — is down considerably this year, per a look at the numbers by Sports Business Daily.

Some of the data, per the story:

"Sunday Night Football," television's highest-rated prime-time show for five years running, has seen a 10 percent viewership drop so far this season. Cable's top sports property, "Monday Night Football," is down 19 percent — the series' slowest start in a decade. Through two games, "Thursday Night Football" viewership is down 15 percent.

Now, this of course comes on the heels of massive growth over the past decade. Even small double-digit drops in viewership in those three areas (in a small sample size, it should also be noted) still mean the NFL is wildly popular.

Analysts say it's not time to panic and offer a variety of theories — including the migration to digital platforms and the fact that this is just a strange year and sports are caught in a particular cycle. And it is also noted that overall sports are becoming relatively MORE popular on TV in relation to other programming.

Still, another theory caught my eye:

For Mike Mulvihill, Fox Sports' senior vice president of programming and research, this summer reminds him of 2000, when the George Bush-Al Gore race was left undecided until December. That was the only year from 2000 to 2010 where all four NFL TV packages dropped from the previous year — Fox was down 4 percent, CBS down 10 percent, ABC down 7 percent and ESPN down 11 percent. It also was a year that saw World Series viewership drop by 22 percent. "I would really start with the election — I don't think you have to look much deeper than that," he said.

I can buy that, particularly since the first presidential debate went head-to-head with Monday Night Football (and I watched every minute of the debate and not a minute of MNF). The same thing will happen next week when the second debate is the same time as the Sunday night game.

But if the election is a factor, one would imagine it's a temporary influence. The other explanations, particularly digital migration, are far more permanent.

One factor not mentioned in the story as it pertains to the NFL: are enough fans conflicted by the long-term brain health of players that they watch less (or not at all)?

Whatever the case, with leagues so heavily dependent on TV revenue these days a drop in viewership is troubling. And a continuation of the trend would be alarming.