I wonder what percentage of their advertising is NFL, and whether the reduction in sales tracks reduction in ratings. But if they totally depend on NFL viewership for sales they are idiots.
More likely it is an excuse to explain the drop. Not their fault, it is the players fault.
They’ve also tied themselves very closely to the NFL through their sponsorship deal, and featuring current and former players (Peyton Manning, J.J. Watt, and probably others, as well) in their ads.
If there are people who are actively boycotting the NFL*, and its sponsors, due to the anthem issue, then it’s possible that Papa John’s is taking a bigger hit than other pizza chains.
And, yes, NFL ratings are down. They were down last year, too. It’s a complex topic, and has been analyzed extensively, with no one clear reason for it. TV ratings are down across the board as people turn to streaming or other media sources, the concussion / CTE issue has turned off some fans, some people feel that the games have become less entertaining to watch due to the length and frequent commercials, etc.
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- I’m certain that some people are doing this, but I’m not yet convinced that this is a widespread thing.
NFL ratings are down because the NFL is working hard to piss off their fans. The Rams and Chargers moving to LA has been a ratings disaster. People in LA are not watching those teams on TV. The NFL ratings in San Diego are way down the same is happening in St Louis.
Pizza Hut just announced that their 3rd and 4th quarter same store profits are up. Could it be that Papa John’s just makes crappy pizza and people are finally figuring that out?
There are many alternatives to Papa John’s pizza. That’s not the point. From a strictly financial/business/stockholder point of view, Papa John’s wouldn’t be announcing/explaining the potential earnings/profits of Little Caesars Pizza.
Papa John’s is explaining to it’s shareholders why earnings will be less than expected.
If fewer people are watching NFL football, that means there will be fewer people seeing Papa John’s commercials. If fewer people are seeing Papa John’s commercials, that means that fewer people will be ordering/buying Papa John’s products. If fewer people are buying Papa John’s products, Papa John’s may wish to renegotiate, or terminate, their deal with the NFL.
Storm damage in multiple areas may have cost some sales.
Houston, Louisiana, Florida, Puerto Rico (I checked, Papa J has locations there)
That must have made some impact on sales.
Does Pizza Hut advertise during NFL games?
Something I find ironic about what’s happening with the NFL is the Right thinks they are sticking it to the Left by hating on the NFL meanwhile most liberals I know (even ones who like football) hate the NFL as an organization.
Yes they do, although their major sponsorship deal is with the NCAA.
What difference does it make?
Unless PJ’s sales are down because they support the NFL rather than the players.
Free market at work. Isn’t that the Holy Grail?
And of course, even if they didn’t advertise during NFL games, they provide a control for the game-watching-party variable: If the reason for Papa John’s decline were fewer people getting together to watch games and ordering pizza, like aceplace57 suggested, then one would expect to see the same decline with all pizza companies.
Likely so…but it doesn’t seem to have kept Dominos or Pizza Hut from posting increases in overall sales.
RealityChuck nailed it in post 22.
It is a safe approximation in the US that Pizza Hut advertises everywhere. This message brought to you by Pizza Hut.
According to the video linked in the OP, Papa John’s CEO announced it was cutting it’s PROFIT forecast. Profit forecasts are more than sales alone.
Assuming two similarly run companies had $1 million in sales, but one company chose to spend big bucks to advertise during NFL games, and hire NFL spokesmodels, in order to reach their sales total, the other company’s profits would/should be greater. If the numbers of NFL viewers drops, the first company still has to pay for the big buck advertising for the duration of their contract. Profits would be even lower.
It’s not Papa John’s fault that NFL viewership is down, but it is Papa John’s responsibility to increase profits, sales, and stock prices. Papa John’s can cut expenses by renegotiating it’s contract with the NFL, by or severing it’s ties with the NFL.
I still support my beloved Seahawks, but while I used to watch a lot of football, I pretty much watch only the 'Hawks now. There are a few things that really bother me. First are the ridiculous hits. Take guys down, sure, but crushing and flattening them to the point of injury is becoming a huge turn-off. I realize a lot of it’s a judgment call, but there’s no excuse for keeping guys like Ndamukong Suh in the NFL. That guy hurts people intentionally. I’m surprised he hasn’t killed someone. I also have a problem with how the NFL tolerates domestic violence. They only enforce their own policy if they get pushback.
My Seahawks have the charming Frank Clark:
I fully support the players peacefully protesting. I suspect I’m not the only one not watching for other reasons.
The issue with your analysis is that, yes, while Papa John’s spends a lot of money on their NFL presence (advertising during games, their official sponsorship with the league), they likely are not spending any more money on it this year than they did last year. Yes, NFL ratings are down, so maybe Papa John’s isn’t getting the bang for their buck from the NFL that they did in the past.
If profits are down (Papa John’s says that they are, or that they will be), but expenditures aren’t any higher than they were in the past (which I expect to be the case – the NFL isn’t forcing Papa John’s to spend more money this year than they did last year), then it must be that sales went down.
Sales up but profit down? Stock down but competitors up?
How Ironic The poor little snowflake mega-millionaire screwed up but can’t take responsibility.
Clarifying, based on what running coach just posted:
Projected profits are down, because they aren’t meeting their projected sales goals, not because they’re spending any more on the NFL than they did in the past.
I wish Papa J offered salads.
Good salads would be a solid seller. Similar to the variety of salad choices that Wendy’s offers.