NoMoRedJ

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There’s this idea of bellwether stocks or leading indicators in finance. Essentially it means that if the leading indicator starts going down or up, the rest of the market will go down or up. It’s like being able to see the future because that indicator’s reaction signifies something about the future. If that’s the case, the NFL could be in trouble with television ratings this year. The Cowboys registered their lowest local ratings since 2009.

This is when we throw out the normal disclaimer. No matter how much ratings dip, the NFL is still by far the most watched programming on television. It’s like dropping from the heights of Mount Everest to the heights of Mount Kilimanjaro. It’s still pretty high.

Having said that, the Dallas market is an important market for one of the most watched teams in the country. There is a reason the Cowboys are valued at over $4 billion dollars. They absolutely own Dallas Fort-Worth. Nothing else really matters. The Rangers are fun, but the baseball team doesn’t garner as much attention as the Cowboys. Dallas, by all accounts, is a pretty good basketball city, but the Cowboys dominate the Mavericks when it comes to popularity. The NFL does not want to see one of it’s most important market losing fans. It’s not a good look. It’s cause for concern. Other local markets — and national markets — are going to get hit. Any national game with the Cowboys would normally draw larger numbers than other teams, and that might not be the case this year.

The funny thing is that this could be the thing to get Jason Garrett fired. It won’t be because he’s only made the playoffs in two of his nine seasons at head coach. It won’t be because Dak Prescott hasn’t grown as a player in two years. It won’t be because his scheme isn’t effective. It will be because people stopped watching the Cowboys. It will be because people didn’t want to watch because the game is boring. It will be because the Cowboys ratings dip. That’s a shot at Jerry Jones’ pockets. Lower ratings mean less money. Jones can’t have that. He needs to dominate the Dallas television market.

The Cowboys don’t look like they’ll be very good this year. They lack any weapons on the outside. Their offense looks to be lost. There will be a lot of handoffs to Ezekiel Elliott and not much else. That won’t bring viewers back to their television set.

The NFL could theoretically treat this as a function of the localized market, but that might not be the right way to look at things. If Dallas is a leading indicator of television ratings, then the NFL is in for a long year of ratings dips and questions about what is wrong with the NFL television product.


NFL Ratings dip hits local Dallas market
 

NoMoRedJ

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What the NFL’s ratings look like after the first week of games


Total viewership for Week 1 of the new NFL season came in at 113.97 million, down just 1 percent from the same week a year ago.

But the audience’s overall stability — as spread out over the week’s seven telecasts — belied erratic shifts in viewership by individual games.

Five of the seven contests recorded audience swings in excess of 9 percent, producing a range defined by a 28 percent upside for Sunday’s 1 pm game on CBS and a 13 percent downside for Thursday’s season opener on NBC.

Four of the seven telecasts failed to match the number of eyeballs drawn to the year-ago game, while the three that gained in viewership all aired on Sunday.

The overall decline represented the league’s third consecutive decrease in Week 1 viewership.

Last season’s opening seven games drew an audience that was 12 percent smaller than it was in 2016, which in turn was 7 percent smaller than the audience for the first seven games of 2015.

In 2015, thanks to an 4.4 percent uptick in viewership, the number of Week 1 viewers reached a peak of 140.4 million.

The loss in opening-week viewers since then is 23 percent.


What the NFL’s ratings look like after the first week of games
 

Dodger12

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I tuned out last night after the Nike commercial. As I type this, I don't know who won and I don't care.
 

NoMoRedJ

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I tuned out last night after the Nike commercial. As I type this, I don't know who won and I don't care.

I used to watch every game I could. Then the last few years I really only cared about Cowboys games. Now, even less enthusiasm for Jerry's mess. Ive thought a few times about the what if. What if the Cowboys had another 90's type run, would I get excited again? Doesnt look like Ill have to worry about that what if any time in this life time.
 

Dodger12

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I used to watch every game I could. Then the last few years I really only cared about Cowboys games. Now, even less enthusiasm for Jerry's mess. Ive thought a few times about the what if. What if the Cowboys had another 90's type run, would I get excited again? Doesnt look like Ill have to worry about that what if any time in this life time.

I do the "what if" all the time Red. But when I really look at it honestly, a lot of things would have to change in Dallas that will probably never happen like ownership, front office structure, etc. And if I'm around long enough, I have Spalding Jones to look forward to. No thanks.......
 

dbair1967

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I tuned out last night after the Nike commercial. As I type this, I don't know who won and I don't care.

I didnt watch one minute of the game. Or of the Monday night games, or the SNF game last week.
 

G-men4ver

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NFL has Kap & his BS PC anthem kneeling to thank. Do they really think that the majority of America is anti anthem anti America? I haven't seen an NFL game since last November when I canceled my cable subscription with Direct TV & the NFL package as well. I just follow the Giants on our fan based web page & check out the highlights on youtube. Sorry, I didn't serve as an infantry Marine 8yrs & do back to back combat tours in Iraq & the Stan & watch 16 brother Marines KIA including 8 die due to one of our own planes dropping a bomb on them to come back to this mickey mouse PC shit. The anthem/flag have absolutely zero to do with issues with law enforcement or "oppression" Take that shit to the front of police precincts & do it during the off season.

Semper fi 2/8
 

Dupree89

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NFL has Kap & his BS PC anthem kneeling to thank. Do they really think that the majority of America is anti anthem anti America? I haven't seen an NFL game since last November when I canceled my cable subscription with Direct TV & the NFL package as well. I just follow the Giants on our fan based web page & check out the highlights on youtube. Sorry, I didn't serve as an infantry Marine 8yrs & do back to back combat tours in Iraq & the Stan & watch 16 brother Marines KIA including 8 die due to one of our own planes dropping a bomb on them to come back to this mickey mouse PC shit. The anthem/flag have absolutely zero to do with issues with law enforcement or "oppression" Take that shit to the front of police precincts & do it during the off season.

Semper fi 2/8

thank you for your service and dedication to our great country. I appreciate you.
 

SixisBetter

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Seriously, I still like the NFL, in spite of the bullshit that goes along with seemingly every stinking thing someone says or does.
I enjoy watching certain teams just because it's nice to see people with some nuts run a team.
Garrett is a shitty coach, but he's gutless.
Marinelli and Linehan are only place holders. I mean they have like 25 total victories in their esteemed careers as head coaches.
The Cowboys organization is a shit show, and it's not going to change anytime soon.
Jerry will probably fire Garrett, maybe this year. We'll have another yes-man put in place and round we go again.
It's like having a really stupid girlfriend. She might be pretty and be able to suck a golf ball up a garden hose, but sooner or later she's going to leave the iron plugged in and burn your house down.
 
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It's like having a really stupid girlfriend. She might be pretty and be able to suck a golf ball up a garden hose, but sooner or later she's going to leave the iron plugged in and burn your house down.

Small price to pay for that kind of talent.
 

Doomsday

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HAHAHAHAHA. I swear to God when I read this I was laughing out loud. Great fucking line.
And I immediately thought "THAT'S why I always kept max homeowners insurance all these years"
 

NoMoRedJ

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NFL has Kap & his BS PC anthem kneeling to thank. Do they really think that the majority of America is anti anthem anti America? I haven't seen an NFL game since last November when I canceled my cable subscription with Direct TV & the NFL package as well. I just follow the Giants on our fan based web page & check out the highlights on youtube. Sorry, I didn't serve as an infantry Marine 8yrs & do back to back combat tours in Iraq & the Stan & watch 16 brother Marines KIA including 8 die due to one of our own planes dropping a bomb on them to come back to this mickey mouse PC shit. The anthem/flag have absolutely zero to do with issues with law enforcement or "oppression" Take that shit to the front of police precincts & do it during the off season.

Semper fi 2/8

Seal_of_the_United_States_Marine_Corps.svg.jpg
 

theoneandonly

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Eh, couldnt the ratings drop also have to do with the product on the field? The fact that there are like 5 or 6 really good QBs in the league, and most of the good ones are getting ready to go on Social Security? Or the O Line play is abysmal and seem to get worse every year? Or the new millennial audience that NFL desperately needs have the attention span of a gnat and can only sit still and watch for like 15 minutes at a time? Just sayin.
 

SixisBetter

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Eh, couldnt the ratings drop also have to do with the product on the field? The fact that there are like 5 or 6 really good QBs in the league, and most of the good ones are getting ready to go on Social Security? Or the O Line play is abysmal and seem to get worse every year? Or the new millennial audience that NFL desperately needs have the attention span of a gnat and can only sit still and watch for like 15 minutes at a time? Just sayin.

Yep, I watched a few games over the weekend and over all play was pretty sloppy.
Oh, there were exceptions of course.
When the sellers drop product quality, numbers go down.
 
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