The Cowboys averaged a 27.9 local rating for their game broadcasts this season, down 12% from last year's "season average of 31.7," according to Barry Horn of the DALLAS MORNING NEWS. The team failing to make the postseason this year after going 13-3 in '16 "might account for some of the ratings decline." However, this year's numbers are down from a 29.5 average in '15, when the Cowboys went 4-12. The Cowboys' 6-0 win over the Eagles in the Dec. 31 season finale "clocked in with the team’s lowest Sunday television rating of the season," earning just a 23.6 rating. That "bettered only the season low," which came on Thanksgiving when the Cowboys' loss to the Chargers "earned a relatively microscopic 18.6" (DALLAS MORNING NEWS, 1/6). The Cowboys once again were the top draw nationally for NFL telecasts, accounting for six of the 10 most-viewed NFL telecasts this season. The national numbers for the Thanksgiving game contrast those locally, as it was the Cowboys' most-viewed game across the country and ended up the second-highest game of the season in terms of viewership (Austin Karp, Assistant Managing Editor).
|
LOCAL COWBOYS RATINGS BY YEAR
|
|
YEAR
|
RECORD
|
RATING
|
|
'17
|
9-7
|
27.9
|
|
'16
|
13-3
|
31.7
|
|
'15
|
4-12
|
29.5
|
|
'14
|
12-4
|
31.6
|
|
'13
|
8-8
|
28.9
|
|
'12
|
8-8
|
29.4
|
|
'11
|
8-8
|
32.8
|
|
'10
|
6-10
|
31.3
|
|
'09
|
11-5
|
32.8
|
|
'08
|
9-7
|
32.4
|
IF IT WASN'T FOR BAD LUCK....: In Indianapolis, Anthony Schoettle reported local ratings for Colts games were "down 26 percent on average compared to a season ago." The 22.2 average rating in the market was down from a 30.0 in '16. The Colts went 4-12 this year while QB Andrew Luck "languished with a shoulder injury" and missed the entire season. As the season "progressed, TV viewership got worse" (
IBJ.com, 1/5).
