L.A. to have little impact on ratings

The Jan. 25-31 story on the NFL potentially easing its TV rules in Los Angeles piqued the interest of an executive I have known for many years: Dean Jordan, Wasserman Media Group’s managing executive of global media. Jordan emailed to say that he believes the Rams’ move to the country’s second-largest media market will have little effect on national TV ratings.

“The math works out to a 1/10th national rating point increase for every two-point increase in the L.A. DMA,” Jordan emailed. “My guess is when you do the math, for broadcast TV rights holders and their ad revenue/rates, a team in L.A. is not likely to have the level of positive impact on national ratings — and by extension network revenue — that many might expect.”