All ratings were down except one

[QT]

Which is great. The problem is that that stadium has been a house of horrors for the Cowboys. They invent new and bizarre ways of losing there. Including, but not limited to, icing their own kicker

Not sure if this game was at the same stadium, but the Jake Plummer playoff game still haunts me.

 

[Clove]

I'm just glad we're pulling ratings in this down time of our lives. But we need to start winning NFC championship games and other important games. Personally, a fan for 42 years, I'm getting pretty down right now.

 

[csirl]

Dont forget we're only talking about US ratings here. Ratings in Europe are growing exponentially and becoming a increasing percentage of TV money.

 

[Direwolf63]

I'm just glad we're pulling ratings in this down time of our lives. But we need to start winning NFC championship games and other important games. Personally, a fan for 42 years, I'm getting pretty down right now.

If the Cowboys had a roster of a 4-6 win team, I don't think I'd watch any football whatsoever.

 

[Shake_Tiller]

I'm just glad we're pulling ratings in this down time of our lives. But we need to start winning NFC championship games and other important games. Personally, a fan for 42 years, I'm getting pretty down right now.

Those of us who have been fans since the late Sixties were pretty spoiled. When I was a kid, I really had no idea the Cowboys were even capable of a losing season. But it's funny, in the grand scheme of things. An NFL team, statistically, should win a Super Bowl every 32 years. I'm not trying to imply fans should settle for that kind of performance. I've been disappointed, of course, to see the team fall short for so many years. But I'm more upbeat than I've been in a long time. The pieces are in place to contend every year for a decade or so. Last year's draft was epic, and teams with similarly strong, "once a decade" or so drafts, have tended to be champions.

It's odd. Given all the ridiculous off-field stuff, distracting rule interpretations, etc., I have less interest in the NFL than at any time in my lifetime. But I'm still emotionally attached to the Cowboys. I find myself bored by games that don't have a direct impact on Dallas. I find myself skipping NFL games to do something else, which at one time never happened. At the same time, I am more emotionally involved with the Cowboys games than I've been in years.

Us old-timers are gonna get another Super Bowl or two. Pretty sure of that. And I wouldn't have said that with any confidence a couple of years ago.

 

[hornitosmonster]

Jerry should sue the NFL for the right to negotiate his own the TV deal. That will force the hand of the NFL (owners) to fire Roger

 

[Nightman]

Jerry should sue the NFL for the right to negotiate his own the TV deal. That will force the hand of the NFL (owners) to fire Roger

The NFL isn't making money because of Roger Goodell....... he is just the guy who happens to be there to collect the checks... he pales in comparison to Paul Tagilabue...... they don't need any more reasons to fire him over the last couple years

 

[csirl]

I think the thing that would help the NFL the most would be to create a minor league system like MLB has, though only one minor league, not several like MLB uses. That would allow players of all ages the ability to play on teams coached by NFL minor league coaches and show they can perform at the NFL level. That would mean less time wasted on many top round draft picks who end up as busts. Instead, most drafted players would go into the minor league first, and then get promoted to their NFL team. Now, some players could still go straight from the draft to the NFL, but this way, teams would be filled with more players who can play, rather than holding spots for players not ready to play but would be claimed if not protected on the active roster.

The NFL needs to stop using college football as their minor league because college football does not play by the same rules or even have the same play style as NFL teams. Even college teams that run so-called "pro-style" offenses are not running true NFL offensive schemes.

Rather than some 8-team NFL Europe type of league, the NFL should copy MLB and allow every team to create one minor league team. They could do things differently such as once a player has played 2 years for a minor league team, another NFL team can make an offer to sign-him and his current NFL team could either match the offer, promote him or let him go.

Agree. A minor league could be run at a net cost of less than 5m per year per team even if it poorly supported in the initial years by fans. It would really improve the standard of play. My bet is that high school stars going into such a league would end up much better than college players. Though it would in time damage college football.

 

[Reality]

Agree. A minor league could be run at a net cost of less than 5m per year per team even if it poorly supported in the initial years by fans. It would really improve the standard of play. My bet is that high school stars going into such a league would end up much better than college players. Though it would in time damage college football.

That's not such a bad thing though. There are more than enough football players who can play college ball even if the quality drops down as a result. It might actually be more enjoyable to watch college sports being treated as actual college sports, rather than NFL auditions.

 

[CanadianCowboysFan]

Not sure if this game was at the same stadium, but the Jake Plummer playoff game still haunts me.

no we lost to that butthead at Texas Stadium

 

[CanadianCowboysFan]

Dont forget we're only talking about US ratings here. Ratings in Europe are growing exponentially and becoming a increasing percentage of TV money.

not sure about Canada but we don't get Sunday Ticket anymore, Goodell sold the rights to such services to streaming service DAZN and it is horrible. Many of us up here are really choked with the service.

 

[DallasInDC]

Too late. The "gave himself up" call on the switz punt return was a first for me.

Very surprised we didn't hear more on that from the weekly officials report. I would like to hear their explanation of the call...also wanted to hear more about what happened with the overturned fumble call as well.

 

[Direwolf63]

not sure about Canada but we don't get Sunday Ticket anymore, Goodell sold the rights to such services to streaming service DAZN and it is horrible. Many of us up here are really choked with the service.

DAZN is in full damage control mode. I got a long apology from them a couple of hours ago. They are begging me to stay on.

Still thinking about it.

 

[CanadianCowboysFan]

DAZN is in full damage control mode. I got a long apology from them a couple of hours ago. They are begging me to stay on.

Still thinking about it.

worst part is, they just pick up CTV and TSN feeds and stream them. I'm like wth.

 

[DandyDon1722]

Eventually something is going to have to change with the product if the league wants young people to care about watching it. Young people don't have the patience for any ads anymore, much less the onslaught we currently get. Plus the constant stops in the action can be grating even for seasoned fans.

If I was a young, casual viewer, and I saw the ad-fest and constant pauses in action that is the current game, I'd probably turn it off and not watch it.

This is a good point and it should be noted - the television ratings are down, not viewing. There is a lot of streaming going on that the Neilson analytics can't account for along with sports bar viewing. Think about the tens of thousands of people all across the country who go to bars to watch games - just Vegas alone has thousands of people watching.

I don't buy that interest in the NFL is down and I'm not buying the Kaepernick stuff nor am I buying the concussion narrative. What I do believe is that fantasy football, betting and the game itself is still incredibly strong, however, viewing habits the lack of a way to reasonably account for those habits are what's changed.

 

[Direwolf63]

worst part is, they just pick up CTV and TSN feeds and stream them. I'm like wth.

I think that's part of the agreement. Maintain Canadian content.

Living in Calgary, between TSN, Sportsnet and CTV, the Cowboys are on almost every week. Basically never miss a game. Plus they have the best games of the week like the Green Bay/Seattle game last week.

I'm not sure DAZN is worth it for me, even if they fix all their problems.

 

[Nightman]

This is a good point and it should be noted - the television ratings are down, not viewing. There is a lot of streaming going on that the Neilson analytics can't account for along with sports bar viewing. Think about the tens of thousands of people all across the country who go to bars to watch games - just Vegas alone has thousands of people watching.

I don't buy that interest in the NFL is down and I'm not buying the Kaepernick stuff nor am I buying the concussion narrative. What I do believe is that fantasy football, betting and the game itself is still incredibly strong, however, viewing habits the lack of a way to reasonably account for those habits are what's changed.

Streaming doesn't come close to making up the losses.......demand is way down for many many reasons

 

[CanadianCowboysFan]

I think that's part of the agreement. Maintain Canadian content.

Living in Calgary, between TSN, Sportsnet and CTV, the Cowboys are on almost every week. Basically never miss a game. Plus they have the best games of the week like the Green Bay/Seattle game last week.

I'm not sure DAZN is worth it for me, even if they fix all their problems.

I am thinking the same but have already paid for the year. I hate the canadian content commercials. I hate Goodell for doing this to us. There was nothing wrong with the cable companies providing the Ticket for us. It has worked well for 20 years.

 

[Aven8]

Someone answered already but I'm amazed at how many still don't get how the nfl works as far as tv channels with few exceptions.

Sorry, still waiting for my TV guide in the mail.....hasn't arrived yet for some reason!

 

[goshan]

There are many reasons for the ratings drops.
The local blackout rules and the way too many games are locked out from most fans should be considered.
People shouldn't be locked into watching their local team only on too many weeks. This is hurting peoples interest in other teams and the product in general.
The directv deal is bad for the sport. When people have to illegally stream your product you are doing it wrong.

Revenue focus versus ratings focus. Ratings are becoming less meaningful. Don't think you are smarter than the highly paid people who model all this.