Cowboys not immune to NFL TV ratings slump

The Cowboys may be America’s team, but they’re not immune to the league’s TV ratings slump.

Yes, the thriller between the Cowboys and the Packers was the highest rated national broadcast game of the weekend (bringing in a 13.6 rating for Fox). However, a late-afternoon showdown against a marquee opponent wasn’t even the team’s highest rated game this season. That honor belongs to a Week 2 blowout loss (42-17) to the Broncos in Denver, which earned a 14.3 rating.

The previous year has drawn considerably better national ratings in three of the Cowboys’ five contests.

In the DFW market, the Cowboys haven’t fared much better. Week 4’s home loss to the Rams drew only 981,599 viewers in DFW, according to television blogger Ed Bark.

The Green Bay game drew 1,232,123 viewers DFW. Although the game was an improvement over the Rams’ numbers, it still trails the season opener and the Week 3 victory over Arizona in local viewership, according to Bark.

The Cowboys’ declining ratings are consistent with falling viewership across the league. The most recent Sunday and Monday Night Football broadcasts saw season-low ratings for 2017.

This story was originally published October 10, 2017 at 3:51 PM with the headline "Cowboys not immune to NFL TV ratings slump."