(Via Zerohedge)

The NFL – suffering from dismal ratings for last week’s opening game and Sunday Night Football, may be in for a serious decline in viewers this season if Dallas local TV ratings are any indicator – after the Cowboys registered their lowest local ratings since 2009.

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 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. -Touchdownwire

That said, some have pointed out that the cowboys are “boring” now…

No one should be surprised. The Cowboys, while still a compelling aspect of the overall fabric of the NFL, have become a somewhat boring team, with a Salisbury-steak-and-lumpy-spuds offense that features two stars, a diminished offensive line, and a collection of No. 2 and No. 3 receivers. -Profootballtalk

Less viewers, more money

Despite a steady decline in viewership over the last three years, advertising revenues have continued to climb.

“Everyone loves to focus on the ratings, and everyone loves to focus on the NFL because it is the biggest ratings on television,” said Brian Rolapp, the league’s head of media. “But the reality is: Historically, the ratings of the NFL have always gone up, they’ve just never gone up in a straight line.”

(Full Article Here)

(Via USA TODAY)

For the first time, an NFL team will have men as part of its official spirit squad.

Quinton Peron and Napoleon Jinnies, named to the Los Angeles Rams squad this week, will be the first ones to perform the same routine as the female dancers. The Baltimore Ravens and Indianapolis Colts have men who perform stunts with female cheerleaders, but don’t dance.

Peron and Jinnies are both classically trained dancers and have been performing their entire lives.

But what made them take this groundbreaking step?

“I thought, ‘Why not me? Why can’t I do this?’ ” Peron said in an interview Wednesday on ABC-TV’s Good Morning America.

The men were among the 76 finalists chosen for the 40-person squad. Jinnies said the auditions were unlike any he’s ever been through before.

“This one was about three weeks long and we had a bunch of rehearsals in between and an extensive interview process, but it was really humbling and amazing to be invited every time you came back,” he said.

Full Article

(Via Deadline)

As emotional as NBC’s This Is Us was last night, it couldn’t lay a historical glove on the relentless drama of Super Bowl LII as the Philadelphia Eagles beat the skeptics and the New England Patriots to win their first Vince Lombardi Trophy.

Scoring a 41-33 victory over odds on favorite Tom Brady and crew, the City of Brotherly Love’s NFL franchise’s win on Sunday also halted the 2017 champion Patriots from claiming a sixth Super Bowl to match the Pittsburgh Steelers for the most wins ever.

However, for a league and broadcasters that have been pummeled with double digit ratings drops this season, the number that really matters right now is the 47.4/70 in metered market results that yesterday’s Super Bowl delivered – and that’s a mixed result.

Dipping by a slight 3% from the earliest numbers of last year’s Patriots’ 34-28 comeback over the Atlanta Falcons, the Eagles winning big game is the looking to be the sixth highest rated Super Bowl ever. With more streaming options than ever available to viewers this year, last night’s game is up 9% in metered market results from when the Patriots and the Eagles last clashed in Super Bowl XXXIX in 2005.

However, Sunday’s Super Bowl LII also saw a decline of 5% in metered market results from the last time NBC had the big game back on February 1, 2015 when the Patriots faced off against then champs the Seattle Seahawks. Overall, last night’s game peaked in the high stakes fourth quarter with 52.2/74.

All in all, Super Bowl LII is currently the lowest rated since Super Bowl XLIV in 2010 when the New Orleans Saints thrashed the Indianapolis Colts on CBS.

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