If soap operas equal ratings, the media has every incentive to make sure the Dallas Cowboys are perceived as the the biggest soap opera in sports. Hence the somewhat absurd coverage of stories involving Cowboys’ players Adam Jones (suspension), Tony Romo (injury) and Terrell Owens (general sensationalism). It’s a chicken and egg scenario. What came first? The huge ratings for Dallas Cowboys games, or the non-stop coverage of everything Cowboys?
The answer to that question is immaterial to FOX, which drew the largest rating for an NFL game this season on the strength of the Cowboys’ loss to the Cardinals on Sunday. The game drew a 14.7/30 final rating and 23.6 million viewers, down 18% and 19% from an 18.0 with 29.1 million for last year’s Patriots/Cowboys tilt on CBS, which was a battle of undefeated teams.
The game went into overtime, which likely boosted the ratings for The OT postgame show. An abbreviated edition of The OT drew a 9.0/15 final rating and 14.2 million viewers from 7:48-8 PM Sunday night, not only higher than Football Night in America on NBC, but Sunday Night Football as well.
Speaking of which, NBC drew an 8.2/13 final rating and 13.1 million viewers for Patriots/Chargers Sunday night, the lowest rating of the season for a national NFL telecast. The 8.2 is actually up 15% from last year’s record low 7.1 rating for Saints/Seahawks.
