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Local Nielsen ratings snapshot (Thurs.-Sun., Sept. 6-9) -- Cowboys swing low

By ED BARK
@unclebarkycom on Twitter
Slightly delayed by inclement weather, the Dallas Cowboys opened their 2018 season on Fox Sunday with a non-resounding 16-8 road loss to the Carolina Panthers.

The ratings bottom line took a big hit, too. Airing from 3:35 to 6:37 p.m., Cowboys-Panthers averaged 1,132,414 D-FW viewers and drew 483,693 within the advertiser-coveted 18-to-49-year-old demographic. Last year’s opener, a 19-3 home win over the New York Giants on NBC’s Sunday Night Football, soared well above those numbers with 1,635,998 total viewers and 715,183 in the 18-to-49 realm.

The Sunday Night Football stage generally adds a little heft. But Sunday’s Dallas-Carolina game also performed well below the 2016 opener, a 20-19 loss to the Giants that likewise aired from mid-afternoon to early evening on Fox. That game had 1,444,810 total viewers, with 600,207 of them 18-to-49ers.

In prime-time Sunday, NBC’s Green Bay Packers-Chicago Bears game featured QB Aaron Rodgers re-emerging for the second half after being carted off for what appeared to be a serious injury. Trailing 20-0 when he re-took the field, a notably hobbled Rodgers led the Pack to a storybook 24-23 over the Bears that drew 519,913 total viewers and 227,804 in the 18-to-49 motherlode to easily pace the nighttime Nielsens.

ABC’s competing Miss America competition, no longer labeled a pageant and for the first time without a swimsuit fest, drew just 85,465 total viewers from 8 to 10 p.m. while cratering even worse with 18-to-49-year-olds (12,482). In comparison, CBS’ 7 p.m. hour of Big Brother drew 87,377 viewers in the 18-to-49 measurement.

On Saturday, ESPN’s down-to-the-wire Texas A&M-Clemson game on ESPN (won by the Tigers) led the college football parade with 313,372 total viewers. Oklahoma’s rout of UCLA on Fox ran a close second with 292,006 viewers.

Thursday night’s NFL opener on NBC ended with the Philadelphia Eagles holding off the Atlanta Falcons in the final seconds, just as they did in last year’s post-season encounter. Delayed until shortly past 8 p.m. by threatening weather, the game averaged 541,280 total viewers in easily ruling the prime-time roost.

Here are the local news derby results.

Thursday -- Fox4 won a downsized three-way race at 10 p.m. in both total viewers and with 25-to-54-year-olds (main advertiser target audience for news programming).

Fox4 again won the 6 a.m. hour in both measurements and also continued to dominate from 7 to 10 a.m. with Good Day.

NBC5 swept the 5 p.m. competitions and also had the most total viewers at 6 p.m. Fox4 and the Peacock tied for the top spot with 25-to-54-year-olds at 6 p.m.

Friday -- Fox4 and NBC5 split all the spoils.

The Peacock swept at 6 p.m. and Fox4 once again did likewise at 6 a.m. NBC5 drew the most total viewers at 10 p.m. while Fox4 had the most 25-to-54-year-olds. It was the same outcome at 5 p.m.. NBC5 was tops in total viewers and Fox4 won among 25-to-54-year-olds.

Email comments or questions to: unclebarky@verizon.net