Nothing expands a captive audience like making the audience feel captivated.
The early Thanksgiving window featuring the Lions always performed well not because of the Lions but because it was football, it was on TV, and there was nothing else on. Now that the Lions have transmogrified into a powerhouse, even more are flocking to watch Detroit play on Turkey Day.
Per the NFL, the CBS broadcast of Bears-Lions averaged 37.5 million viewers. That’s the most ever in the opening window on Thanksgiving. It was an 11-percent increase over last year’s Packers-Lions game on Thanksgiving.
The Dallas window still performed better, at 38.8 million. But the gap is narrowing. And it could be disappearing, unless the Cowboys get their act together.
Like the Lions finally have.
