Hard Knocks with Cowboys viewers far lower this season

The Dallas Cowboys are the focus of HBO’s Hard Knocks this year and their season is down 59% in average viewers from the 2019 Las Vegas Raiders season. Via Austin Karp of Sports Business Journal, HBO is averaging 295,000 viewers through the first two episodes of Hard Knocks.

Hard Knocks with the Cowboys down in views

The Dallas Cowboys were chosen as the focus for the 16th season of HBO’s Hard Knocks, the team’s third appearance on the show. Whether it’s fatigue from the fans or its disappointing 2020 season, viewership is down in a big way for the team nicknamed “America’s Team.”

HBO’s Hard Knocks with the Cowboys is averaging 295,000 viewers , an increase from the unusual 2020 season. While it is a 13% increase from the previous season that featured no preseason games, this Cowboys-focused season is down 59% from 2019.

In 2019, Hard Knocks followed the Las Vegas Raiders in their final season with Oakland. Among the storylines for their season was the draw of watching wide receiver Antonio Brown in an offseason full of drama. The first two episodes of the Raiders’ season pulled in 719,000 average viewers through two episodes.

This year features a Cowboys team without much drama surrounding them, with most of the team’s controversy coming from quarterback Dak Prescott’s ongoing injury situation. The high-powered offensive weapons Dallas has may shine brightly on the field, but so far they haven’t drawn interest from fans of the series.

The report does feature one big missing part of the equation, however. The figures being reported by HBO do not include streaming numbers. While the Raiders season is recorded the same way and doesn’t include streaming numbers, it isn’t clear how many more HBO subscribers are streaming the show instead of watching it debut.

Third time isn’t the charm?

While this is the third time total that Hard Knocks has featured the Cowboys, it has been a long time since their last appearance. The Cowboys were the focus of the second and fourth seasons of the show.

The storylines followed in 2002 are a trip down memory lane for NFL fans, as the season highlighted running back Emmitt Smith’s final season. Another familiar face for Cowboys fans making his appearance is safety Roy Williams in his rookie season.

After some time off the air, Hard Knocks returned in 2007. In the 2008 season, Dallas made another appearance with a new cast of players to follow. One of the biggest storylines in the NFL that year was the reinstatement of cornerback Adam “Pacman” Jones. Also featured in the season was the rookie introductions of tight end Martellus Bennett and running back Felix Jones.