Let's look at those markets that the NFL and their business partners covet.
1. Giants - currently competing with the Jaguars for the worst team in the league.
2. Jets - have not been to a Super Bowl in 45 years.
3. Chicago - (1) championship in last 50 years.
4. Philadelphia - 53 years since last championship.
5. Dallas - 18 years since last SB; one playoff win since then.
6a. San Francisco - Just went through 8-year stretch without a winning season; 19 years since last SB victory (when free agency and cap started).
6b. Oakland - headed towards their 11th consecutive year without a winning record; 30 years since last SB victory.
7. Boston (Patriots) - have done very well
8. Atlanta - has never won a SB; only one appearance in SB.
9. Washington - 22 years since last SB.
10. Houston - Texans (2002-) have never been to SB and have 2 playoff victories in franchise history; Oilers never won it all since taking AFL title in 1960 and 1961.
11. Detroit - has there been a more inept franchise than the Lions over the course of most NFL fans' lifetimes? Last championship was in 1957; one playoff appearance in 14 years; one playoff victory in 56 years.
12. Phoenix - I have to take that back about Detroit; this franchise is even more inept. 3 playoff appearance in the 26 years since they moved to Arizona, with one SB appearance, zero championships, and only 3 winning seasons in that time.
13. Tampa-St Pete - Let's make that three franchises in a row with a history of suckitude; the Bucs have the worst all-time W-L percentage of all 32 NFL teams and one SB in their 36 years of existence.
14. Seattle - Zero championships and only one SB appearance in their 36 years.
15. Minneapolis-St Paul - Just four playoff appearances in the last 13 years, and zero championships.
That takes care of the 16 NFL teams playing in the largest metro/television markets; now let us compare to the 16 smaller market teams.
16. Miami - NFL's 3rd best all-time winning percentage; 2 championships, 5 SB appearances; 22 playoff appearances since 1970.
17. Cleveland - Okay, they certainly have a long history of not being good.
18. Denver - Have won 17 of their last 20 games and are currently the darling of those very same networks. Nine playoff appearnces and two championships in last 17 years; 19 playoff appearances and six conference championships since 1977.
[Markets #19, #20 and #22 do not have NFL teams]
21. St. Louis - haven't been good recently but the networks certainly embraced
The Greatest Show On Turf from 1999-204, during which time they made 5 playoff appearances, played in 2 SB, and won one SB.
23. Pittsburgh - Arguably the best post-merger franchise. 24 playoff appearances in 40 years; 6 SB championships; only five losing seasons since 1972.
24. Charlotte - Not a great franchise, but Panthers did make it to the SB and were in the playoffs four times over span of 12 years.
25. Indianapolis - Made playoffs in 14 of the last 17 years. Went to SB twice, winning once. 154-74 record since 1999. Defeated a large market team in the SB.
26. Baltimore - Ravens won the SB last year (over a much larger market team) for their 2nd SB in 13 years. Have gone to playoffs five straight years and 6 of last 7.
28. San Diego - 2012 was first time in nine years the Chargers (7-9) had a losing season; during that time they won 92 games.
29. Nashville - Titans came an out-stretched arm away from winning the SB a few years ago; they have had only five losing seasons since moving to Tennessee 17 years ago.
31. Kansas City - Chiefs are off to a 4-0 start and have gone to playoffs 16 times, with one SB victory; they had one stretch of nine consecutive winning seasons which included six with 10+ wins.
34. Cincinnati - Bengals have been to playoffs in three of last four years, and went to SB twice.
47. Jacksonville - Historically bad right now, but they were good in the beginning. Over a four-year stretch they were 45-19, making the playoffs each year.
51. Buffalo - Haven't done anything right lately, but they did win four straight conference championship games; were probably the best team in the AFC from the late 80s through the 90s.
53. New Orleans - From 2009-11 the Saints won 41 games, plus a SB.
70. Green Bay - Best franchise in the history of the NFL. The packers have gone to the playoffs four straight years, with a SB championship during that time. In the last 12 years the pack has nine 10+ win seasons, and in the last 20 years Green Bay has gone to the playoffs 15 times, winning 3 conference championships and 2 Super Bowls.
I am truly not seeing any statistical evidence to back up the assertion that "parity never carries over to small market teams".
Top 100 Television Markets - Station Index