or


[11/21/06 - 08:39 PM]
ESPN's NFL Coverage Up 36% VS. 2005
ESPN spins the numbers for Monday, November 20.

[via press release from ESPN]

ESPN�S NFL COVERAGE UP 36% VS. 2005;

PLUS QUOTES & NOTES FROM LAST NIGHT

21 MILLION PAGE VIEWS MONDAY FOR ESPN.COM, UP 52% FROM 2005

FOR THE SEASON, ESPN LEADS ALL NETWORKS FOR MALE VIEWERS ON MONDAYS

Last night�s 26-10 victory by the Jacksonville Jaguars over the New York Giants on ESPN�s Monday Night Football earned an 8.9 rating, representing an average of 8,234,000 homes (10,963,000 viewers, P2+). The game was simulcast on local over-the-air channels in Jacksonville (17.5 rating) and New York (3.6 rating), boosting ESPN�s audience to an estimated average of 8,600,000 households. The total also includes those viewing in high definition on ESPN HD.

NFL Season to Date

MNF on ESPN is averaging a 10.1 rating and 9,301,000 homes (12,500,000 P2+) for 12 games in 11 weeks. These represent increases of 36%, 39% and 38%, respectively, compared to the first 11 weeks of last year�s ESPN Sunday Night Football (7.4 rating, 6.685 million homes, 9.069 million viewers).

ESPN leads all networks � cable or broadcast � in delivery of all key male demos on Mondays in primetime: men 18+, men 18-34, men 18-49 and men 25-54.

ESPN leads all cable networks in overall household delivery in primetime (an average of 2,580,000 households throughout the week).

ESPN�s 12 MNF games so far are cable television�s largest 12 household audiences of the year.

�Monday Night Surround� on ESPN.com

Online, ESPN.com�s NFL and "Monday Night Surround" content viewed on computers and wireless devices generated more than 21 million page views Monday, up 52% over page views last year according to Web measurement tool HitBox. In addition, there were 1.7 million views of pro-football-related videos on ESPN Motion and ESPN360 on Monday (through Tuesday at noon).

LAST NIGHT ON MNF

COMMENTS:

�The road to Canton may wind through Green Bay and Pittsburgh, but the road to television goes through the intersection of Mara and Tisch.�

� Tony Kornheiser, whose opening essay highlighted some of the great former Giants who went on to successful broadcast careers

�If he commits to ESPN, he can have my seat as early as next week.�

� Kornheiser, jokingly about Tiki Barber�s planned TV career after he retires at season�s end

Theismann: �Matt Jones and Reggie Williams are fighting the ball terribly. It hit him (Williams) right in the chest.�

Booth guest Ronde Barber: �That looked pretty catchable.�

Theismann: �They�re fighting the ball now, wouldn�t you say?�

Barber: �I�d say so. When the ball gets to your chest, your chest pad is not your friend.�

SECOND HALF KICKOFF

Tirico: �To be honest, Tom Coughlin and the Giants offense were awful in the first half.�

Kornheiser: �If you�re a sportswriter, you start out by writing the Giants stunk. If they�re feeling Dallas�s hot breath on their necks, it must be burning.�

�Eli Manning, on third-down passing, is the 31st rated quarterback in the league. That�s next to last, and you saw it right there. For a guy as good as Manning has been, he�s terrible at converting third downs.�

� Kornheiser, following an overthrown pass on 3rd-and-3

�Now you�ve got the quarterback upset that the receiver didn�t go far enough in. You�ve got the receiver upset that the ball isn�t led. See, Plax is not running hard, he just sort of eases into it. As a quarterback, you have to be on the same page.

� Theismann on the frustrations of Plaxico Burress and Eli Manning (supported by iso camera shots)

REPLAYS

Extensive replays are an integral part of ESPN�s MNF presentation, as evidenced by last night�s telecast, which featured 39 first half replays alone. An example of how ESPN replays -- coupled with Joe Theismann�s expert analysis -- cover a key aspect of the game:

THEISMANN & ISO REPLAYS ILLUSTRATE ELI�S MECHANICAL WOES

Theismann: �Mechanically, he�s very poor.�

Replay 1 � �He throws the ball dead into the ground. No touch. It�s like he�s trying to put the ball places instead of just throwing it.�

Replay 2 � �Behind Plaxico. Should have been out in front of him.�

Replay 3 � �Doesn�t get a push off. Doesn�t get his hips rotated, therefore he has no energy and no power on the throw, and that�s why it winds up being intercepted. It�s all mechanical with him.�

SKYCAM

From behind Jags� quarterback David Garrard, viewers see an entire pass play develop as he steps up to avoid the Giants pass rush and hits Ernest Wilford downfield, cutting left-to-right across the field among defenders.

JAGS RECEIVERS STRUGGLE TO MAKE THE CATCH

Suzy Kolber describes special drills the Jacksonville receivers went through during the week, adding: �(Receiver Reggie Williams says) Garrard moves around a lot more than Byron Leftwich, and the receivers have to stay alive a lot longer and adjust to an unexpected launch point.�

Theismann: �I think that�s a crock of baloney. I think if you�re a receiver, you catch the football.�

Graphic: PCT. OF ON-TARGET PASSES DROPPED

From Garrard 23%

From Leftwich 9%

Theismann: �They�ve played more with Leftwich. The velocity on the ball is different, but not that much. You�re a receiver, you get paid to catch the football no matter where it�s coming from or who it�s coming from.�

NEXT WEEK ON MNF

Next week, ESPN�s MNF will feature the Green Bay Packers visiting the Seattle Seahawks at 8:30 p.m.





  [november 2006]  
S
M
T
W
T
F
S
   


· MONDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL (ESPN)
· SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL (NBC)





most recent ratings | view all posts
[12/03/25 - 11:59 AM]
"9-1-1: Nashville" Season Premiere Catapults to Over 19 Million Total Viewers
Over 35 days, ABC's Thursday night drama premieres amassed impressive audiences based on competitive cross-platform broadcast series rankings, with all three dramas landing in the Top 10 among Adults 18-49.

[12/03/25 - 08:57 AM]
Record NFL Viewership Caps Thanksgiving Night on NBC, Peacock, and Telemundo
Bengals-Ravens is the most-watched Thanksgiving night NFL game ever with an average of 28.4 million viewers.

[12/03/25 - 08:55 AM]
"NFL on CBS" Shatters Record for Most-Watched Regular-Season Game in NFL History with More Than 57 Million Viewers
Viewership peaked with 61.357 million viewers for the game's thrilling conclusion (7:45-8:00 PM ET).

[12/03/25 - 08:49 AM]
FOX Sports Feasts on Thanksgiving Day with 47.7 Million Viewers for Packers-Lions
Viewership peaked with 57,957,000 viewers from 4:00-4:15 PM ET.

[12/03/25 - 08:47 AM]
Most-Watched NBA on ESPN Thanksgiving Eve in Six Years
The inaugural tripleheader averaged 2,099,000 viewers, up 54 percent from last year's Thanksgiving Eve doubleheader, according to Nielsen Big Data + Panel.

[12/02/25 - 12:01 PM]
Netflix Top 10: Week of November 24 - "Stranger Things" Escapes the Upside Down to Take No. 1 in This Week's Top 10
The series returned last week with Volume 1 of its fifth and final season, touting the biggest premiere week ever for an English language show in the history of Netflix, amassing 59.6 million views and securing No. 1 on the English TV list.

[11/28/25 - 04:32 PM]
NBC's Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade Sets All-Time Viewership Record
The 99th Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade delivered 34.3 million viewers across NBC and Peacock, its biggest combined audience on record, outperforming last year's parade by +8% (2.5 million viewers).

[11/28/25 - 01:59 PM]
Thanksgiving Day Hoops Scores FOX's Most-Watched CBB Game in History
Michigan State's Thanksgiving Day win over UNC in the Fort Myers Tip-Off scored 5,488,000 viewers on FOX - the most-watched college basketball game ever on the network.

[11/26/25 - 02:31 PM]
"20/20" Is the Most-Watched in Adults 25-54 and Adults 18-49 in Time Period vs. CBS and NBC
"20/20" posted substantial increases week to week across the board.

[11/26/25 - 02:30 PM]
With Largest Viewership in 7 Weeks, ABC News' "Nightline" Ranks No. 1 in All Key Demos
"Nightline" improved on the previous week in Total Viewers, Adults 25-54, and Adults 18-49.

[11/26/25 - 02:21 PM]
"Everybody Loves Raymond: 30th Anniversary" Is the Season's Most-Watched Primetime Entertainment Special
The telecast delivered 6.32 million viewers and was the most-watched entertainment program Monday night.

[11/26/25 - 02:15 PM]
"Dancing with the Stars" Caps Spectacular Season 34 with 9.24 Million Total Viewers - Drawing Largest Finale Audience in 9 Years
Among Adults 18-49, the show nearly doubled last season's finale episode (+89% - 2.15 rating vs. 1.14 rating), hitting its strongest finale result in 10 years.

[11/25/25 - 03:45 PM]
"Center Stage: Countdown to the CMA Awards - Special Edition of 20/20" Rises Over Last Year's Performance in All Key Measures
"Center Stage" (434,000 and 326,000, respectively) ranked No. 1 in its hour in Adults 25-54 and Adults 18-49.

[11/25/25 - 03:05 PM]
ESPN Wins Week 13 with Stellar Showings for "College GameDay Built by The Home Depot," "SEC on ABC" and Friday College Football on ESPN
Texas Longhorns defeating the Arkansas Razorbacks 52-37 delivered 5.6 million viewers on November 22.

[11/25/25 - 02:57 PM]
"America's Game of the Week" on FOX Scores 27,816,000 Viewers in Week 12
The Dallas Cowboys win over the Philadelphia Eagles peaked with 28.4 million viewers from 7:30 PM - 7:45 PM ET.