or


[09/15/09 - 03:37 PM]
ESPN's Monday Night Football Delivers Cable's Two Biggest Audiences of 2009
ESPN spins the numbers for Monday, September 14.

[via press release from ESPN]

ESPN's Monday Night Football Delivers Cable's Two Biggest Audiences of 2009

ESPN "Wins the Night" Among All Networks in Prime Time

123 Million Page Views of ESPN.com NFL Content

Last night's special 2009 season-opening doubleheader of ESPN's Monday Night Football delivered the two biggest cable television audiences of the year, helping ESPN win the night among all networks (broadcast or cable) in households, viewers and all key male and adults demos. In addition, the games drove significant traffic to ESPN.com's NFL content.

The New England Patriots' 25-24 come-from-behind victory over the Buffalo Bills (7 p.m. ET), earned a 10.3 rating, representing an average of 10,224,000 households (14,001,000 viewers � P2+), the largest audience for any program on cable television in 2009.

At 10:15 p.m., the San Diego Chargers' 24-20 win over the Oakland Raiders -- which also came down to a last-minute scoring drive -- received a 8.9 rating with an average of 8,774,000 households watching (11,945,000 viewers), the second-largest audience for any program on cable television in 2009.

The June 22 episode of TLC's "Jon and Kate plus 8" was previously the most-watched program on cable television in 2009 among homes, averaging 7,540,000 homes (10,605,000 viewers).

The two MNF games combined for ESPN's highest-rated and most-viewed season-opening doubleheader since the format started in 2006. ESPN's two games averaged a 9.6 household rating, 9,488,000 households (12,958,000 viewers � P2+), representing increases of 15%, 16% and 16%, respectively, vs. last year's opening games (Minnesota-Green Bay: 9.3 rating; 9,051,000 HHs and 12,501,000 viewers; and Denver�Oakland: 7.3; 7,153,000 and 9,665,000). Key demos were also up across the board from 2008.

ESPN averaged a 12.0 rating for 8-11 p.m., representing an average of 11,864,000 households, the highest of any network (broadcast or cable) for the night in prime time, with the lead in all key male and adult demos.

ESPN's presentation of the game around the game, which included NFL studio programming starting at 1:30 p.m. through the conclusion of the doubleheader, delivered 24.1 gross household coverage ratings for its MNF coverage (increase over 21.0 in 2008).

ESPN Deportes' Spanish-language coverage of Monday Night Football is also off to a strong start with both games delivering higher ratings than any of its MNF telecasts last season. The Chargers-Raiders delivered a 1.4 Hispanic rating and 65,000 Hispanic households, while the Bills-Patriots opener received a 0.9 Hispanic rating and 40,000 Hispanic households. Last year's Eagles-Cowboys matchup (9/15/08), highlighting the NFL's Hispanic Heritage Month Celebration, was the previous top Hispanic rating (0.8).

Also, ESPN.com had more than 123 million page views to NFL content accessed via computers and mobile devices for Monday thru Tuesday at noon -- up 31% from the comparable time period last year. Specifically, page views for the NFL section on computers and mobile devices were up 37% and 132%, respectively, from last year. Additionally, ESPN.com streamed over 5 million NFL related videos -- up 26% from last year.

NEXT WEEK ON MNF

Next week, ESPN's MNF schedule will begin its usual schedule, with Peyton Manning and the Indianapolis Colts visiting the Miami Dolphins at 8:30 p.m. ET. The complete Monday night NFL schedule on ESPN:
Time (ET) Program
3:30 p.m. NFL Live
4 p.m. NFL PrimeTime
5 p.m. Around the Horn
5:30 p.m. Pardon the Interruption
6 p.m. SportsCenter Monday Kickoff
7 p.m. Monday Night Countdown
8:30 p.m. MNF: Indianapolis at Miami
11:30 p.m. SportsCenter





  [september 2009]  
S
M
T
W
T
F
S
  


· MONDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL (ESPN)





most recent ratings | view all posts
[10/03/25 - 02:17 PM]
ESPN's Record-Setting '25 MLB Wild Card Series
Across eight games, the MLB Wild Card Series is averaging 4.4 million viewers, up 65% from last year.

[10/03/25 - 12:07 PM]
"Dancing with the Stars" Continues to Shatter Records - Growing Two Weeks in a Row Since Season Premiere for First Time Since 2005
Plus: "High Potential" hit a season high in Total Viewers (4.24 million), growing by double digits over the show's comparable third episode from last fall.

[10/02/25 - 04:09 PM]
ESPN Delivers the Most-Watched WNBA Semifinals Ever
Game 5 between the Indiana Fever and the Las Vegas Aces averaged 1.8 million viewers, peaking at 2.1 million.

[10/02/25 - 02:51 PM]
ESPN's Record-Setting Day One of MLB Wild Card Series
Coverage of Red Sox versus Yankees averaged 6.5 million viewers, peaking at 9.9 million.

[10/02/25 - 11:00 AM]
"Survivor" and "The Amazing Race" Season Premieres Hit Their Largest 3-Day Streaming Viewerships Ever
The "Survivor" season 49 premiere grew to 6.83 million viewers with three days of multiplatform viewership; while "The Amazing Race" season 38 premiere grew to 4.01 million viewers.

[10/02/25 - 09:38 AM]
"Celebrity Wheel of Fortune" Scores on Friday Nights with Biggest Total Viewer Audience in Nearly Two Years
"Celebrity Wheel of Fortune" stood as the No. 1 program of the night, rising by double digits in Total Viewers over its previous season premiere.

[10/01/25 - 10:27 AM]
"Big Brother" Season Finale Is Most-Watched Episode in Over Three Years
The finale was up +33% from its year ago finale and up +33% from this season's average.

[09/30/25 - 03:44 PM]
ESPN and ABC Win College Football's Week 5; "College GameDay's" Most-Viewed Season Rolls On
ABC is off to its best start ever with 7.1 million average viewers per game, and the network has aired eight of the top 10 most-viewed games this season.

[09/30/25 - 02:08 PM]
Packers-Cowboys OT Thriller Averages 26.9 Million Viewers on NBC & Peacock, As NBC Sports Opens with Best Four-Week Audience Average in 20 Seasons of NBC "SNF"
The audience peaked at 29.9 million viewers in the second quarter (9-9:15 p.m. ET).

[09/30/25 - 12:01 PM]
Netflix Top 10 Week of September 22: "Wayward" Lures Viewers at No. 1, "KPop Demon Hunters" Sets Top 10 Record
New on Netflix this week is "House of Guinness," a historical drama series created by Steven Knight, which debuted at No. 3 on the English TV list with 5.2 million views.

[09/30/25 - 10:24 AM]
"High Potential" Season Premiere Vaults to Nearly 16 Million in First Week Across Platforms
This marks ABC's best season premiere for a drama among Total Viewers in five years.

[09/29/25 - 06:06 AM]
ESPN's 2025 MLB Game Viewership Up 21 Percent from Last Year
Coverage delivered 1.8 million viewers on average across 30 games this season.

[09/26/25 - 01:11 PM]
"Dancing with the Stars" Week Two Delivers Over 5 Million Total Viewers Rising Over Season Premiere for First Time in 14 Years
Once again, the show led its time period and stood as the No. 1 show of the night in Total Viewers (5.46 million) and Adults 18-49 (1.02 rating).

[09/25/25 - 02:05 PM]
Viewers Have Watched More Than 8 Billion Minutes of "Big Brother" This Summer - Up +27% from Last Year
Multiplatform average episode viewership grew to 5.1 million, up +23% versus last year in 35-days of viewing, outpacing the competition.

[09/24/25 - 02:47 PM]
"Jimmy Kimmel Live" Returned on Tuesday to 6.26 Million Total Viewers on Broadcast, According to Initial Live+Same Day Measurement
In addition to linear ratings, the monologue has garnered more than 26 million views across YouTube and social platforms.