or


[10/06/09 - 02:46 PM]
Monday Night Football - Cable's All-Time Biggest Audience and ESPN's Highest Rating Ever
ESPN spins the numbers for Monday, October 5.

[via press release from ESPN]

Monday Night Football - Cable's All-Time Biggest Audience and ESPN's Highest Rating Ever

15.3 Rating and 21.8 Million Viewers; ESPN Wins Prime Time Among All Networks

ESPN.com NFL Content Yields 110 Million Page Views

Last night, ESPN's Monday Night Football - the Minnesota Vikings' 30-23 home victory over the Green Bay Packers in Brett Favre's first game against his former team - delivered the biggest audience in the history of cable television and the highest rating in ESPN's 30-year history. The game earned a 15.3 rating, representing 15,136,000 homes (21,839,000 P2+), surpassing the previous cable viewership record, ESPN's Philadelphia Eagles-Dallas Cowboys Monday Night Football telecast of September 15, 2008 (12,953,000 homes, based on a 13.3 rating, 18,608,000 P2+).

The game eclipsed ESPN's previous best 14.4 rating (8,400,000 homes) for the Chicago Bears-Minnesota Vikings game on December 6, 1987, ESPN's first season of NFL games. ESPN's 90-minute Monday Night Countdown pre-game (7-8:30 p.m. ET) also recorded its best rating (3.5) and most-viewed show ever (3,476,000 households and 4,540,000 viewers). The previous best was a 3.3 rating (3,075,000 households, 4,056,000 P2+) on September 25, 2006.

The MNF game ranks as the No. 1 prime-time program (for cable or broadcast) among households, viewers and all key male and adult demos of the past two weeks, helping ESPN "win the night" Monday in all demographic audience categories among all networks, broadcast or cable. The game delivered a combined 58.3 rating in Minneapolis (17.5 on ESPN, 40.8 on KTSP-ABC) and a combined 49.7 rating in Milwaukee (13.6 on ESPN, 36.0 on WISN-ABC).

"Last night's record-setting performance clearly demonstrates that big events on ESPN deliver big audiences with content across all our platforms," said ESPN President George Bodenheimer. "In its 40th season, Monday Night Football remains a special place to showcase the NFL's best."

ESPN has now set the cable household viewership record four times in as many years since acquiring the rights to MNF. In all, cable's five biggest household audiences ever -- and eight of the top 10 - (excluding breaking news) are ESPN Monday Night Football games.

For 2009, the five MNF telecasts represent cable's five biggest audiences in terms of both household impressions and total viewers. Through four weeks (five games) of the NFL season, ESPN's MNF is averaging a 11.4 rating and 11,292,000 households (15,684,000 P2+), up 19%, 21% and 24%, respectively from last season.

ESPN.com

ESPN.com had more than 110 million page views to NFL content accessed via computers and mobile devices for Monday through Tuesday at noon -- up 47% from the comparable time period last year. Specifically, page views for the NFL section on computers and mobile were up 44% from last year. Additionally, ESPN.com streamed 3.7 million NFL related videos.

Top 5 Most-Viewed Programs in Cable Television History (Households):

Rank Date Teams Network HHs (000s)

1 10/05/2009 Green Bay Packers-Minnesota Vikings ESPN 15,136

2 09/15/2008 Philadelphia Eagles-Dallas Cowboys ESPN 12,953

3 12/03/2007 New England Patriots-Baltimore Ravens ESPN 12,529

4 10/23/2006 New York Giants-Dallas Cowboys ESPN 11,807

5 09/28/2009 Carolina Panthers-Dallas Cowboys ESPN 11,354

Top 5 Most-Viewed Programs in Cable Television History (Viewers):

Rank Date Teams Network Viewers (000s)

1 10/05/2009 Green Bay Packers-Minnesota Vikings ESPN 21.839

2 09/15/2008 Philadelphia Eagles-Dallas Cowboys ESPN 18,608

3 12/03/2007 New England Patriots-Baltimore Ravens ESPN 17,522

4 08/17/2007 High School Musical 2 Disney Channel 17,241

5 11/09/1993 Larry King - NAFTA Debate CNN 16,837

Note: excluding breaking news; live + same day

Top 3 Ratings in ESPN History:

Rank Date Teams Rating

1 10/05/2009 Green Bay Packers-Minnesota Vikings 15.3

2 12/06/1987 Chicago Bears-Minnesota Vikings 14.4

3 12/25/1994 Detroit Lions-Miami Dolphins 14.2

NEXT WEEK ON MNF

Next week, ESPN's MNF schedule will continue with Mark Sanchez and the New York Jets visiting the Miami Dolphins at 8:30 p.m. The game will be the highlight event of the NFL's celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month. ESPN's game around the game coverage begins at 3:30 p.m. with NFL Live.





  [october 2009]  
S
M
T
W
T
F
S
    


· MONDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL (ESPN)





most recent ratings | view all posts
[10/23/25 - 02:33 PM]
Largest Audience for "NBA Tip-Off" Doubleheader Since 2010 as NBA Returned to NBC and Debuted on Peacock
Tuesday night's audience across NBC and Peacock peaked at 7.1 million viewers from 10:45-11 p.m. ET as Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder to a one-point win over the Houston Rockets in double overtime.

[10/23/25 - 11:28 AM]
"High Potential" Rises to Season High as Show Nears Fall Finale
ABC's popular drama rose to a multiplatform season high in Total Viewers (12.50 million) and Adults 18-49 (2.31 rating) after seven days of viewing on ABC, Hulu, Hulu on Disney+ and digital platforms.

[10/22/25 - 03:06 PM]
FOX Sports Delivers Most-Watched ALCS Game Since 2017
9,028,000 viewers tuned in across FOX, FS1, FOX Deportes & FOX Sports streaming services for the Toronto Blue Jays' ALCS Game 7 victory over the Seattle Mariners.

[10/22/25 - 08:07 AM]
ESPN College Football on ABC Delivers Top Three Games Across All Networks for Saturday, Oct. 18 - Off to Best Start Since '09
Coverage of Ole Miss at Georgia averaged 9.8 million viewers.

[10/22/25 - 08:03 AM]
FOX NFL's America's Game of the Week Delivers 25,630,000 Average Viewers for Commanders-Cowboys
Season-to-date, the NFL on FOX is off to its best start to the season since 2014, averaging 19,646,000 viewers and up +4% over last year's season-to-date average.

[10/22/25 - 07:44 AM]
"9-1-1: Nashville" Debuts with Over 12 Million Total Audience to Date
The star-studded, high-octane first-responder drama delivered 7.80 million Total Viewers and 1.51 rating among Adults 18-49, excluding encores.

[10/22/25 - 06:21 AM]
ABC's Telecast of Formula 1 U.S. Grand Prix Draws Event's Largest TV Audience on Record
Viewership peaked at 1.6 million between 4:15-4:30 p.m. as Max Verstappen drove to victory, further tightening up the battle for the F1 driver's championship with only five races left in the season.

[10/21/25 - 12:01 PM]
Netflix Top 10 Week of October 13: "The Woman in Cabin 10" Sails Smoothly to No. 1 in This Week's Top 10
In the final stretch to Halloween, those lured in by the story of the OG horror villain put "Monster: The Ed Gein Story" at No. 1 on the English TV list with 9.5 million views.

[10/17/25 - 01:16 PM]
"Live with Kelly and Mark" Hits Season Highs with Best Audience Performance Since July
"Live" has now ranked as the No. 1 talk show in syndication for 139 consecutive weeks across all key measures.

[10/17/25 - 10:38 AM]
"Dancing with the Stars" Continues Historic Hot Streak - Rising for Fourth Straight Week Since Premiere with 6 Million Total Viewers
Plus: "High Potential" dominated the 10 p.m. hour with 4.15 million Total Viewers and a 0.33 rating among Adults 18-49.

[10/16/25 - 06:01 AM]
ESPN's Monumental 2025 WNBA Season Sets New Viewership Records
Across all networks, the 2025 WNBA Postseason was the most-viewed since 1999.

[10/15/25 - 04:02 PM]
"20/20" Is Friday's No. 1 Program on Broadcast TV
"20/20" increased its lead week to week over "Dateline" in Total Viewers to post its largest of the season.

[10/15/25 - 04:01 PM]
ABC News' "Nightline" Ranks No. 1 in Total Viewers, Adults 25-54 and Adults 18-49, Leading NBC in All Key Demos for the 3rd Straight Week
"Nightline" saw double-digit gains in the year-ago week in Adults 25-54 and Adults 18-49.

[10/14/25 - 03:06 PM]
ESPN Records the Most-Watched WNBA Postseason Ever Across Its Networks
Across 24 games, the '25 WNBA postseason averaged 1.2 million viewers, up 5% from last year.

[10/14/25 - 03:03 PM]
"College GameDay Built by The Home Depot" Delivers Most-Watched West Coast Episode Ever; ESPN College Football on ABC Scores Top Three Programs Across All Networks and Content for Saturday, Oct. 11
The Texas Longhorns' upset victory over the Oklahoma Sooners averaged 8.7 million viewers.