ESPN’s Monday Night Football continues to be a major boon for the four-letter network and its parent company.
Back in Week 10, the Denver Broncos’ upset win over the Buffalo Bills drew an average of 17.7 million viewers across all platforms. This was up 38% from a comparable game a season ago. All said, MNF was averaging 15.6 million viewers per game heading into Week 12’s Super Bowl rematch between the Philadelphia Eagles and Kansas City Chiefs.
About that? Said game obliterated any previous record since ESPN took over the rights to broadcast Monday Night Football back in 2006.
Per Sports Media Watch, Philadelphia’s win over Kansas City drew an average of 28.96 million viewers in Week 12. That includes 15.5 million on ABC, 11.5 million on ESPN and 1.9 million tuning into the ESPN2 Manningcast broadcast. The previous high was back in Week 1 when 22.67 million tuned in to watch the New York Jets’ win over the Buffalo Bills.
Related: Week 12 Monday Night Football winners and losers
Monday Night Football TV ratings are now through the roof
To put these numbers into perspective, Monday’s game was the most-watched Monday night matchup since the Green Bay Packers took on the Dallas Cowboys back in November of 1996 (31.45 million). It is also the sixth-largest dating back to the 1991 season.
- 1992: Dallas Cowboys, Philadelphia Eagles (32.98 million)
- 1994: San Francisco 49ers, Minnesota Vikings (32.01 million)
- 1996: Green Bay Packers, Dallas Cowboys (31.45 million)
- 1993: Dallas Cowboys, Washington (31.15 million)
- 1992: Detroit Lions, San Francisco 49ers (29.21 million)
- 2023: Philadelphia Eagles, Kansas City Chiefs (28.96 million)
There are several reasons for the increase of MNF TV ratings. Primarily, the matchups have been great this season. It culminated in ESPN/ABC earning the rights to broadcast Week 12’s game between two title contenders and a rematch of last season’s Super Bowl.
The presence of Troy Aikman and Joe Buck as the best broadcasting duo in the NFL also plays a large role in this. But again, it’s all about the matchups.
We’ll also see a big Christmas night matchup between the Baltimore Ravens and San Francisco 49ers. Then in Week 17, the Dallas Cowboys will play host to the upstart Detroit Lions. You can do the math when it comes to these games. They’ll also be ratings bonanzas for Monday Night Football.