Monday Night Football debuted last night to a smaller audience than the one that tuned into last year’s opening games.
ESPN drew a 7.6 overnight for its season-opening doubleheader, down 12% from an 8.6 average for its doubleheader last season. The first game of the doubleheader, Ravens/Bengals, drew a 8.4 overnight, down 6% from the comparable Vikings/Washington telecast last season. The late game, Cardinals/49ers, drew a 6.8 overnight, down 17% from the Chargers/Raiders game in ’06.
The biggest decline of the weekend came courtesy NBC. Sunday Night Football, featuring the Giants and Cowboys, drew a surprisingly low 11.6/19 final rating, down 19% from the comparable Colts/Giants game in 2006. NBC’s coverage of Opening Night and the first Sunday night game of the season is down 14% from last year.
