For the third time in four weeks, ratings and viewership dropped for ESPN’s Monday Night Football.
Monday’s Steelers/Bengals game drew a 9.2 U.S. rating and 15.016 million viewers on ESPN, down 7% in ratings and 6% in viewership from Week 9 last year (PIT/DEN: 9.9, 16.002 mil), but up 6% in both compared to Week 9 two years ago (PIT/WSH: 8.7, 14.205 mil).
This marks the third time in four weeks — and the fourth time in six weeks — that Monday Night Football has had a decline in ratings and viewership compared to last year.
Even so, the game ranks as the 13th-most viewed NFL game on ESPN since the network began televising Monday night games in 2006 (78 telecasts).
Additionally, the Steelers’ win was the top program of the night on broadcast or cable in all key adult and male demographics — including adults 18-49 (6.1). The closest competitor in that all-important demographic was Two and a Half Men on CBS (4.3).
Through Week 9, ESPN has averaged a 9.2 U.S. rating and 14.665 million viewers for Monday Night Football, up 1% in ratings and viewership from last year (9.1, 14.573 mil), and up 18% in both compared to 2008 (7.8, 12.398 mil).
(Press release from ESPN; adults 18-49 numbers from TV By The Numbers)
