Saddled with a fairly weak schedule, “Monday Night Football” stumbled to a four-year low on ESPN.
Seventeen regular season NFL telecasts averaged an 8.2 U.S. rating and 12.8 million viewers on ESPN, down 2% in ratings and 3% in viewership from last year (8.4, 13.3M), and down 10% and 13%, respectively, from 2010 (9.1, 14.6M).
This marks the lowest-rated and least-viewed “Monday Night Football” season since 2008 (7.6, 12.0M).
Part of the problem this season was a second-half schedule that featured several sub-.500 teams. The final five weeks of the season included the 3-7 Panthers against the 2-8 Eagles (7.0, 10.8M), the 6-7 Jets against the 4-9 Titans (6.6, 10.1M), and the 4-10 Lions facing the NFC leading Falcons (6.0, 9.7M).
Not surprisingly, the highest rated and most-viewed “MNF” game of the season was the only one the feature the Cowboys — Bears/Cowboys in Week 4 (10.5, 16.6M). The second-highest rated was the controversial Packers/Seahawks game in Week 3 (10.3), and the second-most viewed was Giants/Washington in Week 13 (16.2M).
On the other end of the spectrum, the previously-mentioned Falcons/Lions game in Week 16 was the lowest rated and least-viewed game of the season (6.0, 9.7M). The second-lowest rating was a 6.6 for both Jets/Titans in Week 15 and Lions/Bears in Week 7. The Week 7 game aired opposite Game 7 of the NLCS on FOX and a presidential debate.
Despite the four-year low, “Monday Night Football” was still the dominant television program of the year on cable television. In every week of the season, “MNF” won the night among adults 18-34 and all three key male demographics (18-34, 18-49 and 25-54).
Ratings/Viewership For NFL on ESPN
2012 regular season
| WK # | Date | Away | Home | Net | Rating | Viewers |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mon., 9/10/12 | Bengals | Ravens | ESPN |
7.0
|
10.9M
|
| Chargers | Raiders | ESPN |
6.8
|
10.5M
|
||
| 2 | Mon., 9/17/12 | Broncos | Falcons | ESPN |
10.0
|
15.5M
|
| 3 | Mon., 9/24/12 | Packers | Seahawks | ESPN |
10.3
|
16.2M
|
| 4 | Mon., 10/1/12 | Bears | Cowboys | ESPN |
10.5
|
16.6M
|
| 5 | Mon., 10/8/12 | Texans | Jets | ESPN |
9.0
|
14.0M
|
| 6 | Mon., 10/15/12 | Broncos | Chargers | ESPN |
8.2
|
12.8M
|
| 7 | Mon., 10/22/12 | Lions | Bears | ESPN |
6.6
|
10.7M
|
| 8 | Mon., 10/29/12 | Niners | Cardinals | ESPN |
6.8
|
10.7M
|
| 9 | Mon., 11/5/12 | Eagles | Saints | ESPN |
8.2
|
12.9M
|
| 10 | Mon., 11/12/12 | Chiefs | Steelers | ESPN |
8.2
|
12.8M
|
| 11 | Mon., 11/19/12 | Bears | Niners | ESPN |
7.9
|
12.5M
|
| 12 | Mon., 11/26/12 | Panthers | Eagles | ESPN |
7.0
|
10.8M
|
| 13 | Mon., 12/3/12 | Giants | Washington | ESPN |
10.2
|
16.2M
|
| 14 | Mon., 12/10/12 | Texans | Patriots | ESPN |
9.0
|
14.5M
|
| 15 | Mon., 12/17/12 | Jets | Titans | ESPN |
6.6
|
10.1M
|
| 16 | Sat., 12/22/12 | Falcons | Lions | ESPN |
6.0
|
9.7M
|
(Season averages from ESPN)
