That rarest of beasts — a good “Monday Night Football” game — earned strong numbers on ESPN in Week 11.
The Week 11 Patriots/Panthers “Monday Night Football” game drew a 9.9 U.S. rating and 15.8 million viewers on ESPN, up 25% in ratings and 26% in viewership from Bears/49ers last year (7.9, 12.5M), and up 27% and 28%, respectively, from Chiefs/Patriots in 2011 (7.8, 12.3M).
Patriots/Panthers earned the third-highest rating and viewership of the season on ESPN, trailing only Bears/Packers in Week 9 (10.1, 16.1M) and Eagles/Washington in Week 1 (10.1, 16.5M).
Monday’s game ended with a controversial call on the final play, evoking comparisons to last year’s infamous “Fail Mary” game between the Packers and Seahawks. That game, which aired in Week 3, earned a slightly better 10.3 U.S. rating and 16.2 million viewers.
Among adults 18-49, Patriots/Panthers drew a 5.8 rating — up 21% from last year (4.8), and up 18% from 2011 (4.9).
Locally, the ESPN telecast drew a 17.5 rating in Charlotte and a 12.0 in Boston. The game was simulcast on local affiliates in both markets, earning a 20.3 on Charlotte ABC affiliate WSOC and a 24.1 on Boston ABC affiliate WCVB/WMUR.
Through Week 11, ESPN has averaged a 8.5 U.S. rating and 13.4 million viewers for “Monday Night Football” — up 2% in ratings and viewership from last year (8.3, 13.0M), up 1% in both measures from 2011 (8.4, 13.2M), and the network’s top 11-week average since 2010 (9.0, 14.5M).
(Week 11 finals from ESPN, The Futon Critic)
