With that rarest of beasts — a relevant December matchup — Monday Night Football ended its tenth ESPN season on a high note.
The Week 16 Bengals/Broncos Monday Night Football game drew a 10.5 overnight rating on ESPN, up a tick from the same matchup last year (10.4) and up 24% from Falcons/49ers in 2013 (8.5). The 10.5 is the highest for the MNF season finale in five years, since Saints/Falcons in 2010 (12.1).
The Broncos’ overtime win, which peaked at a 12.3 from 11:15-11:45 PM ET, ranks as the highest rated MNF telecast of the season in the metered markets. The previous high was a 10.0 for Cowboys/Washington in Week 13 and Bills/Patriots in Week 11.
For the season, 10 of ESPN’s 17 MNF telecasts posted a year-over-year increase in the overnights. Of the seven telecasts to decline, six dropped by less than ten percent.
ESPN’s telecast had a 17.7 rating in Denver and a 15.6 in Cincinnati. It was simulcast on local affiliates in both markets, earning a 24.3 on independent Denver affiliate KTVD and a 28.6 on Cincinnati NBC affiliate WLWT. Dayton (22.2) Kansas City (21.9) and Albuquerque-Santa Fe (18.2) rounded out the top five.
(Mon. numbers via ESPN)
