In a slump that predates the NFL’s overall slide, Monday Night Football ratings continue to fall.
Falcons-Buccaneers scored a 5.7 rating and 9.4 million viewers on ESPN Monday night, down 16% in ratings and 18% in viewership from Carolina-Washington last year (6.8, 11.4M). ESPN Nielsen ratings now include streaming viewership on TV devices; comparisons are to last year’s TV+streaming numbers.
The Falcons’ win, which peaked with a 6.9 and 11.4 million from 9:30-9:45 PM ET, ranks as the lowest rated and least-watched Week 15 edition of MNF on record. After starting the season with increases for four of its first eight games, MNF has now declined in seven of eight weeks since.
Regardless of week, the 5.7 rating is tied as the ninth-lowest in the history of Monday Night Football. Eight of the bottom 11 have come in the past two years.
In the key young adult demographics, ratings fell 14% in adults 18-49 (from 3.57 to 3.08) and adults 18-34 (from 2.84 to 2.45) and 16% in adults 25-54 (4.29 to 3.59).
ESPN’s telecast had a 10.2 rating in Tampa-St. Petersburg and an 8.3 on ESPN. Over-the-air simulcasts delivered a 13.8 on Channel 2 in Atlanta and a 4.9 on independent Tampa affiliate WMOR. New Orleans led all neutral markets with a 14.9.
The full 2017 NFL ratings chart is available here.
[Mon. numbers via Programming Insider 12.20]
