Monday Night Football ratings hit a three-year high, though the numbers were not exactly something to brag about.
The Week 5 Washington-New Orleans Monday Night Football game earned a 6.3 rating and 10.51 million viewers on ESPN, up 3% in ratings and 2% in viewership from last year (Vikings-Bears: 6.1, 10.28M) and up 13% and 16% respectively from 2016 (Buccaneers-Panthers: 5.6, 9.06M).
The Saints’ blowout win, which peaked with an 8.0 and 13.4 million from 9:15-9:30 PM ET, ranks as the highest rated and most-watched Week 5 MNF game since 2015 (Steelers-Chargers: 7.7, 12.2M). It was the second straight MNF game to post an increase over last year and the first to hit a multi-year high.
Including the Spanish-language audience on ESPN2 and ESPN Deportes (89K), it had 10.6 million.
Head-to-head, MNF more-than-doubled the Red Sox-Yankees MLB postseason game on TBS (4.41M). The last time MNF faced a Yankees-Red Sox playoff game — 2004 — baseball easily won the head-to-head (17.79M to 11.48M). Keep in mind that was a lifetime ago in sports television, with both games on over-the-air broadcast television (Yankees-Red Sox on FOX, MNF on ABC).
It should be noted that Monday’s game still ranks among the lowest rated and least-watched Monday Night Football games. It was the 15th MNF game in the past three seasons with less than a 6.4 rating, more than every previous season combined (12).
MNF had a 3.6 rating in adults 18-49, down a tick from last year (3.7) but up 9% from 2016 (3.3). Ratings also declined in adults 18-34, with that demo slipping from 3.1 to 3.0. Ratings increased in the adults 25-54 (4.1 to 4.3) and adults 50+ (from 4.3 to 4.5), with both demos hitting a three-year high.
MNF was the night’s top program on all of television in viewership and the major adult demographics.
ESPN’s telecast earned a 16.5 rating in New Orleans and an 8.9 in Washington (D.C.). Local over-the-air simulcasts earned a 37.0 on WDSU-NBC in New Orleans and an 11.7 on D.C. ABC affiliate WJLA, but those figures are not included in ESPN’s national results.
Outside of the participating markets, Virginia markets Richmond (14.5) and Norfolk (13.9) led the way, with Kansas City the top neutral market at a 9.6.
The full list of Week 5 NFL ratings is available here.
[Numbers from ESPN PR, Nielsen via ShowBuzz Daily 10.9]
