ESPN’s lowest rated Patriots game in 13 years still gave the network a multi-year high.
Patriots-Bills scored a 6.6 rating and 10.8 million viewers on the Week 8 edition of ESPN’s Monday Night Football, up 5% in ratings and 4% in viewership from last year (Broncos-Chiefs: 6.3, 10.4M) and up 3% and 4% respectively from 2016 (Vikings-Bears: 6.4, 10.5M).
The Patriots’ win, which peaked at a 7.6 and 12.53 million from 10:30-10:45 PM ET, was the highest rated and most-watched Week 8 MNF game since 2015 (Colts-Panthers: 7.8, 12.4M).
Monday Night Football has now increased in four of the past five weeks.
Despite the increase, it was the lowest rated and least-watched Patriots game on ESPN in 13 years — since a 2005 Sunday Night Football matchup against the Bills (6.5, 9.7M). New England’s lone game on ESPN last season, in Week 14 against Miami, had a 7.2 and 11.8 million.
Including Spanish-language coverage on ESPN2 and ESPN Deportes (174K), the game had 11.0 million viewers.
MNF scored a 3.5 rating in adults 18-49, even with last year and 2016. The 3.5 is tied as ESPN’s lowest Week 8 rating in the demo since 2002, when the network’s Sunday Night Football game aired opposite Game 7 of the World Series (2.4).
It had a 2.8 in adults 18-34 (-7%), also tied as ESPN’s lowest Week 8 rating since 2002 (2.5). Ratings actually increased in adults 25-54, rising 5% to a 4.3 — ESPN’s highest in Week 8 since 2015 (5.2).
Monday Night Football is now averaging 11.3 million viewers this season, up 2% from the same point last year (11.1M).
ESPN’s telecast had a 10.5 rating in Buffalo and a 9.8 in Boston. Local over-the-air simulcasts earned a 41.0 on Buffalo’s WKBW and a combined 27.6 on Boston’s WMUR and WCVB. Simulcast figures are not included in ESPN’s national results.
Patriots secondary market Providence, R.I., was the top market outside of the participating cities (20.0). New Orleans was the top neutral market at a 13.0.
[Numbers from ESPN, Nielsen via ShowBuzz Daily 10.30]
