Monday Night Football turned in a weak performance in Week 12, but ratings and viewership still increased double-digits.
Titans-Texans scored a 6.0 rating and 9.74 million viewers on the Week 12 edition of ESPN’s Monday Night Football, up 18% in ratings and viewership from last year (Texans-Ravens: 5.1, 8.3M) but down 23% and 25% respectively from 2015 (Packers-Eagles: 7.8, 13.1M).
The Texans’ win, which peaked at a 6.9 and 11.3 million from 9-9:15 PM ET, delivered the second-lowest rating and viewership on Monday Night Football this season. Rams-Raiders had a 5.9 and 9.61 million in the back half of ESPN’s Week 1 doubleheader.
In addition, it tops only last year as ESPN’s lowest rated and least-watched Week 12 game since 2005 (Saints-Jets: 4.7, 6.8M).
Despite the low numbers, Monday’s game was the fifth straight on ESPN to post an increase in ratings and viewership, and the third to do so by double-digits. Eight of the network’s last nine games have increased overall.
Including the Spanish-language audience on ESPN Deportes, the game had 9.82 million.
MNF scored a 3.1 rating in adults 18-49, up 15% from last year (2.7), but down 26% from 2016 (4.2). It also had a 2.4 in adults 18-34 (+14%) and a 3.65 in adults 25-54 (+17%).
ESPN’s telecast had a 10.7 rating in Houston and a 6.4 in Nashville. Simulcast coverage on local ABC affiliates earned an 18.7 on Houston’s KTRK and a 15.1 on Nashville’s WKRN. Simulcast figures are not included in ESPN’s national results.
New Orleans was the top market for the national ESPN telecast with a 12.0 rating.
Monday Night Football is now averaging 11.8 million viewers for the season, up 10% from last year.
The full list of Week 12 NFL ratings is available here.
[Numbers from ESPN PR, Nielsen via ShowBuzz Daily 11.28]
