Monday Night Football ratings increased for a sixth straight week, but the numbers were middling at best.
Washington-Philadelphia scored a 6.9 rating and 11.2 million viewers on ESPN’s Monday Night Football last night, up 3% in ratings and 4% in viewership from last year (Steelers-Bengals: 6.7, 10.8M) and up 38% and 39% respectively from 2016 (Colts-Jets: 5.0, 8.1M).
The Eagles’ win, which peaked at a 7.9 and 13.1 million from 9:30-9:45 PM ET, ranks as the highest rated and most-watched Week 13 MNF game since 2015 (Dallas-Washington: 8.7. 14.2M).
It was the sixth-straight MNF game to increase over last year, and the ninth of the past ten. Of those nine, six have hit multi-year highs.
With that said, the game was far from a blockbuster. It ranks seventh out of ESPN’s 14 games this season, right in the middle of the pack. Stronger numbers could have been expected, given the presence of the defending Super Bowl champions and the playoff implications.
Including the Spanish-language audience on ESPN Deportes (119K), the game had 11.4 million viewers.
MNF scored a 3.6 rating in adults 18-49, up a tick from last year (3.5), up 38% from 2016 (2.6) and the highest in Week 13 since 2015 (4.8). Ratings also hit three-year highs in adults 18-34 (2.9, +4%) and 25-54 (4.3, +2%).
Locally, ESPN’s telecast delivered an 11.7 rating in Washington D.C. and a 10.1 in Philadelphia. The game was simulcast on ABC affiliates in the home markets, earning a 21.6 on WPVI in Washington and a 9.9 on Philadelphia’s WJLA. Simulcast figures are not included in the national results.
Richmond, Va., led all markets on ESPN with a 16.9 rating, followed by Norfolk (15.4), New Orleans (13.6), and Dallas-Ft. Worth (12.2).
Monday Night Football is now averaging 10.7 million viewers, up 9% from last year.
[Numbers from ESPN PR]
