With the Bears opening up a 28-0 lead before halftime, Monday Night Football struggled in the ratings.
Chicago-Washington averaged a 6.2 rating and 10.33 million viewers on the Week 3 edition of ESPN’s MNF, marking the series’ lowest rated and least-watched Week 3 game since Falcons-Saints opposite a presidential debate in 2016 (4.9, 8.05M).
Outside of 2016, it was ESPN’s lowest rated Week 3 game since 2002 (Bengals-Falcons: 5.1) and least-watched since 2005 (Giants-Chargers: 9.75M). The network had the Sunday night package in those years.
The Bears’ blowout win, which peaked at 11.85 million viewers from 9:30-9:45 PM ET, declined 14% in ratings and viewership from last year (Steelers-Buccaneers: 7.2, 12.01M) and 24% and 25% respectively from 2017 (Cowboys-Cardinals: 8.2, 13.79M). It was the first of four MNF games this season to decline.
It was also the lowest rated and least-watched of the four Monday night games this season, trailing the late night Broncos-Raiders game in Week 1 (6.5, 10.62M).
Despite the weak numbers, Monday Night Football remains up 5% in ratings (to 6.9) and 6% in viewership (to 11.80M) for the season.
Locally, MNF averaged a 31.2 rating in Chicago and an 16.0 in Washington D.C., figures that include local over-the-air simulcasts in both markets.
Monday’s game scored a 3.7 rating in adults 18-49 (-16%) and a 2.9 in adults 18-34 (-24%), both the lowest in Week 3 since 2016.
[Nielsen estimates from ESPN; local numbers from Chicago Tribune 9.24]
