With Hurricane Sandy making landfall and causing power outages in major television markets, “Monday Night Football” unsurprisingly slumped on ESPN.
The Week 8 49ers/Cardinals “Monday Night Football” game drew a 6.8 U.S. rating and 10.721 million viewers on ESPN, down 14% in ratings and 11% in viewership from Chargers/Chiefs last year (7.9, 12.032M), and down 8% and 10%, respectively, from Texans/Colts in 2010 (7.4, 11.911M).
The 6.8 rating matched the second-lowest of the season for “Monday Night Football.” Only Lions/Bears in Week 7, which aired opposite the third presidential debate and Game 7 of the NLCS, drew a lower rating (6.6).
49ers/Cardinals was the third “MNF” telecast of the season to earn less than a 7.0 U.S. rating — matching last year’s full season total.
Among adults 18-49, Monday’s game drew a 4.3 rating — down 9% from last year (4.7), and a season-low in the demo.
Ratings/Viewership For “Monday Night Football”
Through Week 8
| WK # | Date | Away | Home | Net | Rating | Viewers (000) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mon., 9/10/12 | Bengals | Ravens | ESPN |
7.0
|
10,904
|
| Chargers | Raiders | ESPN |
6.8
|
10,450
|
||
| 2 | Mon., 9/17/12 | Broncos | Falcons | ESPN |
10.0
|
15,514
|
| 3 | Mon., 9/24/12 | Packers | Seahawks | ESPN |
10.3
|
16,167
|
| 4 | Mon., 10/1/12 | Bears | Cowboys | ESPN |
10.5
|
16,616
|
| 5 | Mon., 10/8/12 | Texans | Jets | ESPN |
9.0
|
14,047
|
| 6 | Mon., 10/15/12 | Broncos | Chargers | ESPN |
8.2
|
12,841
|
| 7 | Mon., 10/22/12 | Lions | Bears | ESPN |
6.6
|
10,664
|
| 8 | Mon., 10/29/12 | Niners | Cardinals | ESPN |
6.8
|
10,721
|
(Monday’s numbers from ESPN, with additional information from The Futon Critic)
