Facing the baseball playoffs, Monday Night Football scored its lowest overnight rating of the season.
The Steelers/Chargers Monday Night Football game drew an 8.5 overnight rating on ESPN, down 6% from Seahawks/Washington last year (9.0) and down a tick from Jets/Falcons in 2013 (8.6). The 8.5 is the lowest for MNF in Week 5 of the season since at least 2008.
The Steelers’ win ranks as the lowest rated MNF telecast of the season in the metered markets (six telecasts). Three of the six MNF windows this season have had a decline in overnights, with each of those three hitting a multi-year low.
Coverage aired opposite the MLB Postseason on TBS, which averaged a 3.5 overnight for a doubleheader.
ESPN’s telecast earned an 11.3 rating in Pittsburgh and an 8.4 in San Diego. The game was simulcast on local affiliates in both markets, drawing a 24.6 on Pittsburgh ABC affiliate WTAE and a 25.5 on San Diego CBS affiliate KFMB. Las Vegas was the top neutral market (15.1), followed by Denver (12.9), Cleveland and Norfolk, VA (12.6 in both).
(Mon. numbers from ESPN)
