The new Monday Night Football broadcast team debuted in front of one of the smallest Week 1 audiences on record.
Rams-Raiders scored a 5.9 rating and 9.6 million viewers in the second half of ESPN’s Week 1 Monday Night Football doubleheader, down a tick in ratings and 3% in viewership from last year (Chargers-Broncos: 6.0, 9.9M) and down 5% and 6% respectively from 2016 (Rams-49ers: 6.2, 10.3M).
Los Angeles’ win, which peaked at a 7.5 and 12.5 million from 10:45-11 PM ET, tied the lowest Week 1 MNF rating on record. It matched 49ers-Cardinals in the same late night window 11 years ago.
Including the 102,000 viewers who watched the game on ESPN2 and ESPN Deportes, the game’s audience of 9.71 million was the smallest in Week 1 since 2008 (Broncos-Raiders: 9.67M).
Overall, Rams-Raiders tied the second-lowest Week 1 NFL rating — on any network — since at least 2000 (120 telecasts). A 2008 FOX regional window had a 5.1. It ranks as the sixth-least watched Week 1 window over that span.
Earlier in the night, Jets-Lions had a 6.2 and 10.3 million — down 9% in both measures from last year (Saints-Vikings: 6.8, 11.4M) and down 19% and 20% respectively from 2016 (Pittsburgh-Washington: 7.7, 13.0M). The game had 10.4 million with ESPN2 and ESPN Deportes included.
The Jets’ easy win, which peaked at a 7.6 and 12.8 million from 9:30-9:45 PM ET, tied the fourth-lowest Week 1 MNF rating on record. It also posted the series’ fifth-smallest Week 1 audience.
In adults 18-49, Jets-Lions had a 3.8 rating (-10%) and Rams-Raiders a 3.7 (-6%). In adults 18-34, both games had a 3.1 — down 14% and 6% respectively from last year (3.6; 3.3).
The ESPN broadcast of Jets-Lions had an 8.7 rating in Detroit and a 7.7 in New York City, with local over-the-air simulcasts earning a 16.7 on WXYZ-ABC in Detroit and a 5.0 on Channel 11 in New York. Rams-Raiders drew a 10.1 in Los Angeles and a 9.9 in the Bay Area on ESPN, with local simulcasts netting a 6.6 on KABC in L.A. and a 9.2 on KGO-ABC in the Bay Area.
The full list of Week 1 NFL ratings is available here.
Lowest Week 1 NFL Ratings, Viewership (2001-Present)
| Lowest Rated | Least-Watched | ||||||||
| # | YEAR | GAME | RTG | NET | # | YEAR | GAME | VWRS | NET |
| 1 | 2008 | Regional | 5.1 | FOX | 1 | 2008 | Regional | 7.88M | FOX |
| 2 | 2018 | LAR-OAK | 5.9 | ESPN | 2 | 2007 | SF-ARIZ | 8.50M | ESPN |
| 2007 | SF-ARIZ | 5.9 | ESPN | 3 | 2001 | MIA-TEN | 9.30M | ESPN | |
| 4 | 2017 | LAC-DEN | 6.0 | ESPN | 4 | 2004 | Regional | 9.57M | FOX |
| 5 | 2018 | NYJ-DET | 6.2 | ESPN | 5 | 2018 | LAR-OAK | 9.61M | ESPN |
| 2016 | LAR-SF | 6.2 | ESPN | 6 | 2008 | DEN-OAK | 9.67M | ESPN | |
| 2001 | MIA-TEN | 6.2 | ESPN | 7 | 2003 | Regional | 9.92M | FOX | |
| 8 | 2007 | Regional | 6.5 | FOX | 8 | 2017 | LAC-DEN | 9.95M | ESPN |
| 2004 | Regional | 6.5 | FOX | 9 | 2004 | KC-DEN | 10.09M | ESPN | |
| 10 | 2017 | Regional | 6.6 | FOX | 10 | 2007 | Regional | 10.12M | FOX |
[Numbers from ESPN]
