ESPN's Monday Night Football Wins the Night in Key Male and Adult Demos

MNF Inducted into B&C's Hall of Fame Tonight -- First Sports Franchise Honored

Last night, ESPN's Monday Night Football game the Denver Broncos staying undefeated at 6-0 with a 34-23 road victory over the San Diego Chargers earned a 9.6 rating, representing an average of 9,536,000 households (13,471,000 viewers P2+). MNF led all the night's programs (broadcast or cable) in all key male demos, plus P18-34 and P18-49, and it is the sixth most-viewed program on cable television in 2009, surpassed only by other MNF telecasts.

For 2009, the seven MNF telecasts represent cable's seven biggest audiences in terms of both household impressions and total viewers. Through six weeks (seven games) of the NFL season, ESPN's MNF is averaging a 10.9 rating and 10,804,000 households (15,000,000 P2+), up 18%, 20% and 20%, respectively, from last season.

Online Usage

ESPN.com had 98.2 million page views to NFL content accessed via computers and mobile devices for Monday through Tuesday at noon -- up 29% from the comparable time period last year. Specifically, page views for the NFL section on computers and mobile were up 28% from last year. Additionally, ESPN.com streamed 3.6 million NFL related videos -- up 57% from last year.

Monday Night Football -- First Sports Franchise Honored by Broadcasting & Cable Hall of Fame

Tonight in New York, Monday Night Football will become the first sports franchise recognized by the Broadcast & Cable Hall of Fame at the 19th Annual Hall of Fame Awards Dinner. The premier industry event that pays tribute to the pioneers, innovators and stars of the electronic arts will present this prestigious honor to MNF, which is celebrating its 40th season as one of America's greatest and longest-running television franchises. ESPN President George Bodenheimer will accept the award, joined by MNF broadcasting legend and Pro Football Hall of Famer Frank Gifford and current MNF play-by-play voice Mike Tirico. Many of those who have contributed to the success of MNF in the past four decades will also be in attendance. The Hall of Fame event will be hosted by Brian Williams of NBC Nightly News. Last year's B&C series honoree was CBS's 60 Minutes, which celebrated its 40th anniversary in 2008.

NEXT WEEK ON MNF

Next week's MNF matchup on ESPN pits NFC East rivals when the Philadelphia Eagles visit the Washington Redskins at 8:30 p.m. ET. ESPN's game around the game coverage begins at 3:30 p.m. with NFL Live and continues throughout the afternoon.