or


[12/28/06 - 10:26 AM]
Monday Night Football: Most-Watched Series in Cable Television History
The 17 games averaged 12.325 million viewers and are the biggest 17 household audiences for cable television in 2006.

[via press release from ESPN]

MONDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL: MOST-WATCHED SERIES IN CABLE TELEVISION HISTORY

ESPN.COM AVERAGES 24 MILLION PAGE VIEWS ON MONDAYS, UP 52% FROM 2005; MNF: CABLE�S BIGGEST 17 HH AUDIENCES OF 2006, NINE OF TOP 10 ALL-TIME; APPORXIMATELY 9.6 MILLION TV HOMES WEEKLY, INCLUDING OVER-THE-AIR AUDIENCE

ESPN�s inaugural season of Monday Night Football was the most-watched series in cable television history. The 17 games averaged 9,109,000 homes (12,325,000 P2+), based on a 9.9 rating, and are the biggest 17 household audiences for cable television in 2006. The accompanying �Monday Night Surround� content on ESPN.com sparked an increase of Monday traffic to the site of 52%.

�ESPN�s Monday Night Football greatly exceeded all expectations. Our commitment to present MNF as never before served our fans and lifted every aspect of ESPN�s business. Credit goes to the hundreds of employees who made it work week after week,� said George Bodenheimer, president, ESPN and ABC Sports.

MNF on TV

MNF now occupies nine of the top 10 spots on the list of cable�s biggest household audiences ever (excludes breaking news), including the new #1, the October 23 New York Giants at Dallas Cowboys game (11,807,000 homes, based on a 12.8 rating). Nine games drew larger audiences than ESPN�s previous all-time best, 8,927,000 homes (Detroit at Miami, December 25, 1994).

MNF averaged a 9.9 rating and 9,109,000 homes (12,325,000 P2+), increases of 39%, 43% and 41%, respectively, compared to last year�s ESPN Sunday Night Football (7.1 rating, 6.388 million homes, 8.735 million viewers).

Each MNF game was simulcast on local over-the-air channels in the local markets of the competing teams, boosting ESPN�s audience to an estimated average of 9,600,000 households. This would represent over a 10.0 rating on ESPN. The total also includes those viewing in high definition on ESPN HD.

Other highlights for the 2006 NFL season:

� ESPN led all networks � cable or broadcast � in delivery of all key male demos on Mondays in primetime: men 18+, men 18-34, men 18-49 and men 25-54.

� Four times, ESPN was the most-watched network � cable or broadcast � in primetime on Monday.

� ESPN led all cable networks in overall household delivery in primetime (an average of 2,427,000 households throughout the week).

� More than 109 million people tuned into Monday Night Football on ESPN at some point in the season.

� For the last 18 consecutive weeks, ESPN has led all cable networks in delivery of adult men on a total-day basis (since the week of August 21), as well as men 18-54.

� Since MNF started, ESPN�s 24-hour audience on Sundays and Mondays is up 23% compared to the same period last year. The network has averaged 1,488,000 homes this year on those two days, compared to 1,209,000 in 2005.

ESPN�s NFL Studio Shows Strong:

� The household audience for Monday Night Countdown is up 23% (from 1,749,000 homes to 2,155,000)

� Sunday NFL Countdown is up 5% (from 1,945,000 to 2,042,000)

� The weekday NFL Live show has seen a 22% rise in viewership (from 443,000 to 542,000).

�Monday Night Surround� on ESPN.com

Online, ESPN.com�s NFL and "Monday Night Surround" content viewed on computers and wireless devices generated an average of 24 million page views on Mondays, up 52% over page views last year according to Web measurement tool HitBox.





  [december 2006]  
S
M
T
W
T
F
S
     


· MONDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL (ABC)
· SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL (NBC)





[09/09/26 - 03:52 PM]
"College GameDay" Wins Week 1 With Top-Three Regular Season Show on Record
Coverage of Clemson/LSU was the top Saturday game of Week 1.

[09/09/26 - 03:30 PM]
ESPN's US Open Coverage Is Most-Viewed Since 2022 Through Third Round
The full-tournament average so far is up 5% over 2025 and the most viewed since 2022, the year of Serena Williams' final match before her return this year.

[09/09/26 - 01:01 PM]
Star-Studded Lineup Set to Present at the 78th Emmy Awards, Sept. 14 on NBC and Peacock
They'll join host Emmy Award-winning actor, director, producer and television icon Mariska Hargitay.

[09/09/26 - 12:09 PM]
ESPN to Exclusively Televise MLB Doubleheader on September 23 Featuring Matchups with Postseason Implications
Look for Cleveland Guardians/Boston Red Sox and Houston Astros/Seattle Mariners on said date.

[09/09/26 - 12:01 PM]
Top 10 Most-Watched Prime Original Films & Series for the Week of August 31
"Reacher," "Sterling Point," "Off Campus," "The Grand Tour," and "The Traitors" led all original series worldwide.

[09/09/26 - 11:51 AM]
BYUtv's "Big Stories" Returns for Fourth Season Featuring NFL Legends and Untold Stories from Across the Big 12
Each 7-to 10-minute episode will be available to stream for free alongside each game on the BYUtv app and at BYUtv.org.

[09/09/26 - 10:52 AM]
Lifetime Announces New Original Documentary "Kimora Lee: On Her Own" Premiering September 20
Model, businesswoman and mother, Kimora Lee, tells her story through candid interviews with her children, family, friends and collaborators to chronicle her extraordinary journey from one of Karl Lagerfeld's youngest Chanel models to the visionary behind Baby Phat.

[09/09/26 - 10:15 AM]
Michael Kelly Joins Season Three of the Paramount+ Hit Series "Landman"
Kelly will star as William Crockett, the leader of the largest oil management firm in the world.

[09/09/26 - 10:01 AM]
Host Jane Krakowski and New Bandleader Robin Thicke Set the Stage for an All-New Season of "Celebrity Name That Tune"
Ice-T and Tony Hawk face off in the season premiere on Monday, September 21.

[09/09/26 - 10:00 AM]
"Saturday Night Live" to Premiere 52nd Season Sept. 26 on NBC and Peacock
Jalen Brunson, Dakota Johnson, Shane Gillis, and Inde Navarrette are the first wave of hosts.

[09/09/26 - 10:00 AM]
Prime Video Announces 2026 New York Comic Con Programming
"Blade Runner 2099," "Bloodaxe," and "Helluva Boss" are the featured projects.

[09/09/26 - 09:19 AM]
Johnny Knoxville and the Gang Make One Final Raucous Return for "Jackass: Best and Last," Streaming on Paramount+ September 24
Grab your buddies, raise your glasses and experience the cinematic event that promises to be the last time you'll ever laugh this hard.

[09/09/26 - 09:16 AM]
New Dating Series Will Discover If Singles Can Fall in "Love at First Sight"
Do you believe you could see someone and know instantly that they're the one?

[09/09/26 - 09:07 AM]
Nirvana to Receive Video Vanguard Award During "2026 MTV Video Music Awards" Airing Live Sept. 27 on CBS
On this date in 1992 (9/9/92), Nirvana took to the "VMAs" stage for the first time - shaping music, culture and MTV forever.

[09/09/26 - 09:05 AM]
"Ghost Adventures" Returns with Chilling All-New Season - Wednesday, September 30 on Discovery Channel
Navigating abandoned frontier towns, centuries-old landmarks and historic estates, investigators Zak Bagans, Aaron Goodwin, Jay Wasley and Billy Tolley delve into the shadows of America's turbulent past in pursuit of restless dark forces wreaking havoc on the living.