"Monday Night Football" Wins the Night Among All Networks

Broncos-Falcons Delivers 11.6 Rating and 15.5 Million Viewers

Last night's ESPN Monday Night Football game - an Atlanta Falcons' 27-21 victory over Peyton Manning and the Denver Broncos - helped ESPN win the night among all networks - broadcast or cable - in households, viewers and all key male and adult demos. Similarly, MNF led all television programs.

The game earned a 11.6 household coverage rating (10.0 US), representing an average of 11,411,000 households (15,514,000 viewers - P2+), the fourth largest audience among viewers (third among households) for any program on cable television in 2012, according to Nielsen.

ESPN's BCS National Championship Game (Alabama-LSU, 1/9/12) ranks as the most-viewed program of Nielsen's year (24,214,000 viewers), followed by the network's 2012 Rose Bowl (17,558,000 - Wisconsin-Oregon, 1/2/12) and ESPN's 2011 MNF season-finale (15,638,000 - Atlanta-New Orleans, 12/26/11).

In Denver, the game delivered a 18.9 rating on ESPN and a 21.4 rating on KTVD-IND, for a combined 40.3 in the market. In Atlanta, the game delivered a 12.5 rating on ESPN and a 16.3 rating on WSB-ABC, for a combined 28.8 in the market.

Through the first two weeks of the NFL season (three games), ESPN's MNF is averaging a 9.3 rating (8.1 US), 9,138,000 households and 12,410,000 viewers, virtually even with last season.

NEXT WEEK ON MNF

Next week, ESPN's MNF returns with the reigning NFL MVP Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers traveling to the Pacific Northwest to play rookie quarterback Russell Wilson and the Seattle Seahawks at 8:30 p.m. ET.