or


[09/13/22 - 03:53 PM]
ESPN's "Monday Night Football" Nabs Nearly 20 Million Viewers in Record-Setting Season Opener
ESPN delivered its most-watched game since 2009 and its third best Monday game in the current era (2006 - present and 270+ games) with 19,845,000 viewers.
[via press release from ESPN]

ESPN's "Monday Night Football" Nabs Nearly 20 Million Viewers in Record-Setting Season Opener

· Most-Watched Monday Night Football Game Since 2009 and Third-Best in ESPN Era

· Monday Night Football with Peyton and Eli Up 86% from 2021 Season Debut

· Sunday NFL Countdown Week 1 Audience Equals Best Since 2016

ESPN's delivered its most-watched Monday Night Football game since 2009 and its third best Monday game in the current era (2006 - present and 270+ games), as 19,845,000 viewers - across ESPN, ABC, ESPN2, ESPN+ and ESPN Deportes - turned in for the Seattle Seahawks' victory over the Denver Broncos in quarterback Russell Wilson's return (September 12, 8:15 p.m. ET).

The highly anticipated showdown, which marked the debut of Joe Buck and Troy Aikman in the Monday Night Football broadcast booth and began Lisa Salters' 11th season on the franchise's sideline, was easily ESPN's most-watched Week 1 game since it began airing Monday Night Football (32 games) and was up 16% from last year's record-setting Week 1 audience.

Factoring in all regular season games of ESPN's current era of NFL rights (2006 - present), last night's game is the fourth best on record:

Rank Date Game Viewership
1 Monday, Oct. 5, 2009 Minnesota at Green Bay 21,839,000
2 Monday, Nov. 30, 2009 New Orleans at New England 21,402,000
3 Saturday, Jan. 8, 2022 Dallas at Philadelphia 20,195,000
4 Monday, Sept.12, 2022 Denver at Seattle 19,845,000

Monday Night Football with Peyton and Eli garnered 1,502,000 viewers (on ESPN2 and ESPN+), a staggering 86% jump from their season debut last year (805,000 viewers). The alternate presentation adds to its record setting alternate telecast historical viewership, as it now accounts for all 10 of ESPN's 10 most-watched alternate telecasts (more than 80 since 2014).

Sunday NFL Countdown Generates Significant Audience Increase

Sunday NFL Countdown (Sept. 11, 10 a.m. - 1 p.m.) registered 1.6 million viewers for its Week 1 edition, matching the 2019 season as the most-watched Kickoff Week episode since 2016. The pre-game show was up 35% from 2021 Week 1 installments.

COMING UP: Monday Night Football - Two Games, One Night in Week 2

Monday Night Football in Week 2 will feature two games in one night, as Disney Networks present more than five hours of consecutive football action across ESPN and ABC. The night begins with Tennessee at Buffalo at 7:15 p.m. ET, airing on ESPN with Minnesota at Philadelphia kicking off at 8:30 p.m. on ABC. Joe Buck, Troy Aikman and Lisa Salters will call Vikings-Eagles, while Steve Levy, Dan Orlovsky, Louis Riddick and Laura Rutledge will call Titans-Bills. More on Monday's coverage plans later this week.

Viewership reported by Nielsen includes streaming audience across ESPN and NFL digital properties.

-30-





  [september 2022]  
S
M
T
W
T
F
S
    


· MONDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL (ESPN)




most recent ratings | view all posts
[03/04/26 - 04:36 PM]
"American Idol" Leads Monday Night - Powering ABC to Another Victory in Both Total Viewers and Adults 18-49
The show's strong performance lifted ABC to a Monday night win across broadcast and cable in both Total Viewers (4.32 million) and Adults 18-49 (0.36 rating).
[03/04/26 - 09:29 AM]
ABC Continues Multiplatform Success With Midseason Lineup
Season to date, ABC continues to dominate the competitive cross-platform landscape among broadcast series based in viewing over seven days on ABC, Hulu, Disney+ and digital platforms.
[03/03/26 - 03:30 PM]
ABC's Beloved Comedy "Scrubs" Returns with Over 11 Million Total Audience to Date
On linear over three days, "Scrubs" was the top comedy telecast among Adults 18-49 (0.74 rating) on any network (excluding post-NFL telecasts) in over a year.
[03/03/26 - 03:00 PM]
"Marshals" Premiere on CBS Is the Most-Watched New Scripted Debut Without a Football Lead-In Since 2018, with 9.5 Million Viewers
"Marshals," "Tracker" and "60 Minutes" are the top three series on television for the week.
[03/03/26 - 12:01 PM]
Netflix Top 10: Week of February 23 - "Bridgerton" Season 4 Lives Happily Ever After at No. 1 in This Week's Top 10
Coming in at No. 2 on the English TV list is Season 3 of "The Night Agent" with 9.9 million views.
[03/02/26 - 03:10 PM]
"Sheriff Country" Midseason Premiere Scores Its Most-Watched Episode and Is the #1 Show of the Night
5.30 million viewers on average tuned into the show's return on Friday.
[02/27/26 - 03:00 PM]
"Survivor 50" Premiere Wins the Night Posting CBS' Most-Watched Wednesday Since 2022
Said premiere averaged 5.06 million viewers, peaking with 6.18 million.
[02/26/26 - 02:19 PM]
"Live with Kelly and Mark" Soars to Season High with Best Audience in Over a Year
"Live" has now ranked as the No. 1 talk show in syndication for 157 consecutive weeks across all key measures.
[02/25/26 - 05:44 PM]
ABC Wins Monday Night as "American Idol" Dominates with Best Audience Since Season Premiere
In fact, "American Idol" scored its largest margin of victory ever in Total Viewers over "The Voice" during its nine-season run on ABC.

[02/25/26 - 03:35 PM]
"20/20: The Au Pair, The Affair and Murder" About a Twisted Love Triangle Delivers Best Adult 25-54 Performance in 10 Months and Strongest Delivery in Adults 18-49 in 11 Months
Hitting new season highs for the second straight week, "20/20" improved on the previous week in Adults 25-54 and Adults 18-49.
[02/25/26 - 02:46 PM]
ABC News Is No. 1 Broadcast Network for Coverage of the State of the Union, Beating NBC by 1.4 Million and CBS by 1.7 Million
Said coverage ranked No. 1 among the broadcast networks in all key target demos: Total Viewers (4.912 million), Adults 25-54 (1.125 million) and Adults 18-49 (886,000).
[02/24/26 - 01:48 PM]
Nearly 21 Million Viewers Watched NBCUniversal's Coverage of USA-Canada Olympic Men's Gold Medal Hockey Game, Peaking at 26 Million for Game-Winning Goal on NBC & Peacock
The USA-Canada gold-medal game delivered an average live audience of 18.6 million viewers on NBC and Peacock (8:15-11 a.m. ET).
[02/24/26 - 12:01 PM]
Netflix Top 10: Week of Feb. 16 - "Reality Check: Inside America's Next Top Model" Sashays to No. 1 in Top 10
Plus: Season 3 of "The Night Agent" took No. 2 on the English TV list with 8.4 million views.

[02/23/26 - 03:55 PM]
NBCUniversal's Presentation of Milan Cortina Olympics Dominates Media Landscape & Delivers Largest Winter Games Audience Since 2014
Sunday's Closing Ceremony provided a spectacular culmination as more than 215 million Americans (215.6 million through February 17) tuned in across NBCUniversal's platforms for "Legendary February."
[02/23/26 - 12:00 PM]
CBS Series Post Strong Fall Viewership, Topping Broadcast and Streaming Rankings in Live + 35-Day Multiplatform Viewership
The CBS fall lineup scored eight of the top 10 most-watched series among broadcast competition and nine of the top 20 most-watched series among all broadcast and streaming competition for this season's episodes airing through January 4, 2026.