Season-Opening Doubleheader Games Rank as Top Telecasts of the Night Across Cable and Broadcast
Last night’s special 2014 season-opening Monday Night Football doubleheader helped ESPN win the night among all networks – broadcast or cable – in households, viewers and all key male and adult demos. The MNF games ranked as the #1 and #2 telecasts of the night across cable and broadcast in those same categories.
The Lions’ 35-14 victory over the New York Giants (7 p.m. ET) averaged an 8.4 HH US rating, 9,809,000 households and 13,728,000 viewers (P2+), according to Nielsen. The telecast peaked from 9:45-10 p.m. with a 11.1 HH rating and 18,001,000 viewers.
In New York, the game delivered a 7.3 rating on ESPN and a 9.3 on WABC-ABC, for a combined 16.6 rating in the market. In Detroit, the game delivered a 10.3 rating on ESPN and a 20.3 on WXYZ-ABC, for a combined 30.6 rating in the market.
The top-10 metered markets outside of New York and Detroit included: Richmond-Petersburg (14.8), Norfolk (14.3), Las Vegas (14.1), Buffalo (12.9), Philadelphia (12.6), Charlotte (12.2), Minneapolis-St. Paul (11.3), San Diego (11.3), Baltimore (11.2) and Indianapolis (11.1).
In the second game (at 10:15 p.m.), the Arizona Cardinals’ 18-17 win over the San Diego Chargers earned a 7.1 rating with an average of 8,272,000 households and 11,515,000 viewers.
In San Diego, the nightcap delivered a 19.1ratingon ESPN and a 15.6 on KUSI-IND, for a combined 34.7 rating in the market. In Phoenix, the game delivered a 15.7 ratingon ESPN and an 11.3 on KTVK-IND, for a combined 27.0 rating.
The top-10 metered markets outside of San Diego and Phoenix included: Las Vegas (16.9), Sacramento (14.9), Seattle-Tacoma (12.1), New Orleans (11.8), Los Angeles (11.2), Denver (11.0), San Francisco (10.5), Portland, Ore. (9.4), Norfolk (9.2), and Richmond-Petersburg (9.0).
The ESPN MNF games finished as the two highest-rated telecasts of the night on any network, averaging a 7.8 US rating and 12,627,000 viewers. During the traditional MNF timeslot (8:15-11:30 p.m.), ESPN averaged a 9.6 US rating and 15,526,000 viewers.
NEXT WEEK ON MNF
Next week, ESPN’s MNF returns with Andrew Luck and the Indianapolis Colts hosting LeSean McCoy and the Philadelphia Eagles. Starting next week, ESPN’s weekly MNF telecast will begin at its new time – 8:15 p.m. ET, with kickoff scheduled for 8:30 p.m.
-30-
