The ESPN opening week Monday Night Football doubleheader did well for the network. The New York Giants at Detroit and San Diego at Arizona were the top two programs in primetime across cable and beat all broadcast offerings.
The first game, Giants-Lions secured an 8.4 rating with 13.7 million viewers. New York received a combined 16.6 rating through ESPN and WABC-TV. Detroit garnered a whopping 30.6 through ESPN and WXYZ-TV.
San Diego-Arizona saw a very good 7.1 rating and 11.5 million viewers.
Here’s the word from ESPN.
Monday Night Football Helps ESPN Win the Night among All Networks
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.
That is it.
