While the game was a 32-7 blowout and not as close as the score indicated, ESPN still received very good numbers for Monday Night’s Chicago-San Francisco matchup.
Overall, ESPN received a 7.9 final rating which is up slightly from last year’s Week 11 game between Kansas City and New England which had a 7.8 rating. Viewership was up also, 12.47 million viewers for Monday’s game as compared to 12.344 million last year.
And for the local markets, Chicago had a combined 24.4 rating and San Francisco saw a combined 21.1.
We have the official press release from ESPN.
ESPN and Monday Night Football Win the Night among All Key Male and Adult Demos
Bears-49ers Delivers 9.2 Rating and 12,472,000 Million Viewers
Last night’s ESPN Monday Night Football game – a San Francisco 49ers’ 32-7 win over the Chicago Bears – won the night among all television programs on broadcast or cable in all key male and adult demos. Similarly, ESPN led all television networks in those same categories.
The telecast delivered a 9.2 household coverage rating (7.9 US), representing an average of 9,067,000 households (12,472,000 million viewers – P2+), according to Nielsen. It peaked between 9:45–10 p.m. ET with a 11.2 coverage rating.
In Chicago, the game delivered a 14.5 rating on ESPN and a 9.9 rating on WCIU-IND, for a combined 24.4 rating in the market. In San Francisco, the game delivered a 8.2 rating on ESPN and a 12.9 rating on KPIX-CBS, for a combined 21.1 rating in the market. The top-10 metered markets (not including primary home team markets): Sacramento (19.5), Las Vegas (19.5), Milwaukee (15.8), New Orleans (14.7), Phoenix (12.2), Norfolk-Portsmouth-Newport News (12.1), Richmond (11.7), San Diego (11.5), Denver (11.2) and Baltimore (11.2).
Through the first 11 weeks of the NFL season (12 games), MNF is averaging a 9.7 household coverage rating (8.3 US), 9,505,000 households and 13,042,000 viewers, down slightly from the same point last season
ESPN Digital Platforms
ESPN also saw significant traffic across its digital platforms on Sunday and Monday:
- ESPN.com NFL section – An average minute audience of 29,000, a 26 percent increase from last year, reaching 3.4 million unique visitors
- ESPN.com Fantasy Football section – An average minute audience of 54,000, a 33 percent gain, reaching 2.6 million unique visitors
- ESPN mobile Web NFL section – An average minute audience of 44,000, up 72 percent, reaching 3.3 million unique visitors.
ESPN Deportes
ESPN Deportes’ Spanish language telecast of the Bears-49ers game delivered a 0.7 Hispanic household coverage rating with 38,000 Hispanic household impressions (58,000 Hispanic viewers – P2+). For the season, MNF on ESPN Deportes (12 telecasts) is averaging a 0.7 Hispanic household coverage rating with 38,000 Hispanic household impressions (59,000 Hispanic viewers – P2+). Ratings are up 17 percent over 2011, while viewership (P2+) is up 37 percent.Panthers-Eagles on MNF Next Week
ESPN’s MNF returns with a matchup of NFC teams as the Philadelphia Eagles host Cam Newton and the Carolina Panthers on November 26 at 8:30 p.m.
That’s it.
