When it comes to the NFL’s ratings slide this year, Monday Night Football has been forced to take the brunt of it.
For several years now, ESPN has arguably been getting the least bang for their buck among the NFL’s television partners. The network pays an ungodly $1.9 billion annually for their NFL package, about a billion dollars more than any of the other networks have to shell out to the shield. The cost for NBC’s Sunday Night Football package or even what Fox and CBS pay for their NFC and AFC packages is closer to the billion dollar mark.
Now sure, ESPN’s deal includes rights to show highlights and broadcast other programming that fills their 24/7 schedule demands. But with the advent of Thursday Night Football, what was once the NFL’s premiere primetime property has now fallen to a third or fourth tier game each week. And unlike Sunday Night Football, the lack of flex games ensure MNF runs the risk of having some late-season clunkers every year with no playoff implications.
Ratings for Monday Night Football this season have been Buttfumble ugly. Just how bad has it been? According to the New York Times, overall ratings are down 17% this season. And amazingly, it took until Week 12 for MNF to see its first ratings increase versus last year.
After 11 weeks of ratings declines, finally this week’s Packers-Eagles game saw a lift. It scored an 8.9 overnight rating according to Sports Media Watch, up 20% versus last season. Certainly the national draw of the Packers, even with a sub-.500 record, helps matters. Of course, there is a caveat…. last year’s comparable game involved the Browns as they took on the Ravens.
Over the last four weeks viewership levels dropped by 17% in Week 11, 12% in Week 10, 2% in Week 9, and 16% in Week 8. Incredibly, those numbers are good news for the franchise compared to what they were pulling earlier in the season. Monday Night Football saw its lowest two audiences ever (one at least thanks to going up against a presidential debate) and three out of its bottom ten all-time in the first weeks of the season.
Things should hopefully continue to get better for Monday Night Football in the last month of the season as they’re fortunate this year to have most of their games mean something. Once we get past this week’s unattractive Jets-Colts matchup (yay for Ryan Fitzpatrick in primetime!) MNF finishes the season with Ravens-Patriots, Panthers-Redskins, and Lions-Cowboys. ESPN is thanking their lucky stars that they get a late-season Cowboys game that will mean something with the team flying high.
We will see just how much at all the late-season matchups boost Monday Night Football’s overall numbers this year and just how much they can mitigate the severe declines we’ve seen throughout 2016. Soon, the attention will turn to 2017 to see what the NFL and ESPN can do to help lift the most expensive sports franchise on television.
