Awful Announcing
The only higher-viewed regular-season game ever on ESPN was Lakers-Rockets in 2003, the first game between Shaquille O'Neal and Yao Ming.
The AFC Championship, in particular, was a low point for the NFL's otherwise solid season in the ratings book.
ESPN's initial MegaCast audience this year was 25,588,000 viewers, 308,000 ahead of last year's.
A few of the games weren't close, but the numbers were still solid.
15 million viewers through the first three nights is a very big deal for ABC.
The NFL's impressive ratings recovery this year continued in the wild card round.
Houston's 22-19 overtime victory over the Bills averaged 26,409,000 viewers across ABC, ESPN, and ESPN Deportes.
It could be a bit bittersweet for CBS executives, but they're certainly at least happy with the Saturday night numbers.
There weren't any playoff games on New Year's Day this year, but some other bowls like the Rose and Citrus drew good numbers.
Ohio State averaged 5.43 million viewers per game this year (for games where we have viewership data), while Clemson averaged 3.25 million. So the idea of an ESPN conspiracy to favor Clemson over Ohio State feels particularly stupid.
Clemson-Ohio State drew 21.2 million viewers, up nine percent from last year's late-night semi.
Monday Night Football posted gains for the second consecutive year, and it remains ESPN (and cable's) most-watched series.
“I’m not surprised that our ratings are down thus far. I'm not concerned, either."
The loss comes as Francesa steps back to a half-hour starting in 2020.
