MNF tops SNF in first week of expanded ABC coverage

The following article " MNF tops SNF in first week of expanded ABC coverage " originally appeared on Sports Media Watch .

The first of six additional ABC simulcasts lifted Monday Night Football past an unusually soft edition of Sunday Night Football .

The latest edition of Monday Night Football (Bills-Jets) averaged 17.3 million viewers across ESPN, ESPN2 and ABC, down from Cowboys-Chargers last year (19.64M) but still the second-largest Week 6 MNF audience since ESPN began airing the series in 2006. (Going back further, it delivered the second-largest Week 6 audience since Buccaneers-Vikings in 2000.)

The Bills’ narrow win delivered the largest MNF audience since Week 1, topping both of the cable-exclusive windows this season in Week 2 (Falcons-Eagles: 15.00M) and Week 5 (Saints-Chiefs: 15.91M). (The two other weeks featured a split-doubleheader on ABC and ESPN.)

For the first time this season, Monday Night Football outdrew its Sunday night counterpart. NBC averaged a 7.9 and 15.44 million for Bengals-Giants, marking the lowest rated and least-watched edition of SNF since the 2020 season.

Both New York-heavy games faced competition from the city’s Major League Baseball teams — the Mets on Sunday and the Yankees on Monday — but SNF had the taller task of facing a Mets-Dodgers Game 1 that aired on broadcast television (FOX) and had a direct lead-in from the NFL national window.

Speaking of, national window coverage featuring the Lions’ rout of the Cowboys averaged an 11.6 and 24.06 million on FOX — down 10% and 8% respectively from coverage featuring Eagles-Jets last year (12.8, 26.09M), but nonetheless the top audience of the week.

Shifting to the early afternoon windows, CBS drew an 8.2 and 16.77 million for its singleheader window — up 22% in ratings and 26% in viewership from coverage featuring Seahawks-Bengals last year (6.8, 13.31M) — and FOX drew a 6.2 and 12.05 million for the first half of its doubleheader, down 14% and 13% respectively from a year ago.

Rounding out the Week 6 slate, the Jaguars-Bears International Series game from London averaged a 2.4 and 4.63 million on NFL Network — actually up a tick and 8% respectively from Ravens-Titans a year ago.

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