MNF is No. 1 Show on Monday as ESPN Wins the Night for Fifth Straight Week

NFL Record-Setting Night for Saints QB Drew Brees Averages 10.6 Million Viewers

Last night’s Monday Night Football game (8:15-11:30 p.m. ET) – which featured New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees breaking Peyton Manning’s all-time NFL passing yards record in a 43-19 victory over the Washington Redskins – averaged 10.6 million viewers across ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPN Deportes, according to Nielsen. ESPN won the night among all networks, broadcast or cable, in households, viewers and all key male and adult demos (18-34, 18-49, 25-54). Redskins-Saints was also the highest-rated telecast of the night across all broadcast and cable networks among those same categories.

Through the first five weeks of the NFL season, MNF has helped ESPN win the night all five Mondays. For the second straight week, the MNF audience has had a year-over-year increase from 2017 (10.4 million viewers, Vikings-Bears in week 5).

• On ESPN, Redskins-Saints averaged a 6.3 US household rating and 10.5 million viewers. The telecast peaked from 9:15-9:30 p.m. ET with an 8.0 US household rating and 13.4 million viewers.
• On ESPN2 and ESPN Deportes, Redskins-Saints averaged an additional 89,000 viewers.

Local markets: In Washington D.C., the game delivered an 8.9 rating on ESPN and an 11.7 rating on WJLA-ABC, for a combined 20.6 rating in the market. In New Orleans, the game delivered a 16.5 rating on ESPN and a 37.0 rating on WDSU-NBC, for a combined 53.5 rating in the market. Redskins-Saints on ESPN is the highest-rated MNF game in New Orleans since 2014 (Saints-Bears delivered a 16.7 rating on ESPN).

The top metered markets (not including those of the competing teams): Richmond-Petersburg (14.5), Norfolk (13.9), Kansas City (9.6), Dallas-Ft. Worth (9.5), Baltimore and Denver (9.2), Charlotte and Dayton (8.8), Minneapolis-St. Paul (8.7), Buffalo, Los Angeles and Seattle-Tacoma (8.6).

Week 6 on ESPN’s MNF:

Aaron Rodgers and the Packers host the San Francisco 49ers at historic Lambeau Field in Green Bay during the 100th season of Packers football (Oct. 15 at 8:15 p.m. ET).

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