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For the second straight week, Monday Night Football racked up big ratings gains compared to 2019 — this time without the help of a broadcast network.
A marquee contest between the Kansas City Chiefs and Baltimore Ravens delivered 14.02 million viewers for ESPN Monday, a 36 percent gain over the same week last year (10.33 million). After a soft start for its season-opening doubleheader, Monday Night Football has been up by at least 30 percent in each of the past two weeks. The Sept. 21 game, which marked the 50th anniversary of the franchise, was simulcast on ABC, which helped boost the audience to 15.44 million people. Monday’s telecast rose on the strength of the matchup, even if Kansas City was never seriously threatened in coasting to a 34-20 win.
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The game also scored a 4.6 rating among adults 18-49, more than double the number for anything else in primetime.
ABC’s Dancing With the Stars led the broadcast networks in both the 18-49 demographic (1.1, even with last week) and total viewers (6.87 million, up from 6.09 million). The premiere of unscripted series Emergency Call followed with a 0.6 and 3.88 million viewers. Fox’s L.A.’s Finest (0.4, 2.42 million) and Filthy Rich (0.3, 2.14 million) and CBS’ Manhunt: Deadly Games (0.2, 1.38 million) all came down from their premieres last week. (L.A.’s Finest and Manhunt are both on loan from Spectrum Originals.)
The deciding game of the NHL Stanley Cup Finals on NBC scored a high for the series with 2.88 million viewers and a 0.8 in adults 18-49. The series, however, delivered its lowest average audience (2.03 million) since 2007, taking place four months after it was originally scheduled.
Following football, Fox News’ Tucker Carlson Tonight was the most watched show on cable Monday with just above 5 million viewers. WWE Monday Night Raw led the 18-49 rankings on cable (outside of ESPN’s NFL programming), averaging a 0.55 over its three hours on USA.
Bookmark THR.com/Ratings for more ratings news and numbers.
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