Just when some industry observers were beginning to think that it couldn’t get any worse for the NFL’s primetime ratings this year, it gets much, much worse.
The NFL served up the Texans and the Ravens on the week 12 edition of Monday Night Football, and NFL viewers seem to have resoundingly said, “No thank you.”
The MNF clash between Houston and Baltimore drew only a 6.0 in metered markets. That makes it the lowest rated MNF contest of the year for the NFL and ESPN. It also makes President Trump’s Tuesday morning Twitter shot at the league, incredibly well-timed and accurate:
The Week 12 debacle represents a 17 percent decline from last week’s edition of MNF, which saw a the Seahawks edge the Falcons 34-31.
According to Deadline Hollywood, “To add more context, last night’s MNF dipped 2% from the previous season low of the October 16 matchup between the winning Tennessee Titans and the Indianapolis Colts. Not sure a lot of that had to do with the Supergirl start of the latest Arrowverse crossover on the CW, if you know what I mean.
“For instance, looking back over a year, the drop between last night’s MNF and the comparable one of November 28, 2016 is harsh. Ravens-Texans fell 33% in MM ratings from the Green Bay Packers’ 27-13 win over the Philadelphia Eagles a year ago. (It might be added that the 2016 MNF also faced a Supergirl start to the DC heroes crossover of that year, and that the Packers and the Eagles have much greater national appeal.) Overall, that Week 12 game of last season saw a 4.2 rating in the key demo and 13.06 million viewers.”
All this said, ESPN still won primetime last night. Though, with NFL ratings hitting newer and lower lows, one wonders how long that will continue.
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