Despite Tom Brady's second worst loss as a pro, ESPN still managed to ring up its second-largest Monday Night Football telecast of the season.
The worldiwide leader's presentation of the Kansas City Chiefs' 41-14 throttling of the New England Patriots averaged an 8.8 household rating, 10.2 million households and 14.4 million watchers, according to Nielsen data. The telecast peaked in the 9:30 quarter hour with a 10.2 rating and over 17 million viewers. During the second half, coach Bill Belichick benched Brady (pictured) after a series of turnovers.
The Sept. 29 telecast, which ranked only behind the 14.9 million who saw the Philadelphia Eagles beat the Indianapolis Colts in the waning moments of MNF on Sept. 15, helped ESPN win the night among all networks in households, viewers and all key male and adult demos. The game ranked as the top telecast of the night across cable and broadcast among the key male demos, as well as adults 18-34 and 18-49.
The Patriots-Chiefs game averaged an 8.8 household US rating, representing 10,219,000 households and 14,426,000 viewers (P2+), according to Nielsen. It peaked from 9:30-9:45 p.m. with a 10.2 rating and 17,012,000 viewers.
In the Boston DMA, the telecast delivered a 9.7 rating on ESPN, and a 1.8 on WMUR-ABC and 18.7 on WCVB-ABC, for a combined 30.1 rating. In Kansas City, the contest delivered a 13.9 rating on ESPN and a 29.8 on KMBC-ABC, for a combined 43.7 rating in the market
Through the first four weeks and five games, ESPN’s MNF has averaged an 8.4 household US rating; 9.75 million households and almost 13.6 million viewers.
