ABC's season premiere of "'MNF' scored its best
opening-week numbers in three years," according to Tom
Bierbaum of DAILY VARIETY. The Dolphins-Broncos game, which
earned a 16.1/27 rating, also earned a "solid" 9% increase
over last year's Patriots-Broncos season-opener. The
Dolphins-Broncos game averaged a 10.3/29 in adults 18-49
(DAILY VARIETY, 9/15). ABC Sports Dir of PR Mark Mandel, on
the ratings improvement: "Post-Labor Day was a factor, but
there is good reason to believe that the move back to the 9
p.m. (ET) start helped us" (USA TODAY, 9/15). In Boston,
Jim Baker writes that ABC's Boomer Esiason "demonstrated
there's plenty of room for his improvement" following the
"MNF" broadcast. Baker criticizes Esiason for "heaping
praise on [Broncos QB] Brian Griese way too prematurely."
However, Baker adds that Al Michaels, "free from having to
share the mike with two analysts, barked a strong call" and
Lesley Visser "had one of her better efforts chatting with
the elder Griese" (BOSTON HERALD, 9/15). In Denver, Dusty
Sanders reports that the game earned a 48.2/66 rating and a
26.0/36 rating in Miami (ROCKY MOUNTAIN NEWS, 9/15).
NOTES: ESPN's telecast of Sunday's Steelers-Browns game
earned a 9.57 rating, up 34% over last year's season opener,
which earned a 7.14. The game was seen in an average of
7.372 million homes, up 38% compared to last year's opener
averaging 5.346 million homes (ESPN). ESPN's "NFL
Primetime" lead-in to the game pulled in 4.1 million HHs
(HOLLY. REPORTER, 9/15)....Fox Sports Senior VP/Media
Relations Vince Wladika, on Fox's "disappointing" 13.5
national rating for Sunday's Vikings-Falcons game: "We made
an error in running a national commercial on the late game
before the Dallas-Washington audience joined it." The error
resulted in the game "being rated while 70% of the USA
wasn't tuned in" right away (USA TODAY, 9/15). In Atlanta,
the game earned a 26.6 local rating (CONSTITUTION, 9/15).
