ESPN finished with a combined 8.2 U.S. Nielsen rating and 13.0 million viewers for its two opening "MNF" games this year, down 5% in both rating and viewership from last year's opening doubleheader last year, which averaged an 8.6 rating and 13.6 million viewers. The two games were the highest-rated programs for the night on any net. In the early window, Patriots-Dolphins earned a 9.1 rating and 14.6 million viewers, down 3% for both metrics compared to Ravens-Jets last year. The audience was still large enough to mark ESPN's second-best opening "MNF" telecast since it acquired rights prior to the '06 season. In the late window, Raiders-Broncos earned a 7.1 rating and 11.1 million viewers, down 7% in both metrics compared to Chargers-Chiefs last year (THE DAILY).
CELEBRATE GOOD TIMES: In Detroit, Nick Meyer cites sources as saying Fox' coverage plan for Saturday's Tigers-A's game "is being discussed and options are being explored." The Tigers could clinch the AL Central title on Saturday, and the 4:00pm ET start time "falls within Fox’s exclusive window for its national game of the week.” There is “precedent for Fox to play nice and waive" the local blackout for big games. The network waived the local blackout in North Texas last season "when the Rangers clinched their division” (DETROIT FREE PRESS, 9/14).
READY OR NOT ... In Winnipeg, Ross Romaniuk reports it "appears far from a sure thing that Winnipeg subscribers to MTS TV and Shaw Communications will score the new TSN Jets cable vision channel to watch their NHL team’s action.” MTS Allstream is “continuing to negotiate with TSN owner Bell Media in hopes of working out a service agreement to offer the specialty channel to its digital TV customers.” However, slow progress has brought “no deal to secure the more than 60 televised Jets games.” The delay between MTS and Shaw reportedly stems "from Bell Media’s asking prices that they find too costly” (WINNIPEG SUN, 9/14).
GATOR IN HOT WATER: Former Univ. of Florida football coach Urban Meyer is slated to call Saturday's Auburn-Clemson game on ABC, but in Birmingham, Kevin Scarbinsky writes Meyer "has no business working an Auburn game." It presents a "conflict of interest," since Meyer "can’t escape his history with the Auburn program, and that history isn’t exactly defined by mutual respect.” Scarbinsky notes before the scandal surrounding former Auburn QB Cam Newton's father, Cecil, broke last fall, Meyer reportedly "had vowed on a three-way call with his protégé, Mississippi State coach Dan Mullen, and former Mississippi State quarterback John Bond to tell it” to the N.Y. Times and ESPN (BIRMINGHAM NEWS, 9/14).
TAKING THE BUS: USA TODAY’s Michael Hiestand reported CBS analyst Gary Danielson will travel between games on the new "SEC on CBS Cruiser," and he will "use it as a rolling TV studio." The bus, "with a giant photo of Danielson on its side, whill travel to CBS’ SEC games and be used for TV pregame shows and post-game online shows.” Hiestand added, "And, of course, used to create plenty of Twitter” (USATODAY.com, 9/13).
