ESPN earned an 11.3 overnight Nielsen rating for last night’s Bears-Lions “MNF” telecast, down 7.4% from a 12.2 rating for Vikings-Jets in Week Five last year. The game marks the sixth straight “MNF” game this season to see a ratings decline. In Detroit, the Lions’ first primetime home game since October '01 earned a 10.7 local rating on ESPN and a 25.7 rating on WXYZ-TV. In Chicago, the game earned an 18.7 rating on ESPN and a 13.3 rating on WCIU-TV. The schedule does not do ESPN any favors, as the next three games do not include a matchup of two teams with winning records playing each other (Austin Karp, THE DAILY).
| ESPN "MNF" UPCOMING GAMES |
| DATE | AWAY TEAM (RECORD) | HOME TEAM (RECORD) |
| 10/17 | Dolphins (0-4) | Jets (2-3) |
| 10/24 | Ravens (3-1) | Jaguars (1-4) |
| 10/31 | Chargers (4-1) | Chiefs (2-3) |
| | | |
NEW FAMILIAR VOICE: In Detroit, Steve Schrader notes Pro Football HOFer Barry Sanders "did a nice job" in the taped opening for last night's game "in MNF's post-Hank Williams Jr. era." While ESPN "showed clips of Detroit scenes -- kind of reminiscent of Chrysler's Super Bowl commercial, without the Eminem soundtrack -- and the Lions, Sanders did the voice-over." Sanders' vocal track featured the lines, "Right now for the Lions, life is good. But like this town, they won't rest. They'll work, they'll sweat, they'll fight" (DETROIT FREE PRESS, 10/11)." WWJ-CBS’ Tony Ortiz wrote on his Twitter feed, “The Barry Sanders/MNF opening gave me chills. Very well done by ESPN.” ESPN Radio 1050 N.Y.’s Bonnie Bernstein wrote, “@BarrySanders narrating ESPN's open for #MNF: Simple. Powerful. Classy. #HankWho.” SI’s Richard Deitsch wrote, “Attention, Jay Rothman and Norby Williamson. Everyone is saying this. RT @judybattista Much better opening, MNF” (TWITTER.com, 10/10). Meanwhile, THE DAILY recently spoke with ESPN VP/Communications Mike Soltys about the net's decision to drop Williams from the broadcast.
TRIP DOWN MEMORY LANE: The intro to ESPN’s “PTI” yesterday afternoon featured Michael Wilbon saying to Tony Kornheiser, “In Detroit for Bears-Lions. Tony, you ever been to ‘Monday Night Football?’” Kornheiser, who was in the “MNF” booth for three seasons from '06-08, said, “Too soon.” Wilbon replied, “It’s been like three years, come on now!” Kornheiser: “In the three years that I did ‘Monday Night Football,’ the Detroit Lions were the only team that we never had. Not home, not away, never had them.” Wilbon asked, “One quick note: Were you before or after that Dennis guy, that comedian?” Kornheiser: “It’s hard for me to recall. It’s all fuzzy. It’s like the ‘60s” (“PTI,” ESPN, 10/10).
BECOMING BILINGUAL: In L.A., Joe Flint cited a source as saying that the NFL is "considering creating a Spanish-language version of its RedZone channel." Although the plans are "still in the early discussion stages, the NFL has become very aggressive in courting Hispanic viewers." Most cable operators offer NFL RedZone "on a specialty tier along with other sports networks." The NFL does not "say how many homes the channel is available in, but it is offered by most Multichannel video program distributors" (LATIMES.com, 10/10).
