ESPN drew a 9.0 overnight rating for the Packers' 43-37 win over the Falcons on "MNF" last night from 8:15-11:45pm ET, down 18% from an 11.0 overnight for Cowboys-Bears in Week 14 last year. Last night's game peaked at a 10.6 rating from 9:15-9:30pm, as the Packers held a 31-7 lead at halftime. In Milwaukee, the game drew a 50.2 local rating (16.9 on ESPN, 33.3 on WISN-ABC). The game also drew a 19.7 in Atlanta (9.8 on ESPN, 9.8 pm WSB-ABC). Las Vegas (17.1), New Orleans (14.5) and Denver (12.2) rounded out the top five markts for last night's telecast (Austin Karp, Assistant Managing Editor). SPORTING NEWS' Dane Carbaugh noted ESPN's Suzy Kolber and the rest of the "Monday Night Countdown" crew "made a moving gesture in support of show host Stuart Scott" prior to last night's game while promoting the net's ongoing Jimmy V Week. A "teary-eyed" Kolber "gave a short speech before signing off and handing the game over to Mike Tirico and Jon Gruden" Scott is "battling cancer for the third time" (SPORTINGNEWS.com, 12/8).
LOCAL RATINGS: In Nashville, Mike Organ reports local TV ratings for the Titans "have plunged to the lowest in 15 years." WTVF-CBS Program & Research Dir Mark Binda said that Sunday's loss to the Giants, which put the team at 2-11, "earned a 17.1 and the week before against the Texans earned a 16.9." That "brought the average local rating through 13 games to 21.3, which is the lowest" since the '99 season, when the average rating was 19.9. The current average rating "is 3.7 points below last year's full season average of 25.0" (Nashville TENNESSEAN, 12/9)....In Seattle, Bob Condotta wrote the "only thing more consistent the Seahawks' defense right now are the local TV ratings" for the team's games. Sunday’s 24-14 win over the Eagles scored a 44.4 local rating in the Seattle-Tacoma market. That figure "ranks among the higher ratings ... of the season." The win over the Giants on Nov. 9 "remains the highest-rated game of the year at 45.9" (SEATTLETIMES.com, 12/8).
