ESPN earned an 8.5 overnight rating for the Steelers' last-second 24-20 win over the Chargers on "MNF," down 5% from a 9.0 overnight for Seahawks-Redskins in Week 5 last year. Steelers-Chargers saw competition from both the Cardinals-Cubs and Dodgers-Mets NLDS games. Last night's game drew a 35.9 local rating in Pittsburgh (11.3 on ESPN, 24.6 on WTAE-ABC), while San Diego drew a 33.9 overnight (8.4 on ESPN, 25.5 on KFMB-CBS). Steelers-Chargers peaked with a 10.2 rating between 11:30-11:45pm ET (Josh Carpenter, Staff Writer).
GOOD VIBRATIONS: In Michigan, James Schmehl reported Olympia Entertainment and WXYT-FM have reached a multiyear agreement that "will keep the Tigers and Red Wings" on the station and its extended radio network. WXYT has served as the flagship radio station for the teams since '01 (MLIVE.com, 10/12). In Detroit, Bill Shea reported as part of the deal, CBS-owned WWJ-AM will add a pair of hour-long shows "touting the Red Wings’ massive hockey arena project." One show, "Inside The Arena," is about the 20,000-seat venue set to open in '17, while "Inside District Detroit" will focus on "all things related to the expansion of 45-block mixed-use development anchored by the new arena" (CRAINSDETROIT.com, 10/12).
BIG WEEKEND: Big Ten Network on Saturday had its best total-day viewership on record in its 12-market footprint, as four teams ranked in the top 18 played on the net. Ohio State-Maryland aired in the 12:00pm ET window, while Northwestern-Michigan aired at 3:30pm and Michigan State-Rutrgers aired in primetime. All three games registered among the top-10 most viewed events on BTN2Go as well (BTN).
SNAP BACK: VARIETY's Andrew Wallenstein reported Snapchat is "laying off members of a team assigned to a channel on its Discover platform devoted to original programming, dubbed Snap Channel." There are "still plenty of content partners left on the Discover platform attracting ad dollars, including ESPN, Comedy Central, Vice and Cosmopolitan." Time will tell whether Snap Channel "will represent Snapchat’s final foray into original programming targeting the platform’s massive base of millennial users" (VARIETY.com, 10/12).
