ESPN last night drew a 6.5 overnight rating for the Buccaneers' 17-14 win over the Panthers, marking the lowest-rated Week 5 "MNF" telecast for the net since it acquired the package prior to the '06 season. The 6.5 is above the record-low 5.7 overnight for Falcons-Saints in Week 3, which went up against the first Clinton-Trump debate. Bucs-Panthers is down 24% from an 8.5 rating for the Steelers' last-second win over the Chargers in Week 5 last year, and down from a 9.0 for Seahawks-Redskins in '14. Week 5 "MNF" telecasts in recent years have had competition from MLB Postseason games, and Bucs-Panthers last night went up against Indians-Red Sox ALDS Game 3 and Cubs-Giants NLDS Game 3. All games last night were without the Orlando-Daytona and Raleigh-Durham markets due to the aftermath of Hurricane Matthew. Bucs-Panthers peaked at the end of the game from 11:15-11:30pm ET with a 7.5 overnight. In Charlotte, the game drew a 24.6 local rating (9.5 on ESPN, 15.1 on WSOC-ABC), while in Tampa-St. Petersburg, the game drew a 16.1 (9.9 on ESPN, 6.2 on WWOR-WB). Rounding out the top five markets were Greensboro (14.4), New Orleans (13.0) and Greenville-Spartanburg (10.6) (Austin Karp, Assistant Managing Editor).
LOCAL LOVE: In Green Bay, Richard Ryman writes under the header, "Packers Fans Choose To Watch Game Over Debate." The Milwaukee market drew a 43.7 local rating for NBC's Giants-Packers "SNF" matchup up against the second presidential debate, a figure that is "at normal levels in Wisconsin" (GREEN BAY PRESS-GAZETTE, 10/11). Meanwhile, in Miami, Barry Jackson writes the Dolphins have played five games and "each one has had a lower local TV rating that the previous one." Sunday's Titans-Dolphins game drew a 12.5 local rating in the Miami-Ft. Lauderdale market, marking the "lowest in memory in South Florida" (MIAMI HERALD, 10/11).
PUTTING BASEBALL ON THE BENCH: Boston-based WBZ-CBS drew a 35.5 local rating for the Patriots-Browns game on Sunday, marking the Patriots' highest-rated non-primetime game of the season to date (WBZ). In Boston, Chad Finn noted Pats-Browns on Sunday afternoon beat out Sunday night's debate. Meanwhile, the Red Sox' loss to the Indians in Game 1 of the ALDS on Thursday was the "second-highest rated show in Boston this past week," earning a 16.0 local rating on TBS. But that is less than half of the Patriots' local audience earlier in the day (BOSTONGLOBE.com, 10/10). In DC, Dan Steinberg noted Sunday afternoon was a "sports jubilee" in DC, as the Redskins and Nationals played "two crucial games at the very same time." Preliminary figures "show that an average of something like 740,000 viewers" watched Fox' Redskins-Ravens broadcast in the DC market, while 135,000 watched Nationals-Dodgers NLDS Game 2 on FS1. Something to note is that the Nationals game was "rescheduled hastily and may not have even been on TV guides" (WASHINGTONPOST.com, 10/10).
BROADENING THEIR HORIZONS: In N.Y., Mike Isaac writes "despite the drama" surrounding Twitter's pending sale, "there is a bright spot" for company execs. The company’s focus on live efforts, "however nascent, are beginning to bear some fruit." Sources said that one measure that is "on the rise is Twitter’s logged-out live stream viewers -- that is, people who watched the live streamed NFL game who do not hold Twitter accounts -- accounting for about 15 percent of total viewership of the company’s first handful of NFL games." Isaac writes that "syncs with Twitter’s overall thesis that its platform extends beyond those who hold Twitter accounts" (N.Y. TIMES, 10/11).
