The Patriots' 30-23 win over the Ravens last night drew a 9.1 overnight rating, which is tied for the best "MNF" figure this season to date and marks the best Week 14 matchup for ESPN since '13. Ravens-Patriots is tied with Giants-Vikings (Week 4) and Steelers-Redskins (Week 1) as the top overnights for "MNF" this season to date. ESPN still has Lions-Cowboys in Week 16. Ravens-Patriots also is up from an 8.7 overnight for Giants-Dolphins in Week 14 last year and up from a 9.0 for Falcons-Packers in '14. The Week 14 Cowboys-Bears matchup in '13 drew an 11.0 overnight. Last night's telecast peaked at a 10.5 overnight from 9:30-9:45pm ET and should deliver ESPN a primetime win among all networks. Boston led all markets with a 34.7 local rating (9.3 on ESPN, 22.9 on WCVB-ABC, 2.5 on WMUR-ABC), followed by Baltimore with a 34.2 local rating (11.5 on ESPN, 22.7 on WBAL-NBC). Rounding out the top five markets were Providence (22.6), Norfolk (15.1) and Hartford (14.8) (Austin Karp, Assistant Managing Editor).
NOT THAT IMPRESSED: In Baltimore, David Zurawik writes, "I forgot how annoying Jon Gruden can be, because like a lot of fans, I have not been watching ESPN’s 'Monday Night Football' that much this year." While ESPN "did a solid broadcast" last night, there was "nothing special about it." ESPN play-by-play announcer Sean McDonough "keeps his focus on the field and does not try to be an entertainer." Zurawik: "There is no hot dog in McDonough, and that’s a good thing." ESPN also now has "a lot of bells and whistles in its pre-game and halftime shows," Zurawik: "But it mostly seemed like the same old, same old stuff that I started tuning out this year on more and more Mondays." Maybe in the case of "MNF," one of the factors is as "simple as ESPN not offering a very compelling telecast" (Baltimore SUN, 12/13).
A TALE OF TWO PACKAGES: AD AGE's Anthony Crupi wrote NBC appears to have "gotten the better part of the deal with audience turnout" for its inaugural five-game "TNF" package. Through three games in Weeks 11, 13, and 14, NBC and NFL Network have combined to average 17.5 million viewers for "TNF," up from CBS' five-game average of 14.7 million viewers for games in Weeks 2, 3, 5, 6 and 7. NBC "undoubtedly has been the beneficiary of a stronger-than-usual selection of match-ups and, more to the point, the participation of the NFL's ratings saviors," the Cowboys. While the net was given a boost by Raiders-Chiefs last Thursday (17.4 million viewers), NBC's luck "may be about to run out," as the net's final two "TNF" telecasts feature Rams-Seahawks and Giants-Eagles, and "neither of these games will put up Cowboy-sized numbers" (ADAGE.com, 12/12).
