Odell Beckham Jr.'s return to N.Y. and MetLife Stadium was likely a big draw nationallyGETTY IMAGES
The upstart Browns’ presence likely aided ESPN to an increase in overnight ratings for “MNF” in Week 2. Last night’s Browns-Jets game drew an 8.8 overnight rating on ESPN, up 7% from an 8.2 last year for Seahawks-Bears, which marked an all-time low. Two years ago, ESPN drew an 8.7 overnight in Week 2 for Giants-Lions. Last night’s game, which also featured Odell Beckham Jr.’s return to MetLife Stadium, peaked at a 10.2 rating between 9:30-9:45pm ET. Cleveland led all markets for the game with a 40.4 local rating (13.2 on ESPN, 27.2 on WKYC-NBC), while N.Y. drew a combined 10.5 (6.9 on ESPN, 3.6 on WPIX-CW) (Josh Carpenter, THE DAILY). ESPN.com's Jake Trotter noted the Oklahoma City market (11.1 rating) "delivered a better rating" for the game than N.Y., likely due to the popularity of Browns and former Oklahoma QB Baker Mayfield (TWITTER.com, 9/17).
RATINGS NOTES: In Chicago, Phil Rosenthal noted Sunday's Bears-Broncos game generated a 26.6 local rating, which "translates to almost 865,000 Chicago-area TV homes." Nearly 992,000 Chicago-area homes were "tuned in as the Broncos seized a one-point lead with 31 seconds left" only to have the Bears "steal the victory" (CHICAGO TRIBUNE, 9/16). Meanwhile, the Falcons’ victory over the Eagles on NBC’s “SNF" posted a 22.3 rating in Atlanta. That figure "equals an audience of about 522,000 local homes" (ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION, 9/16).
