‘Monday Night Football’ Ratings Fall To Season Low As Texans Top Titans

Deadline

It was a good night for the Houston Texans on Monday Night Football as the Lone Star state team took down the Tennessee Titans 34-17 to be in sight of the AFC South title.

Coming just after the death of Texans owner Bob McNair on November 23, that perch to be is in no small part due to the efforts of quarterback Deshaun Watson:

However, similar to the Titans who have to win their next five games to achieve a playoff place, last night was no ratings touchdown for ESPN and the NFL.

Scoring a 7.0 in metered market results, the primetime match-up between the Texans and the Titans was a season low for MNF.

While up 17% in the early metrics from the comparable Baltimore Ravens win over the Texans on November 27, 2017, last night’s MNF was down a harsh 38% from last week’s tremendous and history making LA Rams and Kansas City Chiefs battle in the City of Angels.

Last week’s MNF went on to earn a 5.5 rating among adults 18-49 and 16.6 million viewers. The MNF of November 27 last year had a 2.7 rating and an audience of 8.3 million, a season low at the time.

Shaking up the league’s increasing confidence that the ratings train wreck of last season was finally off its back, the Texans’ victory last night was also down 4% in metered market ratings from the previous MNF season low of the New Orleans Saints and Washington Redskins game of October 8.

Still, there is a slender silver lining in that MNF remains the top show of the night on both broadcast and cable. Last night’s game will likely deliver an overall victory to the Disney-owned sports giant up against an almost full night on the Big 4 and the CW.

The Texans v. Titans game peaked with an 8.2 MM rating, according to Nielsen, in the 9:30 – 9:45 PM ET time slot.

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