‘Monday Night Football’ Ratings Rise On Eve Of Midterms; ‘The Voice’ Powers NBC – Update

UPDATED with broadcast ratings results: It looked a little tense for a while, but then the Tennessee Titans kicked into gear and left the Dallas Cowboys in the dust with a 28-14 victory on Monday Night Football, on the eve of the most anticipated midterm election in recent history.

Led by quarterback Marcus Mariota, the visiting Titans broke their recent losing streak and helped get them back in contention in the AFC South. And then there was this cherry on top when it was all over:

They didn’t get a ball directly from the winning QB, but with America perhaps needing to get its collective head out of politics for a little bit, the NFL and ESPN are likely pretty happy with the way things turned out Monday night too. Topping all of Monday’s primetime on both cable and broadcast, last night’s MNF scored an 8.3 metered market result, according to Nielsen. That’s a rare double win for the league and the Disney-owned sports cabler.

Among the Big 4 and the CW on Monday, NBC scored its own double-win, taking overall viewers and the demo thanks to its two-hour The Voice (1.8 rating in the 18-49 demo, 8.98 million viewers), on par with last week and the night’s most-watched and highest-rated entertainment show.

ABC’s two-hour Dancing With the Stars (1.1, 7.83M) finished No. 2 in viewers outside the NFL, up two-tenths from last week, topped in the demo only by the network’s own The Good Doctor (1.3, 7.55M), up three-tenths. Both shows are expected to adjust down thanks to football preemptions.

On a night of several ratings dents, NBC’s Manifest (1.3, 6.33) at 10 PM was off a tenth from its last episode two weeks ago to his a season low. Also hitting a season low: Fox’s 9-1-1 (1.2, 5.57M) at 9 PM. Still, the procedural beat its time-slot mates Magnum P.I. (0.8, 5.21M) on CBS, which was flat, and the CW’s DC’s Legends of Tomorrow (0.3, 870,000), that latter losing some viewership from its lead-in Arrow (0.3, 1.07M). Both CW shows were down a tenth. CBS’ Bull (0.8, 6.38M) at 10 PM was also even with last week.

ABC was second in both overall metrics in the early numbers, while Fox was third in the demo pushed along by The Resident (1.0, 4.97M), which was even with last week. CBS was third in total viewers offering its comedies The Neighborhood (0.8, 5.76M), off a tenth to a season low, and Happy Together (0.8, 4.20M), flat with its week-ago number.

As for last night’s MNF is up 5% in the first round of ratings over last week’s game, when the New England Patriots beat the Buffalo Bills 25-6. Then there’s the fact that last night’s MNF, which peaked with a 9.1 in the 9-9:30 PM ET slot, topped last year’s comparable Green Bay-Detroit game of November 6, 2017 by almost 10% in the metered markets.

That game, won by the Lions, went on to draw 11.09 million viewers with a 3.8 rating among adults 18-49. Providing a good indication where things might settle for last night’s game, last week’s MNF ended up with an audience of 10.8 million and a 3.5 rating.

Now, get out on the democracy field and vote today.

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