As the Streaming Era Looms, Disney Learns Lessons From ‘Monday Night Football’ Ratings

After two weeks of disappointing ratings, Monday Night Football returned to form this week. The primetime matchup between the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Kansas City Chiefs attracted over 20 million viewers and returned ESPN’s flagship broadcast to the top of the ratings heap.

Last week, ESPN’s Monday Night Football broadcast was edged out by the World Series matchup between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the New York Yankees. According to Pro Football Talk, the World Series game topped the football broadcast 13.6 million viewers to 13.4 million viewers.

Photo: Sporting News

A Ratings Roller Coaster

For the Worldwide Leader in Sports, Monday Night Football has been a mixed bag this year. Overall, ratings have been strong.

Monday Night Football. Photo: ESPN

Two weeks ago, however, Disney’s decision to air the game between the Los Angeles Chargers and Arizona Cardinals as an unmitigated disaster drew an abysmal 1.8 million viewers.

A New Era Is on the Horizon

As ESPN prepares to enter its streaming era with the launch of Flagship next year, it will need to lean on live sporting events such as Monday Night Football.

ESPN

Over the last few weeks, we have seen the impact that the distribution method has on viewership. In stark contrast to the ESPN+ debacle, Disney’s decision to simulcast this week’s Monday Night Football game across ABC, ESPN, and ESPN2 once again proved to be successful.

Photo: GETTY IMAGES FOR ESPN

In an ever-changing media landscape, ESPN will have to navigate distribution carefully. Luckily, the network seems to be learning lessons and remaining flexible.