ESPN’s ‘MNF’ Preseason Coverage Begins Tonight

Courtesy: ESPN

Monday Night Football launches its 2017 National Football League broadcast season tonight with a pre-season cross conference matchup.

ESPN’s flagship NFL program begins its 2017 broadcast season with a showdown between the Jacksonville Jaguars (AFC South) and Tampa Bay Buccaneers (NFC South).  The matchup is just one of the games on the schedule for the second week of the NFL’s 2017 preseason.

Jacksonville will look to add a second notch to its win column in the preseason after defeating the New England Patriots 31 – 24 in week 1.  The Bucs will look to bounce back and get its first win of the preseason after falling to the Cincinnati Bengals in week 1 23 – 12.

Sean McDonough will have the call for tonight’s game, which is set for 8 p.m. on ESPN and ESPN Deportes.  He will be joined in the booth by analyst Jon Gruden for additional commentary.  Reporter Lisa Salters will be on the sidelines for all of the latest in-game news and interviews.

Monday Night Countdown will set the stage for tonight’s game beginning at 7 p.m. ET with Suzy Kolber at the helm.  She will be joined by analysts Matt Hasselbeck, Randy Moss and Charles Woodson for additional commentary alongside NFL Insider Adam Schefter.

ESPN will also have full coverage of the preseason week 2 match between the New York Giants and Cleveland Browns Aug. 21. the Browns defeated the New Orleans Saints 20 – 14 in preseason week 1 while the Giants fell to the Pittsburgh Steelers 20 – 12 that week.

More information on ESPN’s NFL coverage is available online now along with all of the latest NFL news at:

 

 

 

Website: http://www.espn.com/nfl

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/NFLonESPN

Twitter: http://twitter.com/NFL_MNF

 

 

 

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Chargers, Steelers Go Under The Lights Next Week On MNF

Courtesy: ESPN

Next Monday night ESPN will feature an inter-divisional matchup between two AFC opponents on Monday Night Football.

Next week’s edition of Monday Night Football will feature an AFC inter-divisional matchup when the 2 – 2 San Diego Chargers host the Pittsburgh Steelers, who also currently sit at 2 – 2 so far on the season. Monday’s matchup between the Chargers and Steelers is sure to be a big one as both teams come into Monday night’s game on the heels of their own wins over the Browns and Ravens respectively. Both wins were by the slimmest of margins, too with Pittsburgh coming up short in overtime 23 – 20 while the Chargers edged the Browns 30 – 27 in regulation in a hard-fought back and forth battle between the AFC opponents. San Diego QB Phillip Rivers went 23 of 38 in the Chargers’ win, throwing for a total of 358 yards and three TDs while Cleveland’s Josh McCown was just as impressive throwing 32 of 41 for a total of 356 yards and two TDs. Looking at the Steelers’ matchup against the Ravens, Steelers QB Michael Vick outperformed Baltimore’s Joe Flacco completing 19 of 26 passes for a total of 124 yards and just 1 TD. By comparison Flacco completed 20 of 33 passes for a total of 189 yards but still finished the game with just 1 TD. The Chargers and Browns were almost as evenly matched carrying the ball. By the numbers this all means that Monday’s matchup between the Steelers and Chargers is bound to be a big one for both teams. Kickoff for Monday’s game is currently scheduled for 8:15pm ET. Mike Tirico and Jon Gruden will be in the booth for the call while Lisa Salters will also be on hand for additional commentary.

Ahead of Monday night’s broadcast, Suzy Kolber and Chris Berman will co-anchor Monday Night Countdown on ESPN. Suzy Kolber will be live in San Diego and will be joined by Trent Dilfer, Ray Lewis, and Steve Young while Berman will be live from ESPN’s studios. He will be joined by ESPN NFL analysts Cris Carter, Mike Ditka, Tom Jackson, Keyshawn Johnson, and ESPN Insiders Christ Mortensen and Adam Schefter. Mortensen and Schefter will look back at this Sunday’s games during the broadcast and look ahead to Monday night’s game, too. Monday’s game will be broadcast in Spanish on ESPN Deportes for the network’s Spanish-speaking viewers and will also be simulcast online via WatchESPN for those that won’t be near a television during the game’s broadcast. More information on ESPN’s upcoming MNF broadcast is available online now along with all of the latest NFL headlines at:

Website: http://espn.go.com/nfl/mnf

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/MNF

To keep up with the latest sports and entertainment news and reviews, go online to http://www.facebook.com/philspicks and “Like” it. Fans can always keep up with the latest sports and entertainment news and reviews in the Phil’s Picks blog at https://philspicks.wordpress.com.

ESPN’s MNF Wins Monday’s Ratings Race

Courtesy: ESPN

Monday Night Football brought in some big numbers for ESPN Monday night. The matchup of the Steelers and Texans helped the worldwide leader in sports essentially run the table. The network won the night among all networks in viewers, households, and all key male and adult demographics. It came in as the top broadcast of the night across cable and broadcast among those key male demos, as well as adults 18 – 34 and 18 – 49.

Monday night’s matchup between the Steelers and Texans averaged an 8.1 household U.S. rating. That equals to 9,483,000 households and 13,275,000 viewers (P2+) according to Nielsen. The broadcast peaked from 9:45 – 10pm ET with a 9.1 rating and 15,124,000 viewers.

The battle between the AFC foes pulled in a 14.3 rating on ESPN and a 13.0 on KIAH-CW for a combined 27.3 rating for that market. Pittsburgh viewers pushed the game to a 10.8 rating on ESPN and a 27.8 on WTAE-ABC for a combined 3805 rating in the Pitttsburgh market. In Baltimore, home of the Steelers’ AFC North divisional foes the Ravens, Monday night’s broadcast pulled in a 12.1. Fellow AFC markets Indianapolis and Jacksonville brought in a 10.6 and 10.5 respectively. In the bigger picture of the nation’s top ten metered markets, Las Vegas brought in the highest ratings with a 15.1. It was followed by Sacramento and San Diego. Both pulled in a 12.2 rating. It brought in an 11.0 with San Antonio and Richmond bringing in a 10.8 and 10.7 respectively.

Monday Night Football is averaging an 8.3 household U.S. rating through the first seven weeks of the season for ESPN. That is the equivalent of 9,618,000 households and 13,355,000 viewers.

The numbers or ESPN’s digital broadcast of Monday night’s matchup between the Steelers and Texans was impressive in its own right. Monday’s game reached 313,000 unique visitors on WatchESPN. That is an increase of 87 percent compared to week 7 from last season. It logged 21.5 million minutes viewed. That is an increase of 76 percent from the same time last year. It had an average minute audience of 106,000. That, too is an increase of 76 percent. These combined numbers drove ESPN as the most social network for the seventh straight Monday. Additionally they pushed Monday Night Football to the position of the most social program for the day.

Spanish-speaking audiences helped push Monday night’s game to the top, too. Monday night’s game between the Steelers and Texans averaged a 0.4 average Hispanic household U.S. rating. That is the equivalent of 66,000 Hispanic Household impressions. This is an increase of fourteen percent over the same time last year. It brought in 86,000 Hispanic P2+ impressions. So far this season, ESPN Deportes is averaging a 0.4 Hispanic Household rating. That is a one hundred percent gain, with 59,000 Hispanic Household Impressions and 87,000 Hispanic P2+ impressions. That are increases of 73 percent and 85 percent respectively.

Next week on ESPN’s Monday Night Football, Tony Romo and the Dallas Cowboys host the Washington Redskins. Kickoff for that game is scheduled for 8:30 pm ET. It will mark the sixteenth time that the NFC East rivals will face off on Monday night. That is second only to the Raiders and Broncos, who have faced one another seventeen times in the forty-five year history of ESPN’s Monday Night Football.

More information on ESPN’s Monday Night Football, its 2014 broadcast schedule and more is available online at:

Website: http://espn.go.com/nfl/mnf

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/MNF

To keep up with the latest sports and entertainment news and reviews, go online to http://www.facebook.com/philspicks and “Like” it. Fans can always keep up with the latest sports and entertainment news and reviews in the Phil’s Picks blog at https://philspicks.wordpress.com.