Ratings Roundup: ESPN's Monday Night Football Nabs Nearly 20 Million Viewers, Alabama-Texas is 2022's Most-Watched CFB Game on Any Network By SVG Staff
Thursday, September 15, 2022 - 10:05 pm
Print This Story | Subscribe
Story Highlights
Ratings Roundup is a rundown of recent rating news and is derived from press releases and reports around the industry. In this week's edition, ESPN's Monday Night Football Nabs Nearly 20 Million Viewers and Alabama-Texas is 2022's Most-Watched CFB Game on Any Network.
ESPN's Monday Night Football Nabs Nearly 20 Million Viewers in Record-Setting Season Opener
ESPN's delivered its most-watched Monday Night Football game since 2009 and its third best Monday game in the current era (2006 - present and 270 games), as 19,845,000 viewers - across ESPN, ABC, ESPN2, ESPN and ESPN Deportes - turned in for the Seattle Seahawks' victory over the Denver Broncos in quarterback Russell Wilson's return (September 12, 8:15 p.m. ET).
The highly anticipated showdown, which marked the debut of Joe Buck and Troy Aikman in the Monday Night Football broadcast booth and began Lisa Salters' 11th season on the franchise's sideline, was easily ESPN's most-watched Week 1 game since it began airing Monday Night Football (32 games) and was up 16% from last year's record-setting Week 1 audience.
Alabama-Texas is 2022's Most-Watched CFB Game on Any Network
NASCAR Ratings Info Kansas
NASCAR Cup Series - The event at Kansas earned a 1.10 rating on USA, with an average of 1.90 million viewers tuned in
NASCAR ranked as the #2 sport of the day on cable
Rating up 3% (1.07, Richmond on Saturday night) and viewership up 5% (1.9 million) over the 2021 event on NBCSN
Viewership peaked with 2.1 million viewers tuned in
2022 Is Most-watched NTT Indycar Series Season In Six Years And Most-watched Across NBC Sports On Record
NBC Sports' 2022 coverage of the NTT INDYCAR SERIES delivered the most-watched INDYCAR season in six years (since 2016) and NBC Sports' most-watched season on record, an increase of 5% compared to 2021.
The 2022 NTT INDYCAR SERIES season, capped off by Will Power winning his second-career series championship, averaged a Total Audience Delivery (TAD) of 1.30 million viewers across NBC, USA Network, Peacock and NBC Sports digital platforms, marking the most-watched season for the INDYCAR SERIES since 2016 (1.31 million viewers, NBCSN TAD/ABC TV-only) and ranking as the best in NBC Sports history, up 5% vs. last year's then-record viewership (1.24 million viewers, NBC/NBCSN). TAD is based on data from Nielsen and Adobe Analytics.
Half of the season's 16 races on television delivered a TAD of more than 1 million viewers, the highest mark since 2008. The inaugural race of 2022, the Grand Prix of St. Petersburg on Feb. 27, stands as the most-watched season-opener in 11 years with a TAD of 1.44 million viewers (St. Pete, 2011, 1.84 million, ABC) and the most-watched non-Indianapolis 500 INDYCAR race in 11 years.
An All-Time Record-Setting Weekend for ESPN Digital
ESPN Digital achieved its best day of all time on Sunday, September 11, and its third best day ever on Saturday, September 10, fueled by a huge weekend in sports that included ESPN coverage of the NFL, college football, US Open Tennis, UFC 279, WNBA Finals, LaLiga and Bundesliga soccer, Formula 1, ESPN Fantasy Football, and more.
On Sunday, ESPN Digital platforms, including ESPN.com, the ESPN App and the ESPN Fantasy App, were up 8% over the same Sunday in 2021, while Saturday was up 17% over the equivalent day last year. (Source: Adobe Analytics)
Saturday also marked the third most-viewed day of all time on ESPN , which followed the most-viewed day ever for ESPN on Saturday, September 3.
The ESPN App and the ESPN Fantasy App also set all-time records.
The ESPN App recorded its two best days ever over the weekend, reaching an all-time high on Saturday with 13.1 million unique fans, followed by its second most ever on Sunday with 12.6 million, up 14% and 18%, respectively, over the equivalent days last year.
With 9.2 million unique visitors on Sunday, September 11, the ESPN Fantasy App had its best day ever, beating its previous high set just three days prior (8.3 million on Thursday, September 8) and exceeding last year's NFL opening Sunday by 1.1 million.
US Open Audience up 50% from 2021, ESPN's Third Best Ever
The 2022 US Open on ESPN averaged 1.21 million viewers over the two weeks and nearly 168 hours of wall-to-wall live coverage, up 50% from last year and the third-best for ESPN since it gained exclusivity for the last of tennis' four Majors each year in 2015. The audience was boosted during the first week by the widespread attention to Serena Williams - who was featured three times in prime time plus in a doubles match with her sister Venus - who most believe was playing her final tournament and in the second week by matches with Frances Tiafoe, Coco Gauff and eventual men's champion, Carlos Alcaraz. (See individual match viewership notes below.)
The semifinal between Alcaraz and Tiafoe on Friday, Sept. 9, averaged 2.96 million viewers - peaking at 3.6 million - for the five-plus hour telecast that started at 7 p.m. ET. That is up 66% from the equivalent telecast in 2021 and ranks as ESPN's ninth biggest tennis audience on record. It is also ESPN's sixth best from the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows, N.Y. (coverage began in 2009). It is ESPN's biggest tennis audience for a match from a Major event that did not include the legends of the last 20 years - Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Serena Williams. Not only is it the only semifinal in ESPN's top 10 tennis audiences, but when combined with the afternoon semifinal, Casper
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
04/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
04/07/2026
April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...
01/06/2026
January 6 2026, 05:30 (PST) Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026
Throughout the week, Dolby brings to life the latest innovatio...
13/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
13/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
13/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
13/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
13/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
13/05/2026
Creative software developer Foundry today announced the latest developments on Nuke Stage. A purpose-built application for end-to-end virtual production and in-...
12/05/2026
Beyond the Hype: A Strategic Post-Hoc Analysis of NAB 2026 If NAB Show 2026 had an underlying theme, it was a quiet, industry-wide pivot from the high-energy sp...
12/05/2026
Guntermann and Drunck (G&D), a Panoptec Technologies Group company, and CT Square, led by Chandresh Shah, have announced a joint venture to distribute G&D and V...
12/05/2026
With 30 days until the start of the FIFA World Cup 2026, Telemundo, the exclusive Spanish-language home of the tournament in the United States, has announced th...
12/05/2026
The NHL has announced the return of Stanley Pup for its third consecutive year, a 90-minute special featuring adoptable rescue dogs competing on a miniature rin...
12/05/2026
NBCUniversal presented its 2026 Upfront to advertisers at Radio City Music Hall, detailing upcoming programming across NBC, Peacock, Bravo, and Versant properti...
12/05/2026
FOX Sports has announced funding for the Fandom and Social Connection Initiative at Harvard Kennedy School's Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics, and Publ...
12/05/2026
TNDV and Live Media, both divisions of Live Media Group, supported live broadcast coverage around NCAA Final Four weekend in Indianapolis, including the March M...
12/05/2026
The European Football Alliance (EFA) has announced a content distribution agreement with Fubo Sports Network, the free ad-supported streaming TV (FAST) channel ...
12/05/2026
For the first time, Spanish-speaking fans in the U.S. will have two separate tel...
12/05/2026
CP Communications led a comprehensive spectrum management initiative on behalf of Churchill Downs during Kentucky Derby week, coordinating RF assets across the ...
12/05/2026
LiveU has announced a strategic partnership with DRONERESPONDERS, a 501(c)3 non-...
12/05/2026
Open Broadcast Systems has announced that BMC TV, a specialist in IP transport of broadcast content, has selected the Open Broadcast Systems 5G Flyaway solution...
12/05/2026
NEP Europe, part of NEP Group, has announced it will deliver broadcast solutions...
12/05/2026
Grass Valley has announced continued collaboration with Ravensbourne University ...
12/05/2026
Stats Perform has announced the launch of Opta Pulse, an AI-assisted video creation and distribution platform for leagues, rights holders, and broadcasters. The...
12/05/2026
FOX Sports has announced a collaboration with Sesame Workshop to integrate Sesame Street characters into FOX Sports' FIFA World Cup 2026 programming. Conten...
12/05/2026
To date, NHL Productions has produced 19 broadcasts with commentary in American Sign Language
NHL in ASL (American Sign Language) may be just one show, but the...
12/05/2026
Google's Brian Albert: creators, athletes, highlights, nostalgia, second-scr...
12/05/2026
A still from Past Lives by Celine Song, an official selection of the Premieres program at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival. (Courtesy of Sundance Institute | p...
12/05/2026
Spotify is where fans and artists come together, turning discovery into somethin...
12/05/2026
Features patented Marco-MMC clocking technology
Black Lion Audio's latest release combines the company's expertise in clocking with their renowned p...
12/05/2026
New Track Panel, sequencer upgrades & more
Following their recent public beta release, Reason Studios have announced the full release of Reason 14. With the...
12/05/2026
One month to go! SBS reveals expansive FIFA World Cup 2026 lineup beyond the pi...
12/05/2026
Rohde & Schwarz presents its advanced solutions for power electronics testing at...
12/05/2026
aconnic AG (ISIN: DE000A0LBKW6), Munich, has developed a modified fund raising p...
12/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/05/2026
Tyrell Corporation, specialists in high-end live sports and entertainment broadcasts, was tasked with delivering compelling broadcast coverage of premier equest...
12/05/2026
Registration is now open for IBC2026 as the global media, entertainment and technology community prepares to converge on the RAI Amsterdam from 11 14 September ...
12/05/2026
Ross Video, a global leader in live video production technology, will present its latest innovations and integrated production workflows at BroadcastAsia 2026, ...
12/05/2026
500 selected leaders from around the world across start-ups, corporates, and venture capital. Over 50bn in assets under management among attending investors, a...
12/05/2026
CVP, one of Europe's leading suppliers of professional video and broadcast solutions, has appointed Randy Koeman as Sales Manager, Netherlands, marking anot...
12/05/2026
Taiwan Television has expanded its HD content ingest workflow capabilities by investing in the PlayBox Neo Suite - a leading multi-channel multi-server UHD/HD/S...
12/05/2026
Jigsaw24 is strengthening its media team with the appointment of Tom Laker as Client Director and Ashish Chauhan as Project Manager. These strategic hires bring...
12/05/2026
Broadcast playout leader showcases hybrid IP infrastructure and workflow automation with Videoland deployment as regional benchmark...
12/05/2026
dzjinius, the all-in-one production management platform for the media and entertainment industry, will showcase its centralised approach to production workflows...
12/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
Ratings Roundup: ESPN's Monday Night Football Nabs Nearly 20 Million Viewers, Alabama-Texas is 2022's Most-Watched CFB Game on Any Network By SVG Staff 
