
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
06/10/2025
France T l visions, France's leading broadcaster, has received the 2025 EBU ...
06/09/2025
(L-R) Dylan O'Brien and James Sweeney attend the 2025 Sundance Film Festival Twinless premiere at Eccles Theatre. (Photo by George Pimentel/Shutterstock f...
06/09/2025
LONDON Vizrt has introduced Viz Arena 6, the newest version of its all-in-one live augmented reality (AR) graphics and virtual advertising sports solution. The ...
06/09/2025
SEATTLE Amazon Web Services (AWS) will feature 56 AWS Partners making various demos that showcase the technologies and use cases shaping the future of the Media...
06/09/2025
In news that highlights the ongoing importance of video games, PBS Kids is making its first foray into gameplay content with the September 5 launch of Odd Squa...
06/09/2025
PBS chief executive Paula Kerger has sent an email to staff outlining plans to cut about 100 positions or 15% of its staff, following the loss of Federal fundin...
06/09/2025
A new era of recognition as IABM honors the people, projects and innovations driving real impact
IABM has confirmed the shortlist for the new IABM Impact Award...
06/09/2025
Vizrt, the leader in live production technology revolutionizing viewer experiences, announces new capabilities to help customers create once, adapt automaticall...
06/09/2025
Studio Technologies, a leading manufacturer of high-quality audio, video, and fiber-optic solutions, will spotlight four of its innovative audio solutions at th...
06/09/2025
DigitalGlue, creator of the award-winning creative.space managed storage platform, today announced a technology preview of Creative Intelligence (CI) powered by...
06/09/2025
Eye Filmmuseum is the Netherlands leading film museum, offering a rich variety of experiences from screenings of classic films to cultural exhibitions. With fou...
06/09/2025
The latest innovations in Grass Valley's AMPP applications will be on full display at IBC 2025, as the company brings significant updates to Playout X, its ...
06/09/2025
Disguise has announced the launch of the GX 3 , its most powerful media server ever. Built on NVIDIA's cutting-edge Blackwell GPU architecture and including...
06/09/2025
Autoscript and Autocue have announced the launch of a new advanced PTZ prompter system shared by both brands and designed to provide seamless, professional prom...
06/09/2025
Sachtler has added four new models to its award-winning aktiv and FSB Mk II fluid head ranges. The aktiv16T and aktiv18T, plus the FSB 16T Mk II and FSB 18T Mk...
06/09/2025
CGI (TSX: GIB.A) (NYSE: GIB), one of the largest independent IT and business consulting services firms in the world, will present its bold new vision for the fu...
06/09/2025
DHD has chosen IBC 2025 (Amsterdam, 12-15 September) as the launch venue for the latest version of its RM1 all-in-one portable audio production and broadcast sy...
06/09/2025
AJA Video Systems debuted IP25-R, a Mini-Converter for connecting SMPTE ST 2110 networks with 4K SDI/HDMI infrastructures. IP25-R lets broadcast, production, an...
06/09/2025
AJA Video Systems today introduced new products and updates ahead of the International Broadcasting Convention (IBC) 2025 that streamline signal flow management...
06/09/2025
Researchers map key human proteins that power coronavirus replication, pointing to new treatment strategies Findings from Scripps Research reveal promising drug...
05/09/2025
Your listening habits are as unique as you are-and this year, Spotify has introduced a wave of new features to help you personalize your experience. From playli...
05/09/2025
SBS kicks off a confident slate with the 2026 FIFA World Cup 2026 , premium dram...
05/09/2025
Today's Historic Settlement Underscores SBS's Powerful New Series The Pe...
05/09/2025
L3Harris Chief Financial Officer and Aerojet Rocketdyne President Ken Bedingfiel...
05/09/2025
PHILADELPHIA NBC Sports will present tonight's NFL Kickoff Game between the '25 Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles and Dallas Cowboys on Peacock in...
05/09/2025
Warner Bros. Discovery filed a lawsuit against Gen AI company Midjourney this week, claiming that the company violated the studio's copyright....
05/09/2025
Alum Esin Ayd ng z Pens Nevermore Alma Mater' for Netflix's Wednesday The Grammy-nominated composer appears on this season's soundtrack alongside...
05/09/2025
C-SPAN and YouTube this week announced an agreement in which YouTube will sponsor C-SPAN's America 250 programming and expand access to C-SPAN's politic...
05/09/2025
LONDON Live broadcast infrastructure solutions provider Techex has added Peter Dawidzik as senior director, sales and business development....
05/09/2025
As news organizations and broadcasters face more pressure than ever to capture, verify, and distribute real-time access to breaking news, Reuters and Amazon Web...
05/09/2025
LOS ANGELES The Hollywood Professional Association (HPA) today said it has begun accepting submissions for its expanded HPA Engineering Excellence Awards, which...
05/09/2025
Sage has released an update to its most recent firmware for its Digital ENDEC model 3644....
05/09/2025
LONDON and LOS ANGELES ThinkAnalytics will debut ThinkMetadataAI, the company's latest step in recommendations, search and discovery services....
05/09/2025
WASHINGTON The Federal Communications Commissions Media Bureau has announced that the agency is initiating a phased process to lift the current freeze on major ...
05/09/2025
TORONTO Quickplay will feature its newly unveiled AI Studio that assists broadcasters and streamers in transforming their content libraries into short-form asse...
05/09/2025
Boston Conservatory at Berklee Announces Five-Year Partnership with The Verdon F...
05/09/2025
Alum Esin Ayding z Pens Nevermore Alma Mater' for Netflix's Wednesday The Grammy-nominated composer appears on this season's soundtrack alongside...
05/09/2025
Rohde & Schwarz UK awarded Silver Award under Defence Employer Recognition Schem...
05/09/2025
Back to All News
Two Desperate Souls and One Desperate Choice: As You Stood By...
05/09/2025
Back to All News
Netflix Unveils New BAKI-DOU' Anime and First Look at BE...
05/09/2025
This weekend sees another feast in store for all sport fans as RT airs a jam-packed schedule of live, free-to-air sport.
The Amgen Irish Open continues all we...
04/09/2025
(Joel Edgerton and Felicity Jones appear in Train Dreams by Clint Bentley, an of...
04/09/2025
SBS kicks off a confident slate with the 2026 FIFA World Cup2026 , premium drama...
04/09/2025
Watch the Record-breaking Koori Knockout 2025 LIVE and EXCLUSIVE on NITV and SBS...
04/09/2025
WALTHAM, Mass. Zixi, a provider of video-delivery-over-IP technology, has named Sue Mitchell as director of account management, EMEA....
04/09/2025
NEW YORK In news that highlights the importance of the NFL and sports for the TV and streaming industry, NBCUniversal is reporting record revenue for its 20th s...
04/09/2025
OTTAWA Ross Video has acquired LAMA, a Dutch-based developer of advanced audio production software known for its innovative live mixing solutions. The acquisiti...
04/09/2025
CINCINNATI GatesAir will bring its 5G passthrough demo to IBC audiences once again as interest in the technology's value for broadcast-to-mobile delivery gr...
04/09/2025
BURY ST. EDMUNDS, England Autoscript and Autocue will showcase their newly launched PTZ prompter system during IBC2025, Sept. 12-15 at the RAI Amsterdam Convent...
04/09/2025
Watch the Benn Family Band Perform I Wont Give Up on Americas Got Talent Assistant Professor Loren Benn and her family gave an emotional live performance of t...