There is a lot to celebrate in Bristol after the first Monday Night Football game of 2021. Megacast coverage of the Raiders’ win over the Ravens drew an audience of more than 15 million across the four networks and ESPN+ where the game was shown.
The 15.3 million people that tuned in represents big growth. Viewership was up 42% from Week 1 last year and up 17% from Week 1 in 2019. Overall, Monday’s game was the second-most watched Week 1 Monday Night Football matchup in ESPN’s history.
Peyton and Eli Manning’s Manningcast captured the headlines and attention of social media. The audience though was not huge for the ESPN2 presentation. Just 800,000 viewers watched the program. Given the mostly positive response by those who did watch, it isn’t unreasonable to think that number will increase the next time the Manning brothers call a game together.
Speaking of next time, ESPN confirmed in a press release that Week 2 will get a Manningcast. The game will feature the Lions and Packers. No details were provided regarding who may join Peyton and Eli as their guests.
