espn-manning-cast-ratings-continue-prove-massive-success

ESPN’s Manning-Cast Ratings Continue To Prove Massive Success

Watch out, football broadcasters. There’s a new show in town. The tag team of Peyton and Eli Manning is making waves with their alternative Monday Night Football broadcast on ESPN2. Last week, fans were blown away by the sheer entertainment value of two former NFL quarterbacks bringing on guests throughout the game. This week? Well, the brothers Manning more than doubled their audience.

For starters, the NFL has seen some impressive numbers across its primetime games in general. According to ESPN, the Sunday Night Football game between the Kansas City Chiefs and Baltimore Ravens was the most-watched since 2018. The Monday Night Football game between the Detroit Lions and Green Bay Packers was the second most-watched since 2014.

But even those numbers can’t explain why the Monday Night ESPN2 Manning broadcast jumped from 800,000 average viewers last week to nearly 2 million this week. That’s the highest figure for any alternate ESPN broadcast since they began in 2014. The 138% growth is staggering and can only mean one thing. Peyton and Eli are fun to watch.

That’s good news for networks interested in pursuing one or both of them for a permanent booth position. Right now, it seems like ESPN would be as good a fit as any when the time comes. According to OutKick, the network has been after Peyton for some time. But for right now, it’s hard to imagine Peyton or Eli wanting to leave the comfort of their homes when they’re delivering football gold from the couch.

The current deal with ESPN extends through 2023. It includes a total of 30 games. NFL fans can look forward to the alternate Monday Night Football broadcast for a few more seasons at the very least.

The ESPN Sunday Night Football Game Between the Chiefs and Ravens Saw One of the League’s Best QBs Reach Major Milestone

Even though there were no Mannings to watch on Sunday night, the nail-biting game between the Chiefs and Ravens was one for the books. The Ravens edged out the Chiefs 36-35 for an audience of more than 20 million people. Guess there’s a reason it’s called primetime.

The biggest storyline from the game came in the form of sensational young quarterback Lamar Jackson. The Ravens had yet to beat the Chiefs under Jackson’s watch. Considered by many to be one of the most dangerous athletes on the field at any given time, the QB finally got over the hump. The Chiefs are responsible for nearly half of his regular-season losses in the NFL

“It feels good to get that monkey off of our back. We’ve got to move on to Detroit now,” Jackson said after the game. “We didn’t win the Super Bowl yet; it’s just one game. We’ve got to just keep staying focused.”