The NFL’s ratings rebound continues.
After ratings were down across the board for the first half of this NFL season, ratings have improved significantly recently. In yet another sign of that, ESPN has announced that not only was last night’s Lions-Cowboys game its highest rated Monday Night Football game of 2016, but it beat every Monday Night Football game in 2015 as well.
The overnight rating from last night was a 10.7, which is the highest since Dallas played Washington on October 27, 2014. That follows a Christmas Day in which NFL Network got its highest rating ever for Ravens-Steelers and NBC got a 10 percent ratings bump from Broncos-Chiefs. For most of the past several weeks, NFL ratings have been strong, reversing the trend from early in the season.
Theories abound about why ratings have improved. Some say the end of the presidential election has people more focused on sports over politics. Some say it’s because the Cowboys, who typically draw the strongest ratings of any NFL team, are in title contention. Some say it’s because the games themselves have been better down the stretch.
Whatever the reasons, this is welcome news for the NFL and its TV partners.