The all-in Rams brought extra excitement, in theory, to Monday night’s game between L.A. and the 49ers. The game, featuring the debut of receiver Odell Beckham Jr. did not bring with it an excess amount of eyeballs to the companion broadcast on ESPN2, featuring Peyton and Eli Manning.
According to ESPN, the Manningcast generated 1.554 million viewers. That’s down from their most recent appearance. For the Week Eight Giants-Chiefs game, the Mannings racked up a season-high 1.96 million viewers. It’s also below the season-to-date average of 1.586 million.
The game generated, on all platforms, an audience of 12.3 million. This means the Manningcast accounted for 12.6 percent of the total viewership. That also represents a decline from 14 percent in Week Eight.
It’s somewhat surprising that the Manningcast didn’t account for a higher percentage of the audience, given that the second half of the game mainly consisted of garbage time. It would have been a perfect opportunity for viewers to flip from the main broadcast to what at times seems like a very entertaining podcast with a football game going on in the background. As the game become less compelling, the Manningcast beckons.
The Mannings will do it for the seventh of 10 times this season on Monday night, when the Giants visit the Buccaneers.