Let’s be clear – the Force was very strong with the NFL and ESPN last night. Despite a ratings-sacking 27-7 blowout of the New York Giants by the Philadelphia Eagles last night, Monday Night Football saw a spike — very Star Wars specific ratings double-digit spike as the new trailer for Star Wars: The Force Awakens had its world premiere during halftime.
With a 9.6 rating in metered market results, last night’s MNF was up 13% over last week’s much tighter 24-20 win by the Pittsburgh Steelers over the San Diego Chargers. That’s the second-best result MNF has had in MM ratings this season. Only the October 5 matchup that saw the Seattle Seahawks beat the Detroit Lions 13-10 top it with a 9.9 MM result. And, highlighting the smart marketing move by Disney for both its sports cable giant and returning movie franchise, the MNF ratings peaked to 11.7 at 9:45-10 PM on Monday – right around the time the trailer was being shown.
Star Wars: The Force Awakens opens on December 18.
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