Disney opted not to disclose the ratings for Monday night’s face-off between the Los Angeles Chargers and the Arizona Cardinals, which was exclusively on ESPN+. The Cardinals managed a narrow 17-15 win.
The game marked the network’s first-ever event behind a paywall. It ran simultaneously (for three quarters) with the Monday Night Football matchup between the Baltimore Ravens and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, broadcasted on both ESPN and ABC.
ESPN is following in the footsteps of NBC. The television behemoth aired the 2023 AFC Wild Card game between the Miami Dolphins and the Kansas City Chiefs on their streaming service, Peacock, in January.
On the other hand, the Ravens-Buccaneers game attracted a significant audience. ESPN PR announced that over 16 million people tuned in, peaking at 18.17 million between 9:15 and 9:30.
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However, ESPN+ continues to see a decline in its subscriber base. The network reported having 24.9 million customers as of the third quarter of 2024, down a million from the previous fall. ESPN also hiked the price of its bundle during the same period.
But subscribers and paywalls weren’t the only factors drawing more viewers to the Ravens-Buccaneers game. Baltimore quarterback Lamar Jackson threw five touchdowns and continued to demonstrate why he’s potentially the most dynamic player in the league.
Jackson and the Ravens started at 8:15, 45 minutes before the Chargers and Cardinals kicked off at 9. The late game did not showcase the NFL at its best and brightest.
Justin Herbert gave it his all, throwing 27 of 39 passes for 349 yards with help from tight end Will Dissly and Josh Palmer, but the LA Chargers’ offense couldn’t punch in a touchdown and had to settle for five field goals.
The Arizona Cardinals claimed a narrow win against the Los Angeles Chargers (
(Image: Getty Images))
On the flip side, Arizona Cardinals’ Kyler Murray managed to complete only 14 out of 26 passes for 145 yards; however, he secured a touchdown that edged them into a narrow win, improving their season record to 3-4.
A comparison by Sportsmediawatch on X drew parallels between ESPN+ withholding streaming numbers and NBC’s own secretive approach towards their Sunday Night Football prelims.
The speculation goes: “It’s kind of like how NBC deliberately doesn’t run any ads in the first part of Football Night in America so it won’t get Nielsen measured and its pitiful numbers against [late afternoon] NFL competition don’t get out in the wild.
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