The NFL keeps breaking records — just not in a good way.
On the heels of ESPN refusing to air the national anthem during Monday night’s matchup between the visiting Indianapolis Colts and host Tennessee Titans, ratings for the game were the third worst for a Monday night game since ESPN bought the rights to Monday Night Football back in 2006.
According to Deadline Hollywood:
In a season stained by overall ratings declines and political controversy, that NFL Week 6 rating is down 13% from the early numbers of the much tighter October 9 matchup between the Minnesota Vikings and Chicago Bears. That MNF season low went on to deliver a 3.7 rating among adults 18-49 and a total viewership of 10.3 million.
Some attribute the decline to fans being off-put by ongoing protests by some NFL players during the national anthem, while others chalk it up to the fact that two small-market teams with a combined losing record were playing against each other. The ratings might also have been hurt from the previous week, because there wasn’t another new “Star Wars” movie trailer to show during halftime.
The game itself was relatively competitive until the Titans pulled away with 21 fourth-quarter points.
Too bad there was hardly anyone there to see it.