Beating every team in the NFL wasn't the only record Minnesota Vikings quarterback Brett Favre set. He also led ESPN's "Monday Night Football" to record ratings for a cable telecast.
Favre's victory over his old team not only kept the Minnesota Vikings under undefeated, it also drove Walt Disney Co.'s ESPN to its strongest night ever. The game, which has been heavily anticipated since Favre came out of retirement (for a second time) in August, drew 21.8 million viewers, making it the most-watched cable television program in history. Needless to say, it also totally crushed the broadcast competition, whose top show Monday night was
CBS' "CSI Miami," which attracted 13.4 million viewers ABC's "Dancing with the Stars" with 16.3 million viewers. Among adults ages 18 to 49, the game -- which the Vikings won by a score of 30 to 23 (it wasn't that close) -- scored a 9.0 rating. Each rating point in that demographic equals 1.3 million adults, which translates to almost 12 million people.
Last night's game beat the previous best for a cable show, which was also an ESPN football telecast. Last year's Philadephia Eagles-Dallas Cowboys match attracted 18.6 million viewers. The most-watched non-sports cable show was Disney Channel's 2007 telecast of "High School Musical 2," which averaged 17.2 million viewers.
-- Joe Flint
IS HE THE BOMB OR WHAT?...42 YRS.OLD..AND IT !!!
Posted by: PERONA | October 06, 2009 at 04:03 PM
Why would Wisconsin even have a football team anyway? They should have cow milking and beer drinking constest, since that's all that they know how to do. Maybe a farting contest too...forgot about that aspect.
Posted by: Raul | October 06, 2009 at 04:09 PM
He's not 42, he's 49, and Raul is stupid and ignorant. Next time you start your mower, read a magazine or wipe your behind, you can thank Wisconsin, weirdo.
Posted by: Josh | October 06, 2009 at 05:19 PM
Wow. He beat all 32 NFL teams and got 21.8 million viewers all in one game. Not to mention Revenge!
Posted by: Idol White | October 06, 2009 at 06:04 PM
Hats off to Brett, he will take the Vikings to the super-bowl, and win!
maybe just maybe the packers know what a mistake the have made.
Posted by: crotteau janey | October 06, 2009 at 07:06 PM
Raul, your comment is ignorant and offensive to me, and I'm not from anywhere near Wisconsin. Why that kind of generalization about people from the Midwest is okay but 'racism' is not is beyond me. It's the same kind of thinking, the same kind of stupidity.
Posted by: Vicingr | October 06, 2009 at 08:47 PM
Raul, sign me in all three, I might not be good at cow milking but I'm pretty good at the other two.
Alex
Posted by: Alex | October 06, 2009 at 11:52 PM
Will you girls stop with the "Oh its offensive"! This is whats wrong with our country. There are too many sissies that can't take a damn joke anymore. Relax.
Posted by: jack london | October 07, 2009 at 05:44 AM
favre is a genious he has America in the plam of his hand
Posted by: tractorboy | October 07, 2009 at 06:36 AM