Broncos-Chiefs draws massive Monday Night Football audience

The Kansas City Chiefs (1-0) didn’t just roll past the Denver Broncos (0-1) 31-10 Monday night — they did it in front of 23.2 million viewers, giving ESPN one of the biggest Monday Night Football audiences in its history.

Week 1 audience jumps

The 23.2 million figure combined viewers across ESPN and ABC, the ManningCast on ESPN2, the Spanish-language broadcast on ESPN Deportes and streaming on NFL+.

That made Kansas City’s win the most-watched Week 1 Monday Night Football game ESPN has ever carried and the third-most-watched Monday night game overall.

The audience also climbed five percent from last year’s Week 1 Monday night game, which drew 22.1 million viewers.

Historical comparisons come with a catch, however. Modern ratings include out-of-home viewing that wasn’t counted in the same way in earlier years.

Chiefs deliver for huge crowd

The massive audience watched the Chiefs take control and pull away for a 21-point victory at Arrowhead Stadium, sending Kansas City into Week 2 unbeaten and leaving Denver at 0-1.

The interest started well before kickoff. Monday Night Countdown averaged 1.9 million viewers, up seven percent from last year’s Week 1 edition.

With more than 23 million watching the game itself, the NFL’s opening Monday night showcase delivered a television audience to match its prime-time billing.