Peyton and Eli Manning's 'MNF' sees 132% rise, records nearly 2 million views
For many NFL fans, the best thing to happen at the start of the season was watching greats Peyton and Eli Manning commentating on live games. The brothers have taken the sports media industry by storm and they have only been going at it for two weeks.
Both Peyton and Eli have been a treat to watch on the field for their respective teams back in the day. Cut to 2021, it is clear that the two former NFL quarterbacks have excellent on-screen chemistry as well.
Been at it for 30 minutes and they might be the greatest booth in football history... #ManningCast #Goats https://t.co/Ay0TexFByR
While commentating on the game and giving their own opinions play-by-play, the pair also have guests on the show while the games are being played. Big-name guests such as Brett Favre, Rob Gronkowski and Pat McAfee joined the Manning brothers last night as the Green Bay Packers defeated the Detroit Lions 35-17.
Peyton and Eli Manning having a ball on Monday Night Football
The show was well-received by many fans and athletes alike as the viewership recorded a ridiculous spike. The Peyton and Eli show is taking over from the regular Monday Night Football (MNF) broadcast on ESPN.
Last night’s installment of the pair on ESPN 2, saw a huge 132% increase in viewership. Austin Karp, from Sports Business Journal, stated that the audience grew from 800,000 in Week 1 to 1.86 million in Week 2.
In terms of a "MegaCast" secondary feed, the 1.86 million for last night's ESPN2 "ManningCast" is a record for ESPN networks.
The previous record was 1.03 million for ESPN2's "Homer" telecast of the 2018 CFP Championship for Alabama-Georgia
Some media personalities firmly believe that Peyton should go and join the main crew on MNF, but it remains to be seen whether he does in fact do that. After watching the opening two weeks of the 'Manningcast', fans expect some fun with no-nonsense analysis.
The pair is slated to be on for 10 of the Monday Night Football games. Recent success means fans will expect the duo to feature more often.
ESPN might have to cave in and give the brothers more air time. Offering a different type of telecast to the normal play-by-play we see from most networks, it feels like the more Peyton and Eli do their thing, the bigger the audience will be.
Peyton and Eli Manning's show is due to be in Week 3 when the Dallas Cowboys face off against division rivals in the Philadelphia Eagles and if viewership continues to grow, it is not hard to fathom that they will be on every Monday night for the foreseeable future.
Also Read: What is Eli Manning’s Net Worth in 2021?