ESPN's first happened on Monday, and not many people chose to watch. In fact, fewer fans than ever before tuned in to see Peyton and Eli Manning commentate over .
On Wednesday news broke that the Week 1 posted a low viewership number. The season debut broadcast drew only an average of 872,000 viewers over the course of the San Francisco 49ers-New York Jets game, per Douglas Pucci of , which is an all-time low, according to NBC's Mike Florio.
This stands out in stark contrast to the overall numbers, which were a resounding win for ESPN. Despite the DirecTV carrier dispute affecting over 10 million potential viewers, just over 20 million people tuned into the Niners' win over Aaron Rodgers and the Jets— the best ratings for since Week 1 of the 2023 season.
Monday's edition of the was pretty loaded on the guest front, with Bill Belichick, Adam Sandler, and Kansas City Chiefs superstar Chris Jones all dropping by. So it's surprising to hear the numbers are this low.
Clocking in at 872,000 viewers may not be all concerning for ESPN, though. The is a fun alternate cast for fans and has garnered much acclaim as a trailblazing concept, but its viewership has never really been that high. After the novelty wore off following the 2021 season, only around a million people have flipped the channel to watch Peyton and Eli the last few seasons of broadcasts. Dropping south of 900,000 isn't great but it's not a dramatic fall-off.
The Manning brothers will have a chance to bounce back next week when the Atlanta Falcons visit the Philadelphia Eagles on .
