Pat McAfee's alternate broadcast for ESPN's Monday Night Football is facing viewership challenges, with recent figures showing it falling behind the NFL Network's own alternative broadcast. The Week 9 matchup between the Buffalo Bills and the Minnesota Vikings saw McAfee's ESPN2 broadcast draw 406,000 viewers.
In comparison, the NFL Network's Next Gen Stats broadcast for the same game attracted 499,000 viewers. This marks the second consecutive head-to-head viewership win for the Next Gen Stats broadcast over McAfee's show this season. In their previous Week 6 encounter, the NFL Network's alternative garnered 469,000 viewers, while McAfee's show had 351,000.
This disparity is particularly notable given ESPN2's wider reach, being available in approximately 70 million homes compared to the NFL Network's 50 million. Despite the lower viewership for the alternate broadcasts, the primary Monday Night Football telecast drew a total of 21.7 million viewers across all platforms.
During the Bills-Vikings game, McAfee's broadcast featured a surprise appearance from former CBS analyst Tony Romo. Romo, who recently departed his lead analyst role at CBS Sports on October 2, joined the broadcast to offer analysis. His cameo generated significant social media discussion, with some speculating about a potential future role with ESPN.