ESPN’s Monday Night Football delivered a strong performance in Week 16 of the 2025 NFL season with the San Francisco 49ers' matchup against the Indianapolis Colts on December 22 at 8:15 p.m. ET.
The game drew 19.8 million viewers across ESPN, ABC, ESPN Deportes, ESPN2, the ESPN App, and — marking a historic first for a traditional NFL broadcast — Disney+. This figure represents a 36% increase from the previous year's Week 16 MNF game (Saints-Packers, which averaged 14.6 million).
The broadcast featured Joe Buck and Troy Aikman in the booth at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, with sideline reports from Lisa Salters and Laura Rutledge.
Season Performance
Through Week 16 (and including 20 total games aired), Monday Night Football averaged 16 million viewers, with one regular-season game remaining. This positions the 2025 season to rank as ESPN’s second-best MNF campaign in the past 20 years (since 2006, when ESPN took over the package). The strong numbers build on earlier successes, with multiple games exceeding 20 million viewers and overall gains in key demographics.
The regular season concludes on January 3, 2026 (a Saturday), with ESPN’s doubleheader at 4:30 p.m. and 8:00 p.m. ET. These games, featuring playoff implications, will air on ESPN and ABC. Specific matchups and further details are expected to be announced soon.