The 49ers were already out of playoff contention, and the Lions had little to play for, but that didn’t stop fans from tuning in on Monday night.
Lions-49ers was the most-watched Monday Night Football game of this season, ESPN announced.
The game, which aired on both ABC and ESPN, drew 22.2 million viewers, which ESPN said is one of the five most-watched Monday night games since ESPN got the Monday night rights in 2006.
For anything other than the NFL, 22.2 million viewers is an almost unheard-of audience, but the NFL so dominates the American television landscape that an audience that big didn’t even make Lions-49ers the most-watched game of Week 17. Netflix got an audience of more than 24 million for both of the Christmas Day games.
After decades in the doldrums, the Lions have become one of the NFL’s most popular teams, and their Week 18 game against the Vikings on Sunday Night Football will undoubtedly be one of the most-watched games of the season.
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