View source for Monday Night Football

{{Short description|Live television broadcast of weekly National Football League (NFL) games}}
{{About|broadcasts of National Football League games on Mondays|an overview of NFL telecasts on ESPN|NFL on ESPN|Monday Night Football with Peyton and Eli|Manningcast|overview of NFL telecasts on ABC|NFL on ABC|other uses|Monday Night Football (disambiguation)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=December 2018}}
{{Infobox television
| alt_name             = {{plainlist|* ''ABC Monday Night Football'' {{Nowrap|(1970–2005, 2020–present)}}
* ''ESPN Monday Night Football'' {{Nowrap|(2006–present)}}
}}
| image                = Monday Night Football logo.png
| image_size           = 165
| caption              = 
| genre                = [[NFL on American television|American football game telecasts]]
| creator              = [[Roone Arledge]]
| director             = [[Chet Forte]] (1970–1987)<br />Larry Kamm (1987–1988)<br />Craig Janoff (1988–2000)<br />[[Drew Esocoff]] (2000–2006)<br />Chip Dean (2006–2019)<br />Jimmy Platt (2019–2023)<br />Derek Mobley (2023–2025)<br/> [[Artie Kempner]] (2025–present)
| presenter            = '''Commentators:'''<br />[[Joe Buck]] (play-by-play)<br />[[Troy Aikman]] (color commentator)<br />[[Chris Fowler]] (play-by-play, select games)<br />[[Louis Riddick]] (color commentator, select games)<br />[[Dan Orlovsky]] (color commentator, select games)<br />[[Peyton Manning]] and [[Eli Manning]] (ESPN2)<br />'''Reporters:'''<br />[[Lisa Salters]] (sideline)<br />[[Laura Rutledge]] (sideline)<br />[[Katie George (sportscaster)|Katie George]] (sideline, select games)<br />[[Peter Schrager]] (sideline, select games)<br />[[Michelle Beisner-Buck]] (features)<br />'''Rules Analyst:'''<br />Russell Yurk<br />Jerry Bergman (select games)<br />'''Studio:'''<br />[[Scott Van Pelt]]<br />[[Chris Berman]]
| theme_music_composer = 
| opentheme            = {{Plain list|* "Score" by Bob's Band (1970–1976)
* "[[Heavy Action]]" by [[Johnny Pearson]] (1976–1989; 2011–2018, 2022–2024; used as secondary theme from 1989–2012, 2017–2022, and 2023–present)
* "[[All My Rowdy Friends Are Coming Over Tonight|All My Rowdy Friends Are Here on Monday Night]]" by [[Hank Williams Jr.]] (1989–2011; 2017–2020)
* "[[Rip It Up (Little Richard song)|Rip It Up]]" by [[Little Richard]] feat. [[Butcher Brown]] (2019–2022)
*  "[[In the Air Tonight]]" by [[Phil Collins]] feat. [[Chris Stapleton]], [[Cindy Blackman Santana]] and [[Snoop Dogg]] (2023–present)
}}
| endtheme             = 
| composer             = 
| country              = United States
| language             = English
| num_seasons          = 56 (NFL seasons)
| num_episodes         = 718 (games)
| list_episodes        = 
| executive_producer   = {{Plain list|
* [[Norby Williamson]] (2006–present)
}}
| producer             = {{Plain list|* Steve Ackels
* Roger Lewin
* Jay Rothman
* [[Lisa Salters]]
}}
| editor               = 
| location             = [[List of current NFL stadiums|Various NFL stadiums]] {{small|(game telecasts)}}<br />ESPN Headquarters, [[Bristol, Connecticut]] {{small|(studio segments)}}<ref>{{Cite web |last=Dillon |first=Dak |date=September 14, 2020 |title=ESPN creates rooftop 'bubble' for NFL coverage in under a month |url=https://www.newscaststudio.com/2020/09/14/espn-nfl-countdown-new-york-studio/ |access-date=December 25, 2020 |publisher=Newscast Studio}}</ref><br>ABC and ESPN Studio, [[7 Hudson Square#Studio facilities|7 Hudson Square]], [[Manhattan]], [[New York City]] {{small|(studio segments)}}
| camera               = [[Multiple-camera setup|Multi-camera]]
| runtime              = 180–210 minutes or until game ends
| company              = {{Plain list|* [[National Football League]]
* [[ESPN on ABC|ABC Sports]] (1970–2006)
* [[ESPN Inc.|ESPN]] (2006–present)
}}
| network              = [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]]
| first_aired          = {{Start date|1970|09|21}}
| last_aired           = {{End date|2006|02|05}}
| network2             = [[ESPN]]
| first_aired2         = {{Start date|2006|09|11}}
| last_aired2          = present
| network3             = [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]]
| first_aired3         = {{Start date|2020|09|21}}
| last_aired3          = present
| related              = ''[[Monday Night Countdown]]''<br />''[[NFL on ABC]]''<br />''[[NFL on ESPN]]''
| image_alt            = 
| channel              = 
| released             = 
}}
'''''Monday Night Football''''' (often abbreviated as '''''MNF''''') is the branding used for broadcasts of [[National Football League]] (NFL) games that air on Monday nights. It originally ran on [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]] from [[1970 NFL season|1970]] to [[2005 NFL season|2005]], before moving exclusively to sister network [[ESPN]] from [[2006 NFL season|2006]] to [[2019 NFL season|2019]]. While still airing on ESPN, ''MNF'' returned to ABC in [[2020 NFL season|2020]] beginning with select [[simulcast]]s, later expanding to select exclusive telecasts in [[2022 NFL season|2022]], and the bulk of games in simulcast with ESPN since [[2023 NFL season|2023]]. In addition, [[ESPN2]] features the ''[[Manningcast]]'' [[ESPN Megacast|alternate telecast]] of select games, which was established in 2020, and since [[2021 NFL season|2021]], [[ESPN+]] has served as the [[United States|American]] streaming home of ''MNF''.

During its initial run on ABC, ''MNF'' became one of the [[List of longest-running American television series|longest-running American television series]], as well as one of the [[Top-rated United States television programs by season|highest-rated]], particularly among male viewers. Since [[1993 NFL season|1993]], it has been preceded by the ESPN pregame show ''[[Monday Night Countdown]]''. Per an NFL broadcasting policy intended to allow those who do not subscribe to [[cable television|cable]] or [[direct broadcast satellite|satellite television]] to see local games televised by a pay television network, the ESPN-exclusive games are also made available on an [[terrestrial television|over-the-air]] station in each participating team's local market.

''MNF'' is broadcast in Canada on [[The Sports Network|TSN]] and [[Réseau des sports|RDS]], in most of Australia on [[ESPN Australia]], in Portugal on Eleven Sports, on [[TV 2 Sport (Denmark)|TV 2 Sport]] in Denmark, on [[Sky Sports]]/[[DAZN]] in the United Kingdom,<ref>{{Cite web |title=The NFL returns to Channel 5 |url=https://www.nfl.com/news/the-nfl-returns-to-channel-5 |access-date=2023-12-26 |website=NFL.com |language=en-US}}</ref> and in some other regions of the world outside the U.S. on [[ESPN International]]. A Spanish-language version airs on [[ESPN Deportes]] in the U.S. and on ESPN International in Latin America, while a [[Brazil|Portuguese]] version airs on [[ESPN Brasil]].<ref>{{cite news|title='Monday Night Football' Changes the Channel|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/2005/04/19/monday-night-football-changes-the-channel/e1b638b6-52dd-4442-a996-5ae25f8bc21f/|first1=Leonard|last1=Shapiro|first2=Mark|last2=Maske|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|page=A1|date=April 19, 2005}}</ref>
{{TOClimit|limit=3}}

==Overview==
===History===
{{Main|History of Monday Night Football}}
During the early 1960s, [[History of the NFL Commissioner|NFL Commissioner]] [[Pete Rozelle]] envisioned the possibility of playing at least one game weekly during [[prime time]] that could be viewed by a greater television audience. An early bid by the league in [[1964 NFL season|1964]] to play on Friday nights was soundly defeated, with critics charging that such telecasts would damage the attendance at [[high school football]] games, and in any event had been prohibited by the [[Sports Broadcasting Act of 1961]] for that very reason alongside Saturday games to protect [[college football]]. Two years later, Rozelle would build on this success as the NFL began a four-year experiment of playing on Monday night, scheduling one game in prime time on CBS during the [[1966 NFL season|1966]] and [[1967 NFL season|1967]] seasons, and two contests during each of the next two years. [[NFL on NBC|NBC]] followed suit in [[American Football League seasons#1968|1968]] and [[American Football League seasons#1969|1969]] with games involving [[American Football League]] teams.<ref name="MNF history">{{cite web|url=https://bleacherreport.com/articles/7209-a-history-of-monday-night-football|title=A History of Monday Night Football|website=Bleacher Report|date=January 21, 2008|access-date=September 23, 2023}}</ref>

During negotiations on a new television contract that would begin in [[1970 NFL season|1970]] (coinciding with the completion of a [[AFL–NFL merger|merger]] between the NFL and AFL), Rozelle concentrated on signing a weekly Monday night deal with one of the three major networks. However, both NBC and CBS were reluctant to disturb their regular programming schedules. On the other hand, [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]] was [[Top-rated United States television programs of 1969–70|a distant third in prime time ratings]] and more willing to take any perceived risk, moreover, [[1969–70 United States network television schedule|ABC's existing Monday night prime time lineup]] was a particular weak spot. As a result, Rozelle made a deal with ABC.<ref name="MNF history" />

Despite high ratings, ABC lost millions of dollars<ref>{{cite book |last=Miller, Shales|first=James Andrew, Tom|author-link= |date= |title=Those Guys Have All the Fun: Inside the World of ESPN|url=http://www.uvm.edu/~rgriffin/ESPN-Miller.pdf|location= |publisher= |page=547|isbn=}}</ref> on televising the games during the late 1990s and 2000s. The NFL also indicated that it wanted Sunday night to be the new night for its marquee game, because more people tend to watch television on Sundays, and games held on that night would be more conducive to [[NFL on American television|flexible scheduling]], a method by which some of the NFL's best games could be moved from the afternoon to the evening on Sunday on short notice.<ref name="MNF history" /> Given these factors, as well as the rise of ABC's ratings on Sunday night, and the network's wish of protecting its television series ''[[Desperate Housewives]]'' on that night, on April 18, 2005, ABC and the NFL announced the end of their 36-year partnership, with the ''Monday Night Football'' broadcasts being moved to ESPN starting with the [[2006 NFL season|2006 season]].<ref>{{cite news|title='Monday Night Football' Changes the Channel|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A63538-2005Apr18?language=printer|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180922122957/https://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A63538-2005Apr18/?language=printer|url-status=dead|archive-date=September 22, 2018|author=Leonard Shapiro|author2=Mark Maske|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|page=A1|date=April 19, 2005}}</ref>

In [[2011 NFL season|2011]], ESPN extended its ''MNF'' contract for an additional eight seasons, giving it rights to the broadcasts until 2021. The deal, valued around {{USD}}15&nbsp;billion, also gave ESPN rights to expanded highlights, international, and streaming rights.<ref>{{cite news|title=Updated: ESPN Kicks Off New Eight-Year, $14 Billion NFL Deal|url=https://www.multichannel.com/news/updated-espn-kicks-new-eight-year-14-billion-nfl-deal-298286|work=[[Multichannel News]]|date=September 8, 2011}}</ref> A new deal signed in [[2021 NFL season|2021]] sees ESPN retain these rights through 2033. Included with the new contract are the rights to two [[Super Bowl]]s in 2027 and 2031, the introduction of flexible scheduling, three doubleheaders during the season with exclusive games on [[NFL on ABC|ABC]], one divisional playoff game, and one exclusive game on [[ESPN+]].<ref name="2021 deals">{{Cite web|title=NFL announces new broadcast deals running through 2033 season|url=https://www.nfl.com/news/nfl-announces-new-broadcast-deals-running-through-2033-season|access-date=2021-03-18|website=NFL.com|language=en-US}}</ref>

===Simulcasts on ABC===
{{Main|NFL on ABC#The NFL returns to ABC}}

Beginning with the [[2020 NFL season|2020 season]], select ''Monday Night Football'' games have been simulcast on [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]]. In the [[2020 NFL season|2020 season]], three games were simulcast. In the [[2021 NFL season|2021 season]], three ''Monday Night Football'' games and the new Week 18 Saturday doubleheader were simulcast. After ESPN renewed its ''Monday Night Football'' contract, it was revealed that these simulcasts would expand starting with the [[2022 NFL season|2022 season]].<ref>{{Cite web|date=2021-03-18|title=NFL completes network/Amazon rights deals through 2033, bringing in $10 billion per year along the way|url=https://awfulannouncing.com/nfl/nfl-amazon-network-rights-2033-10-billion.html|access-date=2021-12-14|website=Awful Announcing|language=en-US}}</ref> To accommodate the expanded simulcasts, ABC announced that ''[[Dancing with the Stars (American TV series)|Dancing with the Stars]]'' would move to [[Disney+]] for its 31st season only.<ref name="Lynette Rice">{{cite web|url=https://deadline.com/2022/04/dancing-with-the-stars-leaving-abc-disney-plus-season-31-1234996886/|title=''Dancing With The Stars'' Moving To Disney+ In Stunning Move After 16 Years On ABC|work=[[Deadline Hollywood]]|first=Lynette|last=Rice|date=April 8, 2022|access-date=April 8, 2022}}</ref> ABC later announced that ''Dancing with the Stars'' would return to ABC and be simulcast on Disney+ after one year and moved to Tuesdays permanently.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Schneider |first=Michael |date=2023-09-12 |title='Dancing With the Stars' Shifts to Tuesdays as ABC Continues to Announce Fall Schedule Tweaks |url=https://variety.com/2023/tv/news/dancing-with-the-stars-tuesdays-abc-fall-schedule-1235720604/ |access-date=2024-11-09 |website=Variety |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Garvey |first=Marianne |date=2023-05-03 |title='Dancing With the Stars' set to return to ABC |url=https://www.cnn.com/2023/05/03/entertainment/dancing-with-the-stars-abc/index.html |access-date=2024-11-09 |website=CNN |language=en}}</ref>

On September 18, 2023, amid the [[2023 Hollywood labor disputes]], ABC announced that it would simulcast ''Monday Night Football'' during each week of the [[2023 NFL season]].<ref>{{Cite news |date=September 18, 2023 |title=ABC adds 'MNF' simulcasts amid ongoing Hollywood writers strike |language=en-US |magazine=[[Sports Business Journal]] |url=https://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/Articles/2023/09/18/espn-abc-monday-night-football.aspx |access-date=September 18, 2023}}</ref> The decision was made while the season was already underway, and therefore upset the league's other broadcasters. The move gave ABC an immediate financial benefit since ABC could now charge higher commercial fees during those additional weeks since NFL games generally have higher ratings than most other programming.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2023-11-01|title=Network broadcasters 'furious' with NFL for allowing ESPN/ABC 'MNF' simulcast|url=https://awfulannouncing.com/nfl/abc-monday-night-football-simulcast-furious-ad-rates.html|access-date=2023-11-16|website=Awful Announcing|language=en-US}}</ref> The simulcast came at a cost for Disney's cable partners, who would lose revenue from [[local insertion]] advertising as viewers gravitated towards their local ABC station to watch the game instead, rather than the ESPN networks.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2023-09-19|title=Cable industry furious with ESPN-ABC Monday Night Football simulcast|url=https://awfulannouncing.com/espn/monday-night-football-abc-simulcast-cable.html|access-date=2023-11-16|website=Awful Announcing|language=en-US}}</ref>

ABC's planned simulcast schedule for the [[2024 NFL season]] had reverted back to four games, before Disney confirmed the simulcasts would continue until the end of the season on October 11, 2024, bringing the ESPN/ABC simulcast total from the originally planned four to ten.<ref name="2024 simulcasts">{{cite web |first=Brian|last=Steinberg|date=October 11, 2024 |title=Disney Will Add 6 'Monday Night Football' Simulcasts to ABC Fall Schedule |url=https://variety.com/2024/tv/news/disney-monday-night-football-simulcasts-abc-fall-schedule-1236175672/ |access-date=October 11, 2024 |work=Variety}}</ref>

In 2025, ABC announced that ''Monday Night Football'' will become a permanent part of its fall schedule with the network at least airing ten games (two of those being exclusive split Doubleheader games).<ref>{{Cite web |last=Blum |first=Lily |date=2025-05-14 |title=ESPN’s Monday Night Football Schedule Features Multiple Appearances by the Super Bowl Champion Eagles, the AFC Champion Chiefs, Cowboys and Lions as NFL on ESPN 25-Game Slate Starts Fast with 11 Games in First Seven Weeks |url=https://espnpressroom.com/us/press-releases/2025/05/espns-monday-night-football-schedule-features-multiple-appearances-by-the-super-bowl-champion-eagles-the-afc-champion-chiefs-cowboys-and-lions-as-nfl-on-espn-25-game-slate-starts-fast-with/ |access-date=2025-05-16 |website=ESPN Press Room U.S. |language=en-US}}</ref>

===Scheduling problems===
{{Unreferenced section|date=November 2018}}

{{See also|NFL on American television#Flexible scheduling}}

To avoid unfairness due to a ''Monday Night Football'' game where, just before the first [[National Football League playoffs|playoff]] game, a team may have five days off and others six, and also to allow the league to have games with mutual playoff implications played at the same time, most games during the final week of the regular season are played on Sunday. Consequently, there is no Monday night game that week. From [[2003 NFL season|2003]] to [[2005 NFL season|2005]], one game was played on Thursday and another on Monday under the ''Monday Night Football'' banner. Starting in [[2006 NFL season|2006]], when the series moved to cable, two games are played on the opening Monday night to capitalize on fan interest during "[[NFL Kickoff]] weekend".

Before [[2023 NFL season|2023]], the ''MNF'' schedule was set during each Spring before the regular season, which could not be changed. Thus, the league and network cannot guarantee that each late-season ''MNF'' matchup would have any significance or would be highly anticipated. The problem of having a national spotlight game which during the season's most critical weeks late in the year probably would not show the most important game of the week was long known by the league and network. As a result of this, the NFL wished to move the "Game of the Week" idea to Sunday nights to make [[NFL on television#Flexible scheduling|flex scheduling]] possible, and they had long stated that it was only interested in having flex scheduling on Sundays, and not Mondays since it is easier logistically on relatively short notice to move kickoff times by hours instead of days. This became one of the major factors leading to the 2006 end of ''MNF'' on [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]], and [[NBC]] instead agreeing to air the "Game of the Week" with flex scheduling on ''[[NBC Sunday Night Football|Sunday Night Football]]''. The NFL finally agreed to expand flex scheduling to ''MNF'' beginning in the 2023 season. That same season, in Week 15, the originally scheduled game between the Kansas City Chiefs and New England Patriots became the first game to be flexed out of the MNF spot; it was replaced with a matchup between the Philadelphia Eagles and the Seattle Seahawks. 2023 was also the first NFL season [[New Year's Day]] fell on a Monday in the penultimate week of the regular season, consequently to avoid a conflict with the [[College Football Playoff]] there were no Monday games scheduled for the final two weeks of the regular season.

===Franchises with the most appearances===
The franchise with the most Monday night appearances is the [[Dallas Cowboys]], with 85. The [[Pittsburgh Steelers]] secured the all-time lead with most wins on November 28, 2022, at 52.

The most common ''Monday Night Football'' pairings are [[Broncos–Raiders rivalry|Broncos vs. Raiders]] (19 times as of {{nfly|2019}}{{efn|Does not include the game on December 3, 1978, which occurred on a Sunday, but was televised by [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]]'s ''Monday Night Football'' television crew.}})<ref>{{Cite web |title=Raiders vs. Broncos: A primetime rivalry |url=https://www.raiders.com/news/raiders-vs-broncos-a-primetime-rivalry |access-date=2024-02-03 |website=Las Vegas Raiders |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Raiders vs Broncos At-A-Glance |url=https://www.raiders.com/news/raiders-vs-broncos-at-a-glance-10399207 |access-date=2024-02-19 |website=Las Vegas Raiders |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |author=Staff Writer |title=1999 MNF schedule |url=https://www.recordnet.com/story/sports/1999/04/02/1999-mnf-schedule/50811822007/ |access-date=2024-02-19 |website=The Stockton Record |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=ESPN.com: NFL - 2000 NFL weekly schedule |url=https://www.espn.com/nfl/s/schedule/2000.html |access-date=2024-02-19 |website=www.espn.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=ESPN.com: NFL - 2001 NFL weekly schedule |url=https://www.espn.com/nfl/s/schedule/2001.html |access-date=2024-02-19 |website=www.espn.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=ESPN.com: NFL - 2002 NFL weekly schedule |url=https://www.espn.com/nfl/s/schedule/2002.html |access-date=2024-02-19 |website=www.espn.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=ESPN.com: NFL - 2003 NFL weekly schedule |url=https://www.espn.com/nfl/s/schedule/2003.html |access-date=2024-02-19 |website=www.espn.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2008-04-15 |title=2008 Monday Night Football Schedule |url=https://www.orlandosentinel.com/2008/04/15/2008-monday-night-football-schedule/ |access-date=2024-02-19 |website=Orlando Sentinel |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Editor |first=ESPN |date=2011-04-19 |title=ESPN's 2011 Monday Night Football Schedule |url=https://espnpressroom.com/us/press-releases/2011/04/espns-2011-monday-night-football-schedule-2/ |access-date=2024-02-17 |website=ESPN Press Room U.S. |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2011-04-19 |title='Monday Night Football' schedule 2011 |url=https://www.espn.com/blog/nflnation/post/_/id/39396/monday-night-football-schedule-2011 |access-date=2024-02-17 |website=ESPN.com |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Stoneberg |first=Allie |date=2013-04-19 |title=ESPN's 2013 Monday Night Football Schedule |url=https://espnpressroom.com/us/press-releases/2013/04/espns-2013-monday-night-football-schedule/ |access-date=2024-02-17 |website=ESPN Press Room U.S. |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Sando |first=Mike |date=2013-04-19 |title=2013 'Monday Night Football' schedule |url=https://www.espn.com/blog/nflnation/post/_/id/75560/2013-monday-night-football-schedule |access-date=2024-02-19 |website=ESPN.com |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite magazine |last=West |first=Jenna |date=2018-04-19 |title=Monday Night Football: 2018 games, dates, matchups |url=https://www.si.com/nfl/2018/04/19/monday-night-football-schedule-2018-games-dates-matchups |access-date=2024-02-17 |magazine=Sports Illustrated |language=en-us}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Hofheimer |first=Bill |date=2018-04-20 |title=Jon Gruden's Coaching Return and NFL in Mexico City Highlight ESPN's 2018 Monday Night Football Schedule |url=https://espnpressroom.com/us/press-releases/2018/04/jon-grudens-coaching-return-and-nfl-in-mexico-city-highlight-espns-2018-monday-night-football-schedule/ |access-date=2024-02-19 |website=ESPN Press Room U.S. |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Hofheimer |first=Bill |date=2019-04-18 |title=Top NFL Rivalries Highlight Monday Night Football's 50th Season |url=https://espnpressroom.com/us/press-releases/2019/04/top-nfl-rivalries-highlight-monday-night-footballs-50th-season/ |access-date=2024-02-03 |website=ESPN Press Room U.S. |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Staff |first=S. V. G. |date=2019-04-18 |title=NFL Schedule Roundup: Major Networks Announce 2019 Slate of Games |url=https://www.sportsvideo.org/2019/04/18/nfl-schedule-roundup-major-networks-announce-2019-slate-of-games/ |access-date=2024-02-03 |website=Sports Video Group |language=en}}</ref> and [[Commanders–Cowboys rivalry|Commanders vs. Cowboys]] (17 match-ups as of {{nfly|2015}}, most among NFC matchups).<ref>{{Cite news |last=Allen |first=Scott |date=2021-11-28 |title=A brief history of all 16 Redskins-Cowboys 'Monday Night Football' games |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/dc-sports-bog/wp/2015/12/07/a-brief-history-of-all-16-redskins-cowboys-monday-night-football-games/ |access-date=2024-02-19 |newspaper=Washington Post |language=en-US |issn=0190-8286}}</ref>

The defunct [[Candlestick Park]] in [[San Francisco]] holds the record for hosting the most ''Monday Night Football'' games, including its 36th and final Monday night game on December 23, 2013. Among the active stadiums following the conclusion of the [[2017 NFL season|2017 season]], [[Miami Gardens, Florida]]'s [[Hard Rock Stadium]] had hosted the most games with 36.<ref name="ALookBack-W16">{{cite web|title=What to Look For – A Look Back (Week 5)|url=http://nfllabor.files.wordpress.com/2013/12/week-161.pdf|website=[[National Football League]]|date=December 23, 2013 |access-date=April 1, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131224083130/http://nfllabor.files.wordpress.com/2013/12/week-161.pdf|archive-date=December 24, 2013|url-status=live}}</ref>

Eight new NFL stadiums have made their regular season debuts on ''Monday Night Football''. Most recently, [[Allegiant Stadium]] in [[Paradise, Nevada]], hosted its first NFL game on September 21, 2020, when the [[2020 Las Vegas Raiders season|Las Vegas Raiders]] defeated the [[2020 New Orleans Saints season|New Orleans Saints]] 34–24 on ''Monday Night Football''.

==As entertainment==
''Monday Night Football'' has continued to provide entertainment as sports throughout its run. In addition to the extra cameras, the program has also pioneered technological broadcast innovations, such as the use of enhanced [[slow motion]] replays and computerized graphics.

Celebrity guests – such as former Vice President [[Spiro Agnew]], singers [[Plácido Domingo]] and former [[The Beatles|Beatle]] [[John Lennon]], former President [[Bill Clinton]], and even [[Kermit the Frog]] – were often featured during the game to "liven up" the broadcast. The December 9, {{NFL Year|1974}} contest featured a rare instance of two celebrities entering the booth, with Lennon being interviewed by [[Howard Cosell]] and California [[Governor of California|governor]] [[Ronald Reagan]] speaking with [[Frank Gifford]], with Reagan explaining the rules of [[American football]] (off-camera) to Lennon as the game went along. However, the late 1990s and early 2000s saw an even more increased reliance on the entertainment factor. Some halftime shows, featuring popular music stars, were broadcast in their entirety rather than being ignored in favor of analysis of the game by the commentators, as in previous seasons.

On December 8, 1980, one of the most memorable moments of ''MNF'' occurred when Cosell announced in a news flash that [[John Lennon]] had been [[Murder of John Lennon|shot and killed]] in New York City. ''Monday Night Football'' was the first national broadcast to announce his death.

An [[Terrell Owens#Desperate Housewives skit|ABC advertisement]] for ''MNF'' featuring [[Nicollette Sheridan]] of ''[[Desperate Housewives]]'' dropping her towel in front of [[Philadelphia Eagles]] wide receiver [[Terrell Owens]] created some controversy, including at least 1,997 complaints being sent to the [[Federal Communications Commission|FCC]] and outrage from [[Federal Communications Commission|FCC]] chairman [[Michael Powell (lobbyist)|Michael Powell]].<ref>{{Cite web|date=2005-02-03|title=The racial undercurrent|url=https://www.espn.com/espn/blackhistory/news/story?id=1983393|access-date=2020-11-21|website=ESPN.com|language=en}}</ref>

[[The Walt Disney Company]], owner of ABC and the majority owner of ESPN, has used ''Monday Night Football'' to promote its other properties, releasing a trailer for the 2015 film ''[[Star Wars: The Force Awakens]]'' during one broadcast and incorporating [[The Muppets]] into another trailer.

===2000s===
====2006 summary====
For its 2006 debut on ESPN, Williams Jr. re-recorded the ''MNF'' opening theme with an all-star jam band that included among others [[Brian Setzer]], [[Little Richard]], [[Questlove]], [[Joe Perry (musician)|Joe Perry]], [[Clarence Clemons]], [[Rick Nielsen]], [[Bootsy Collins]], [[Charlie Daniels]], and [[Steven Van Zandt]]. The 2006 telecast generally began with a cinematic tease produced by [[Rico Labbe]], Michael Sciallis, and Jason Jobes. It was during one of these teases that [[Barack Obama]] spoofed his announcement for the [[Barack Obama 2008 presidential campaign|2008 Presidential candidacy]] in favor of his hometown [[2006 Chicago Bears season|Chicago Bears]] in their game against the [[2006 St. Louis Rams season|St. Louis Rams]].<ref>{{cite news|title=On 'Monday Night Football,' An Announcement From Obama|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/12/16/AR2006121600703.html|first=Zachary A.|last=Goldfarb|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=December 17, 2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110805054705/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/12/16/AR2006121600703.html|archive-date=August 5, 2011|access-date=September 5, 2017|url-status=live}}</ref>

That year, the tease was followed by the show open produced by Los Angeles–based The Syndicate called "Transformation". It features [[computer-generated imagery]] showing a city being transformed into a football stadium and passers-by on the street turning into players, coaches, fans, and officials set to an updated orchestral treatment of the "Heavy Action" theme song. The sequence began every week with a different celebrity walking down the street, picking up a glowing football helmet with the ESPN logo on the side and saying, "I'm ready for some football! Are you?", thus beginning the transformation process. Celebrities for 2006 included [[Arnold Schwarzenegger]], [[Matthew Fox (actor)|Matthew Fox]], [[Hugh Hefner]], [[Paris Hilton]], [[Spike Lee]], [[Ashton Kutcher]], [[Samuel L. Jackson]], [[Ludacris]], [[Jack Black]], [[Kiefer Sutherland]], [[James Belushi]], [[Ben Stiller]], [[Tyra Banks]], [[Carmen Electra]], and [[Eva Longoria]].

In addition, celebrities returned in full force to the booth, though this proved to be the major criticism of ESPN's first ''MNF'' season. On the opening weekend, Arnold Schwarzenegger, another celebrity-turned-[[Governor of California|California governor]], was in the booth at [[McAfee Coliseum]] in [[Oakland, California]]; before that, [[Jamie Foxx]] appeared at [[FedExField]] in suburban Washington, D.C. Following them, celebrity appearances included [[National Basketball Association|NBA basketball]] superstar [[Dwyane Wade]], [[Basketball Hall of Fame]] player [[Charles Barkley]], [[NASCAR Cup Series]] driver [[Jeff Gordon]], comedian [[Jimmy Kimmel]] (whose opening words to [[Joe Theismann]] were "how's the leg?"), actor [[Sylvester Stallone]], film director [[Spike Lee]], [[hip-hop]] artist [[Jay-Z]], and ''MNF'' theme singer [[Hank Williams Jr.]]

====2007 summary====
<!--If anyone has a chart showing the local stations that simulcast the game, similar to the one at Run to the Playoffs, I would appreciate it being put on the site.-->
ESPN scaled back to only one opening tease for the 2007 season. Williams Jr. and the all-star band returned, only this time they played in a "[[nightclub|juke joint]]" set on a country road. The lead singer arrives in a [[Chevrolet Tahoe|GMC Yukon]] truck (GMC paid for [[product placement]]) with the license plate "BOCEPHUS", which is Williams's nickname. The Syndicate's computer-generated tease was dropped and replaced by short pre-taped films focusing on a team or player in the game. Some of them have featured actor Jamie Foxx.

[[Joe Theismann]] did not return to the ''MNF'' booth after 1 season, and was replaced by [[Ron Jaworski]].

The guest visits continued: Barkley returned to the booth on September 17 in [[Philadelphia]]. Other guests throughout the season included Kimmel (another returnee), [[Drew Carey]], [[Miley Cyrus]], [[Russell Crowe]] and [[Terry Bradshaw]]. In addition, Gordon was a halftime guest on the game just before the season-ending [[Ford 400]] and was joined by teammate [[Jimmie Johnson]].

At the end of each game, Williams returned to say, "See you in (city that is the site of the next week's game)." Both the open and close contain [[helmet]]s of the participating teams, organized in the style of a concert [[poster art|poster]].

====2008 summary====
Despite the de-emphasis on entertainment on the overall telecast, ESPN did bring back Hank Williams Jr. for his 20th season as part of the opening. This time, the opening sequence was set in a private [[house|residence]]. At the end of the song, Williams Jr. touched a foot pump, which supposedly contained the helmets of that night's participating teams. The helmets were launched from the home toward the stadium at which the game was held. Through computer-generated imagery, the helmets "land" at midfield during a live shot, and then explode. The "exploding helmets" gimmick was also used at various times in the 1980s and 1990s during the pre-game tease. Williams Jr. then appeared again at the end of the game to promote the next week's matchup.

ESPN also continued to promote upcoming albums through its use in bumper music. On September 29 ([[2008 Baltimore Ravens season|Baltimore Ravens]] at [[2008 Pittsburgh Steelers season|Pittsburgh Steelers]]), ESPN used "[[Another Way to Die]]", a [[duet]] between [[Alicia Keys]] and [[Jack White (musician)|Jack White]] of [[the White Stripes]] – the song was part of the soundtrack for the 2008 film ''[[Quantum of Solace]]'', then the latest in the [[List of James Bond films|''James Bond'' series]].

''MNF'' celebrated its 600th game broadcast on October 20, 2008, in a game which the [[2008 New England Patriots season|New England Patriots]] defeated the [[2008 Denver Broncos season|Denver Broncos]], 41–7.

The 39th season of ''MNF'' ended on December 22, 2008, when the [[2008 Chicago Bears season|Chicago Bears]] beat the [[2008 Green Bay Packers season|Green Bay Packers]], 20–17, in overtime at home at [[Soldier Field]] in Chicago.

====2009 summary====
The title sequence for the 40th season of ''MNF'' featured Hank Williams Jr. seen on the steps of a building (presumably a museum), surrounded by dancers, football fans, and statues/busts – which, along with everyone else in the scene, begin to move and dance – patterned after those at the [[Pro Football Hall of Fame]]. The transition to Williams Jr. is a book, with the chapter number (in [[Roman numeral]]s, sequentially with each week) and a [[tag line]] about the game to be played that night.

At the end of the song, Williams Jr. plugged in the cords, thereby launching animated "helmets" into space, from the building toward the stadium at which the game was held (with the exception of October 5, 2009, when the helmets zoomed towards [[Brett Favre]] instead), passing the [[International Space Station]]. As with the previous season (as mentioned above), the helmets "land" at midfield during a live shot and then crashed into each other. Williams Jr. appeared again at the end of the telecast to promote the following week's matchup. After that, the picture was freezeframed and the shot zoomed out to the book, which showed the freezeframed picture as part of a page. As this happened, the NFL end-of-game bumper music was played and the book closed, revealing a golden NFL logo on the back cover and signifying the end of the "chapter", or game. The scene was filmed in the summer of 2009 at the [[Parthenon (Nashville)|Parthenon]] in [[Nashville, Tennessee]].

Before Williams Jr. appears, Frank Gifford gave a short vignette about a memorable moment in the history of ''MNF'' featuring one or both of the teams playing that night's game.

[[Tony Kornheiser]] did not return to the booth after 3 seasons and was replaced by former [[Oakland Raiders]] and [[Tampa Bay Buccaneers]] head coach [[Jon Gruden]].

The 40th season of ''MNF'' ended on December 28, 2009, with the [[2009 Minnesota Vikings season|Minnesota Vikings]]–[[2009 Chicago Bears season|Chicago Bears]] game in Chicago, in which the Bears won in overtime, 36–30. The telecast ended with a vignette that featured Gifford taking a look back at highlights from the previous four decades – and the 40th season – of ''MNF'', after which the book closed, signifying the end of the season. The 40th season had the highest season viewership for ''MNF'' since ESPN acquired the rights to the broadcast.<ref>{{cite web|title=ESPN's Highest-Rated and Most-Viewed Season of Monday Night Football|url=http://www.thefutoncritic.com/news.aspx?id=20091229espn01|work=[[The Futon Critic]]|date=December 29, 2009|access-date=April 30, 2013}}</ref> This was primarily due to the buffo ratings ESPN received for airing the October 5, 2009, game which featured Favre taking on his former team, the [[2009 Green Bay Packers season#Week 4: at Minnesota Vikings|Green Bay Packers]].

===2010s===
{{Split portions |History of Monday Night Football|portions=details that should be ''irrelevant'' in a subsection of an "As entertainment" parent-section |date=March 2020|discuss=Talk:Monday Night Football#History of Monday Night Football page is being neglected }}

====2010 summary====
The opening for the 2010 season was identical to that used in 2009, except for the final scenes. This time, Williams Jr. turns a wheel filled with paint, with CGI colors blasting into the air, revealing the helmets containing logos of the participating teams – which stay on top of the building. In one other minor difference, the chapter numbers in the "book" were changed from Roman to [[Arabic numeral]]s. Gifford provided new vignettes and the Parthenon scenes were repeated from the year before. The 2010 season marked Williams' 22nd as part of the telecast's open.

In an unusual coincidence, both games which had the [[2010 New York Jets season|New York Jets]] as a home team at New Meadowlands Stadium (now [[MetLife Stadium]]) were delayed because of heavy rain and [[lightning]] in the area. In the first instance, the September 13 game against the [[2010 Baltimore Ravens season|Baltimore Ravens]], it was delayed 25 minutes; the second delay, prior to the October 11 contest against the [[2010 Minnesota Vikings season|Minnesota Vikings]], lasted for 40 minutes. Prior to the September 13 game, the last ESPN telecast to encounter weather problems was on October 4, 1998 (a Sunday night) when lightning halted a game between the [[1998 Seattle Seahawks season|Seattle Seahawks]] and [[1998 Kansas City Chiefs season|Kansas City Chiefs]] during the second quarter. The first delay forced ESPN to use [[ESPN2]] for a game telecast, this time for the [[2010 Kansas City Chiefs season|Chiefs]]' home opener against the [[2010 San Diego Chargers season|San Diego Chargers]]. As in 2007, the broadcast was shifted to ESPN once the first game was over.

The game between the Jets and the Vikings was both [[Brett Favre]]'s first game in East Rutherford since his [[2008 New York Jets season|only season there]] in 2008 and marked [[Randy Moss]]'s return to the Vikings. Moss played only four games for Minnesota until he was waived on November 2.

====2011 summary====
The opening sequence for the 2011 season was set in a closed-studio setting, with Hank Williams Jr. (in his 23rd year) performing with a band with members such as Jimi K Bones from [[Kix (band)|KIX]] and [[Blondie (band)|Blondie]], [[The House Jacks]], and Jenny Morrison ([[bass guitar]]), Chris King ([[trumpet]]), Clay Lucovich ([[trombone]]), and Florizel Dennis ([[baritone saxophone]]) from [[Orlando, Florida]] [[ska]] band Tef London, in front of a live audience with large video screens in the background. The end of the opening sequence featured the team logos of that night's participants transitioning into the new ''ESPN Monday Night Football'' logo before going to a live shot. On October 3, 2011, ESPN pulled the theme song after Williams appeared on the [[Fox News Channel]] program, ''[[Fox & Friends]]'', where he compared a golf outing involving [[Barack Obama]], [[John Boehner]], [[Joe Biden]] and [[John Kasich]] to "[[Adolf Hitler|Hitler]] playing golf with [[Benjamin Netanyahu|Netanyahu]]."<ref name="CNN 10-05-11">{{cite news|title=Hank Williams Jr. apologizes for Hitler-Obama comparison|url=http://www.cnn.com/2011/10/04/showbiz/williams-football/|first=Michael|last=Martinez|publisher=[[CNN]]|date=October 5, 2011|access-date=October 7, 2011}}</ref><ref name="ESPN 10-04-11">{{cite news|title=ESPN pulls Williams from MNF opening|url=https://www.espn.com/espn/story/_/id/7056003/espn-pulls-hank-williams-jr-ready-opening-mnf|publisher=[[ESPN]]|date=October 4, 2011|access-date=October 7, 2011}}</ref> On October 6, 2011, it was announced that Williams would no longer be singing the theme song, and that "All My Rowdy Friends" would no longer be used as its theme, as Williams still owns the song. A statement from ESPN said that the network has "decided to part ways with Hank Williams Jr. We appreciate his contributions over the past years. The success of ''MNF'' has always been about the games and that will continue."<ref name="AP100611">{{cite news|title=Hank Williams Jr. out on Monday Night Football|url=https://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/news;_ylt=AgaEFzMgei75x9xc6q4NQ7lDubYF?slug=ap-mondaynightfootball-hankwilliams|agency=[[Associated Press]]|work=[[Yahoo! News]]|date=October 6, 2011}}</ref> Williams commented on the matter: "After reading hundreds of e-mails, I have made my decision... By pulling my opening October 3, [ESPN] stepped on the toes of the First Amendment Freedom of Speech, so therefore me, my song, and ''All My Rowdy Friends'' are out of here. It's been a great run."<ref name="AP100611" /> ''MNF'' did not have an opening sequence at all from Week 4 through the end of that season.

With [[Suzy Kolber]] reassigned to the new studio show ''NFL32'', and [[Michele Tafoya]] having left ESPN for ''[[NBC Sunday Night Football]]'', the sideline reporter position rotated between various reporters for the season.

For the second year in a row, and the third time overall, the beginning of the 10:15&nbsp;p.m. [[Eastern Time Zone|Eastern Time]] game ([[2011 Oakland Raiders season|Oakland Raiders]] at [[2011 Denver Broncos season|Denver Broncos]]) was shown on ESPN2 as the game that began at 7:00&nbsp;pm. Eastern Time ([[2011 New England Patriots season|New England Patriots]] at [[2011 Miami Dolphins season|Miami Dolphins]]) ran past the scheduled time period.

====2012 summary====
[[Lisa Salters]] was named the permanent solo sideline reporter for the 2012 season. In addition, [[color commentator]] [[Ron Jaworski]] did not return to the booth after 5 seasons. As a result, [[Jon Gruden]] became the solo color commentator, with ''MNF'' going back to a two-man booth for the first time since its final season on ABC (2005). ''MNF''{{'}}s opening graphic sequence, which showed the helmet logos of the game's two participating NFL teams and then the program's logo, was seen before the ''Monday Night Football Launch'' segment.

====2013–14 summary====
The opening animation sequence begins with an image of a 2014 [[Chevrolet Silverado|GMC Sierra]] ([[GMC (automobile)|GMC]] paid for product placement) and then goes into a timeline of historical events that occurred during the ''Monday Night Football'' era, including some highlights of ''MNF'' games from the previous 43 seasons up to 2012. At the end of the sequence, helmets featuring logos of that night's two participating teams are shown, followed by the various ''Monday Night Football'' logos used since the program's debut in 1970. The 80-second opening animation sequence, which also featured [[Pac-Man]], [[Darth Vader]] and President [[Ronald Reagan]], was created by actor/filmmaker [[Peter Berg]].

A revision of the opening sequence was used for the 2014 season. Among the few changes, GMC's product placement promoted the automaker's line of [[GMC Denali|Denali]] vehicles, while the sequence itself included some additional highlights of ''MNF'' games from the previous 44 seasons up to 2013.

====2015 summary====
A [[3D animation|3D]] opening animation sequence is used for the 2015 season (46th season overall and tenth on ESPN).  GMC's product placement once again promoted the automaker's line of Denali vehicles, including the Yukon Denali that is seen at the beginning.  Also among the many changes is the highlights of ''MNF'' games – this time, they are set inside a computer-generated stadium using 3D imagery – from the previous 45 seasons up to 2014.

This was [[Mike Tirico]]'s final season as the play-by-play announcer for ''MNF'', as he would join [[NBC Sports]] in June 2016.

====2016 summary====
After three years of using the timeline-themed open, ''MNF'' debuted a new 75-second, Hollywood-themed open on September 12, 2016, featuring ESPN's new ''MNF'' broadcast team – [[Sean McDonough]] (play-by-play), [[Jon Gruden]] (color) and [[Lisa Salters]] (sideline reporter) – and more than 20 active NFL stars and [[Pro Football Hall of Famers]] walking along a [[red carpet]] entrance lined by cheering fans and photographers taking pictures.  It began with a shot of a downtown stadium surrounded by skyscrapers, with a 2017 [[GMC Acadia]] (product placement again provided by GMC) displaying the location for that week's ''MNF'' game on its [[navigation system]].  The Acadia then headed to a glitzy red carpet at the stadium's entrance, where McDonough, Gruden and Salters exit the car, followed on the carpet by a flood of NFL players representing the past and present of ''MNF''. Players then posed for pictures and wave to the crowd as they reach the stadium entrance. [[Josh Norman (cornerback)|Josh Norman]] (Redskins), [[Larry Fitzgerald]] (Cardinals) and [[Rob Gronkowski]] (Patriots) were among the current players being represented in the open, with [[Franco Harris]] (Steelers), [[Jerry Rice]] (49ers), [[Barry Sanders]] (Lions) and [[Bruce Smith (defensive end)|Bruce Smith]] (Bills) among the past players being represented.

For the [[Spanish language|Spanish-language]] version of the Hollywood-themed open, it featured ESPN's Spanish-language ''MNF'' broadcast team – [[Álvaro Martín (sports announcer)|Álvaro Martín]] (play-by-play), [[Raúl Allegre]] (color) and John Sutcliffe (sideline reporter) as well as the current Hispanic [[National Football League|NFL]] players and the team of the Latin American version of ''NFL Live'' led by [[Ciro Procuna]].

====2017 summary====
''MNF'' returned to two teases for the first time since its first season on ESPN (2006).  The Hollywood-themed open was repeated from the previous season, this time with the 2018 [[GMC Terrain]] being used as the automaker's product placement.

Also, Hank Williams Jr. returned to ''MNF'' on September 11, 2017, with an all-new version of the iconic opening theme song, "All My Rowdy Friends Are Here on Monday Night" (used from [[1989 NFL season|1989]] to Week 3 of the [[2011 NFL season|2011 season]]) and it appeared just before that night's [[2017 New Orleans Saints season|New Orleans Saints]]–[[2017 Minnesota Vikings season|Minnesota Vikings]] game. The new version, which is seen just before the kickoff of each game, is a collaboration of Williams Jr., country duo [[Florida Georgia Line]], and [[Contemporary R&B|R&B]] singer [[Jason Derulo]].

The second game of the Week 1 ''MNF'' doubleheader between the [[2017 Los Angeles Chargers season|Los Angeles Chargers]] and the [[2017 Denver Broncos season|Denver Broncos]] saw [[Beth Mowins]] become the first woman to call a nationally televised NFL game.

====2018 summary====
[[File:Joe Tessitore, Jason Witten, Booger McFarland - 2018 SEC Summerfest 4.jpg|thumb|The 2018 season featured (from left) commentators [[Joe Tessitore]] & [[Jason Witten]], and sideline analyst/consultant [[Booger McFarland]].]]
2018 brought in a shakeup of the booth. [[Jon Gruden]] left ''MNF'' after 9 seasons and returned to coaching with the [[2018 Oakland Raiders season|Oakland Raiders]] and was replaced by [[Jason Witten]], formerly a tight end for the [[2017 Dallas Cowboys season|Dallas Cowboys]].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/23392211/dallas-cowboys-tight-end-jason-witten-retires-join-monday-night-football-analyst|title=Cowboys TE Jason Witten retires, joins Monday Night Football as analyst|publisher=ESPN|first=Todd|last=Archer|date=May 4, 2018|access-date=May 8, 2018}}</ref> [[Sean McDonough]] and [[Joe Tessitore]] traded places, with McDonough taking Tessitore's place in the [[ESPN College Football|college booth]], and Tessitore taking McDonough's place in the ''MNF'' booth.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.boston.com/sports/tv/2018/03/09/mcdonough-moving-off-mnf-back-to-college-football-for-espn|title=McDonough moving off MNF, back to college football for ESPN|website=Boston Globe|date=March 9, 2018|access-date=May 8, 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.sportingnews.com/nfl/news/espn-mnf-joe-tessitore-named-new-voice/1s3xa96x4zq1t13i3s75oo9fdh|title=Joe Tessitore reportedly will be named new voice of MNF|first=Thomas|last=Lott|website=sportingnews.com|date=March 9, 2018|access-date=May 8, 2018}}</ref> In addition, [[Booger McFarland]], who has been a college football analyst for the network since 2014, joined the ''MNF'' team as field analyst and consultant.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.sportingnews.com/nfl/news/booger-mcfarland-mnf-monday-night-football-field-analyst-espn-jason-witten-joe-tessitore/eq7ka3b0s26l1bbkbyn04sj4r|title=New 'Monday Night Football' broadcast team made official|website=sportingnews.com|first=Bob|last=Hille|date=May 10, 2018|access-date=June 2, 2018}}</ref> Finally, [[rules analyst]] [[Gerald Austin]] left ''MNF'' to work as an adviser to Gruden and the Raiders and was replaced by recently retired referee [[Jeff Triplette]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.footballzebras.com/2018/06/20/jeff-triplette-to-join-espn-broadcast-booth-as-rules-analyst//|title=Jeff Triplette to join ESPN broadcast booth as rules analyst|first=Cameron|last=Filipe|date=June 20, 2018|website=Football Zebras|access-date=June 20, 2018}}</ref> [[Lisa Salters]] remained the sideline reporter.

Also, ESPN once again scaled back to only one opening tease for the 2018 season, as the Hollywood-themed open was dropped after two seasons.  "All My Rowdy Friends Are Here on Monday Night" featuring country music legend Hank Williams Jr., country music duo Florida Georgia Line and R&B singer Jason Derulo returned from the previous season and is once again seen just before the opening kickoff. Due to the [[Thousand Oaks shooting]], and the then-ongoing Northern California wildfires, the opening intro was not shown during the November 12 broadcast between Pro Bowl wide receiver [[Odell Beckham Jr.]] and the [[2018 New York Giants season|New York Giants]] and Super Bowl-winning cornerback [[Richard Sherman (American football)|Richard Sherman]] and the [[2018 San Francisco 49ers season|San Francisco 49ers]] and also, the historic [[2018 Kansas City Chiefs season|Kansas City Chiefs]]–[[2018 Los Angeles Rams season|Los Angeles Rams]] [[2018 Kansas City Chiefs–Los Angeles Rams game|game]] the following week (November 19).  In the case of the latter, it was originally scheduled to be played at [[Estadio Azteca]] in Mexico City, but was moved to the [[Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum]] (the Rams' home stadium at the time, which itself last hosted a ''Monday Night Football'' game in 1985) due to the poor field conditions at the former. The game would be the highest scoring game in ''MNF'' history, with the Rams defeating the Chiefs by a score of 54–51.

In addition, ESPN also added musical performances during the halftime segment, branded as the ''[[Genesis Motor|Genesis]] Halftime Show'' as part of a sponsorship deal. These performances typically aired at the end of the commercial-free halftime segments and, with the expectation of the Chiefs–Rams game in which there was a live performance, were typically prerecorded in various locations, usually around the city where that week's ''MNF'' game took place.<ref>{{cite web|url= https://espnpressroom.com/us/press-releases/2018/09/genesis-joins-mnf-hafltime/|title= Genesis Joins ESPN's Monday Night Football as Halftime Program/Series Partner|publisher=ESPN Press Room|date=September 10, 2018|accessdate=June 6, 2021}}</ref>

====2019 summary====
ESPN underwent another broadcast booth shakeup, as [[Jason Witten]] left to return to the [[2019 Dallas Cowboys season|Dallas Cowboys]], and rules analyst [[Jeff Triplette]] left after one season. Triplette was replaced with [[John Parry (American football official)|John Parry]], who retired after [[Super Bowl LIII]]. Witten was not replaced, therefore making the 2019 broadcast team consist of Joe Tessitore (play-by-play), Booger McFarland (color commentator) and Lisa Salters (sideline reporter).

The network also brought back [[Hank Williams Jr.]] to perform "All My Rowdy Friends Are Here on Monday Night", which for the first time since 2011, he performed solo, as [[Florida Georgia Line]] and [[Jason Derulo]] all departed after two seasons. The intro to ''Monday Night Football'' also celebrated the 50th season of the program with NFL Legends and Hall of Famers or current NFL players (Texans' [[J. J. Watt]] for the Playoffs) saying "Are you ready for some football?" before Williams Jr. begins playing.

The ''Genesis Halftime Show'' returned for another season and continued to feature prerecorded musical performances; however they were later dropped on October 28 due to poor reception from viewers and was replaced with additional game analysis although Genesis continued to sponsor the halftime show for the remainder of the season.<ref>{{cite web|url= https://awfulannouncing.com/espn/espn-is-getting-rid-of-musical-performances-during-the-mnf-halftime-show.html|title= ESPN is getting rid of musical performances during the MNF halftime show|website=Awful Announcing|date=October 28, 2019|accessdate=June 6, 2021}}</ref>

===2020s===
====2020 summary====
After poor reviews and major criticism, the 2020 season saw another major revamp to ESPN's booth, with [[Steve Levy]], [[Brian Griese]], and [[Louis Riddick]], who called one of ESPN's opening week doubleheader games the year before, replacing [[Joe Tessitore]] and [[Booger McFarland]]. McFarland, however, would switch places with Riddick, taking over in the studio.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2020-09-15|title=ESPN's new Monday Night Football booth is fine, so maybe we can all move on|url=https://awfulannouncing.com/espn/espns-new-monday-night-football-booth-is-fine-and-they-have-a-chance-to-get-even-better.html|access-date=2020-10-10|website=Awful Announcing|language=en-US}}</ref> ESPN/ABC's lead college football commentary team of [[Chris Fowler]], [[Kirk Herbstreit]], and [[Maria Taylor (sportscaster)|Maria Taylor]] called the first game of the Week 1 doubleheader (as Fowler and Taylor were already in the New York area handling the [[2020 US Open (tennis)|US Open]] (Fowler) and the [[2020 NBA playoffs|NBA Playoffs]] (Taylor) respectively).<ref>{{Cite magazine|title=ESPN's Chris Fowler, Kirk Herbstreit shine in NFL debut|url=https://www.si.com/extra-mustard/2020/09/15/espn-monday-night-football-chris-fowler-kirk-herbstreit-debut|access-date=2020-10-10|magazine=Sports Illustrated|publisher=TheMaven/[[Authentic Brands Group]]}}</ref> Fowler and Herbstreit were considered as the new MNF booth, if the [[2020 NCAA Division I FBS football season|2020 college football season]] were to be canceled due to the [[COVID-19 pandemic in the United States|COVID-19 pandemic]]. To formally celebrate the 50th anniversary of ''Monday Night Football'', the Las Vegas Raiders' Week 2 home opener (their first after [[Oakland Raiders relocation to Las Vegas|relocating from Oakland]]) was simulcast by ABC.<ref>{{cite web|last=Florio|first=Mike|date=May 7, 2020|title=First regular-season game in Las Vegas will be simulcast on ABC|url=https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2020/05/07/first-regular-season-game-in-las-vegas-will-be-simulcast-on-abc/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200512045805/https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2020/05/07/first-regular-season-game-in-las-vegas-will-be-simulcast-on-abc/|archive-date=May 12, 2020|access-date=May 8, 2020|work=[[Profootballtalk.com]]}}</ref> The game also featured a special [[ESPN Megacast|Monday Night Megacast]], hosted by [[Rece Davis]] and Herbstreit. This alternate broadcast aired on [[ESPN2]], the first time it had aired an NFL game in its entirety. The Hank Williams Jr. ''MNF'' theme was once again dropped, being replaced by a cover of [[Little Richard]]'s "[[Rip It Up (Little Richard song)|Rip It Up]]" by Virginia-based band Butcher Brown.<ref name="Grow">{{Cite magazine|last=Grow|first=Kory|date=2020-09-15|title=With No Rowdy Fans, ESPN Turns to Little Richard for 'Monday Night Football' Theme|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/little-richard-monday-night-football-1058665/|access-date=2020-10-10|magazine=Rolling Stone|language=en-US}}</ref>

As the game was postponed to October 12 due to a player testing positive for [[COVID-19]], the Week 5 game between the [[2020 Denver Broncos season|Denver Broncos]] and [[2020 New England Patriots season|New England Patriots]] was reassigned to ESPN as the first half of a rare in-season ''MNF'' doubleheader, with the game scheduled for a 5:00&nbsp;p.m. ET kickoff. Fowler and Herbstreit were slated to return and call the game. This time, they would have been joined by [[Laura Rutledge]], host of ''[[NFL Live]]'' and ''[[SEC Nation]]'' on [[SEC Network]].<ref>{{Cite web|date=2020-10-08|title=Sunday's Denver Broncos-New England Patriots game moved to Monday at 5|url=https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/30072969/denver-broncos-new-england-patriots-game-moved-monday-night|access-date=2020-10-10|website=ESPN.com|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=2020-10-09|title=Chris Fowler, Kirk Herbstreit will call Broncos-Patriots on Monday night|url=https://awfulannouncing.com/espn/chris-fowler-kirk-herbstreit-will-call-broncos-patriots-on-monday-night.html|access-date=2020-10-10|website=Awful Announcing|language=en-US}}</ref> However, the game was ultimately postponed to the following Sunday as a Week 6 game due to further positive tests.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Patriots get another positive COVID-19 test, Week 5 now a bye, game vs. Broncos reportedly moved to Week 6|url=https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/patriots-get-another-positive-covid-19-test-week-5-now-a-bye-game-vs-broncos-moved-to-week-6/|access-date=2020-12-03|website=CBSSports.com|date=October 11, 2020 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite magazine|last=Pickman|first=Ben|title=Report: Patriots-Broncos Game Postponed Until Week 6|url=https://www.si.com/nfl/2020/10/11/patriots-shut-facility-down-covid-test|access-date=2020-12-03|magazine=Sports Illustrated|language=en-us}}</ref> Rutledge would eventually fill in for Lisa Salters during the Week 16 ''MNF'' game in Foxborough, as Salters had been following ESPN's COVID-19 protocols.

ESPN announced on November 30 that two December Monday night games, both involving the [[2020 Buffalo Bills season|Buffalo Bills]], would be simulcast on ABC.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/nfl/abc-will-air-2-monday-night-football-games-in-december/2020/11/30/8817d232-3345-11eb-9699-00d311f13d2d_story.html|title=ABC will air 2 'Monday Night Football' games in December|date=30 November 2020|newspaper=[[Washington Post]]|publisher=[[Associated Press]]|access-date=1 December 2020}}</ref> Also announced on November 30 was the debut of the NFL Playoff Megacast, which featured alternate feeds of the [[2020 Baltimore Ravens season|Baltimore Ravens]]–[[2020 Tennessee Titans season|Tennessee Titans]] matchup on ESPN2, [[ESPN+]], and [[Freeform (TV channel)|Freeform]].

The December 21 matchup between the [[2020 Pittsburgh Steelers season|Pittsburgh Steelers]] and [[2020 Cincinnati Bengals season|Cincinnati Bengals]] featured the [[Muppets]] and was themed as "Muppet Night Football." In the opening broadcast of the game, [[Kermit the Frog]] and [[Miss Piggy]] served as announcers from the booth while Fozzie Bear reported from the sidelines.<ref name=":3">{{Cite web|url=https://triblive.com/sports/muppets-to-be-part-of-steelers-bengals-monday-night-football-broadcast/|title='Muppets' to be part of Steelers-Bengals 'Monday Night Football' broadcast|website=[[Pittsburgh Tribune-Review]]|date=December 21, 2020 |access-date=2020-12-23}}</ref> After their appearance in the opening broadcast, the Muppets soon re-appeared with [[Rowlf the Dog]], [[Scooter (Muppet)|Scooter]], [[Gonzo (Muppet)|Gonzo]], [[Animal (Muppet)|Animal]], [[Beaker (Muppet)|Beaker]], the [[Swedish Chef]] and others singing a football-themed rendition "[[Carol of the Bells]]".<ref name=":5">{{Cite web|url=https://www.primetimer.com/watch/the-muppets-take-over-monday-night-football|title=WATCH: Kermit, Piggy and the Gang Take Over Monday Night Football|website=PRIMETIMER|date=December 22, 2020 |access-date=2020-12-23}}</ref><ref name=":6">{{Cite web|url=https://dknation.draftkings.com/2020/12/21/22193695/the-muppets-monday-night-football-pre-game-show-kermit-missy-piggy-espn-fozzie-bear-statler-waldorf|title=Why Kermit, Miss Piggy, and the rest of The Muppets are on the Monday Night Football broadcast|website=[[DraftKings]]|date=December 21, 2020 |access-date=2020-12-23}}</ref> As a result of the [[COVID-19 pandemic]], the segments involving the Muppets were shot with [[puppeteers]] in front of a [[green screen]] at home.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web|url=https://www.espnfrontrow.com/2020/12/watch-out-steelers-and-bengals-the-muppets-blitz-monday-night-football-tonight/|title=Watch Out Steelers And Bengals: The Muppets Blitz 'Monday Night Football' Tonight|website=[[ESPN]]|date=December 21, 2020 |access-date=2020-12-23}}</ref>

====2021 summary====
For the first time since 2005, there was no season-opening doubleheader as the opening game of ''Monday Night Football''{{'}}s 52nd season consisted only of the [[2021 Baltimore Ravens season|Baltimore Ravens]]–[[2021 Las Vegas Raiders season|Las Vegas Raiders]] matchup, which was aired on ESPN and simulcast on ABC, [[ESPN2]], and [[ESPN+]], as part of the network's [[ESPN Megacast|Megacast]] series.  Also, Butcher Brown's cover of Little Richard's "Rip it Up" returned for the second consecutive year as the intro theme for ''MNF''.

Like last season, two late-season games, both being NFC rivalries, were simulcast on ABC, as well as ESPN+. ABC and ESPN+ also simulcast the first ever Week 18 Saturday Doubleheader, a new addition to ESPN's schedule, which was part of the NFL expanding their regular season from 16 to 17 games, and to accommodate ESPN's new NFL media rights deal, which includes the Saturday Doubleheader, a Sunday International game for ESPN+ subscribers, more games on ABC, a Divisional playoff game, and Super Bowls LXI and LXV on ABC, along with rights for ESPN+ to simulcast every ESPN/ABC game, accommodate select games with alternate broadcasts, and flex scheduling beginning in 2023.

On July 19, ESPN announced an agreement with Omaha Productions, the production company of [[Peyton Manning]], to produce [[ESPN Megacast|alternate telecasts]] of ''Monday Night Football'' with Manning, his brother [[Eli Manning|Eli]], and guest celebrities for ten games each season on [[ESPN2]] and [[ESPN+]], from 2021 through 2023.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nfl.com/news/peyton-eli-manning-headline-alternate-monday-night-football-telecast|title= Peyton, Eli Manning to headline alternate 'Monday Night Football' telecast |first=Kevin|last=Patra|work=NFL.com|date=July 19, 2021|access-date=July 19, 2021}}</ref> The Manningcast would also be a part of ESPN's first ever Monday Night Super Wild Card Megacast, which had alternate broadcasts of the game on ESPN2 and ESPN+, to accommodate the main broadcast on ESPN, ABC, and ESPN+. The success of the Manningcast's first season would lead to ESPN adding an extra year to their deal with Omaha Productions in the offseason.

====2022 summary====
This season, ESPN will be working under a new bridge deal to transition themselves into the next television contract. The 2022 season will see ESPN+ add a Sunday International game, an exclusive ''MNF'' game on ABC, and the continuation of the Week 18 Saturday Doubleheader. ESPN made a colossal change to the ''MNF'' booth, the fourth change since 2015, when the network hired [[Joe Buck]] and [[Troy Aikman]], who were [[NFL on Fox|Fox]]'s lead commentary team for the past 20 seasons, as the new announcers for ''MNF'', replacing Levy, Griese (who eventually left ESPN to become the new quarterbacks coach of the [[2022 San Francisco 49ers season|San Francisco 49ers]]), and Riddick.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://deadline.com/2022/03/joe-buck-troy-aikman-monday-night-football-espn-deal-1234980156/|title= Joe Buck And Troy Aikman Officially Exit Fox For ESPN And 'Monday Night Football'|first=Patrick|last=Hipes|work=[[Deadline Hollywood]]|date=March 16, 2022|access-date=April 10, 2022}}</ref> Levy and Riddick will continue to call doubleheaders as the #2 team, with [[Dan Orlovsky]] replacing Griese and Laura Rutledge serving as that team's sideline reporter.<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=McDaniel |first=Mike |title=Dan Orlovsky Taking On New Role at ESPN, per Report |url=https://www.si.com/media/2022/05/18/dan-orlovsky-joins-no-2-nfl-announcing-booth-at-espn |access-date=2022-05-18 |magazine=Sports Illustrated |language=en-us}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-05-18 |title=Dan Orlovsky sticks with ESPN despite Fox pursuit |url=https://awfulannouncing.com/nfl/dan-orlovsky-sticks-with-espn-despite-fox-pursuit.html |access-date=2022-05-18 |website=Awful Announcing |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-07-12 |title=ESPN reveals Monday Night Football doubleheader schedule, called by Steve Levy, Louis Riddick, Dan Orlovsky, and Laura Rutledge |url=https://awfulannouncing.com/espn/espn-reveals-monday-night-football-doubleheader-schedule.html |access-date=2022-07-14 |website=Awful Announcing |language=en-US}}</ref>

Butcher Brown's cover of "Rip it Up" did not return as the intro theme for MNF. Instead, a remix of "Heavy Action" was used, produced by EDM producer and DJ [[Marshmello]].

====2023 summary====
For the 2023 season, ESPN aired four exclusive ''MNF'' games on ABC (Cleveland Browns vs Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 2, Philadelphia Eagles vs Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 3, Green Bay Packers vs. New York Giants in Week 14, and Baltimore Ravens vs. San Francisco 49ers in Week 16).  On September 18, 2023, as previously mentioned, ABC did simulcast 10 additional ''MNF'' games that were originally slated to air only on ESPN, starting with the Week 4 game between the Seattle Seahawks and the New York Giants, making this the first time since 2005 in which ABC will air ''Monday Night Football'' games all season long.  During this season, Joe Buck and Troy Aikman became the NFL's longest-tenured broadcasting team surpassing Pat Summerall and John Madden. The #2 booth saw ESPN's lead college football play-by-play announcer [[Chris Fowler]] take over for Levy with Riddick and Orlovsky. The trio called all three ESPN-exclusive games, as well as the London game (Atlanta Falcons vs. Jacksonville Jaguars) in Week 4 and one of the two Week 18 Saturday doubleheader games. The London game also featured a youth-oriented alternate broadcast on ESPN+ and [[Disney+]], using the league's player tracking data to render a live animated version of the game portrayed by characters from the [[Toy Story (franchise)|''Toy Story'' franchise]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Mendoza |first=Jordan |date=September 11, 2023 |title=NFL in 'Toy Story'? Atlanta Falcons vs. Jacksonville Jaguars game gets animated broadcast |url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nfl/2023/09/11/falcons-jaguars-toy-story-disney-animated-broadcast/70825650007/ |work=USA Today |access-date=September 12, 2023 |archive-date=September 12, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230912090400/https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nfl/2023/09/11/falcons-jaguars-toy-story-disney-animated-broadcast/70825650007/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

This was the first year in which flex scheduling would now apply to ''MNF'' games between Weeks 12 and 17, enabling ESPN to select more viable matchups in later weeks of the season. On November 30, 2023, the Week 15 matchup between the [[2023 Kansas City Chiefs season|Kansas City Chiefs]] at the [[2023 New England Patriots season|New England Patriots]] was flexed out of Monday Night Football in favor of the [[2023 Philadelphia Eagles season|Philadelphia Eagles]] at the [[2023 Seattle Seahawks season|Seattle Seahawks]].<ref name=":8">{{Cite web |title=Week 15 Flex Scheduling: Eagles-Seahawks to Monday Night; NFL Network Tripleheader on Saturday |url=https://nflcommunications.com/Pages/Week-15-Flex-Scheduling---Eagles-Seahawks-to-Monday-Night;-NFL-Network-Tripleheader-on-Saturday.aspx |access-date=2023-11-30 |website=nflcommunications.com}}</ref>

====2024 summary====
For the 2024 season, ESPN originally reduced the amount of ABC simulcasts to four, but maintained the three exclusive ''MNF'' games on ABC (Washington Commanders vs Cincinnati Bengals in Week 3, Seattle Seahawks vs Detroit Lions in Week 4, and Chicago Bears vs. Minnesota Vikings in Week 15).  In addition, in lieu of a London game, ESPN+'s exclusive game will air on a Monday night in Week 7, with the Los Angeles Chargers facing the Arizona Cardinals. It will be the first MNF game that ESPN+ exclusively streams. On October 11, ESPN announced that four more ABC simulcasts were added to the schedule.<ref name="2024 simulcasts"/> ESPN further announced on October 28 that ESPN+, [[Disney+]] and [[NFL+]] will stream an alternate broadcast Cincinnati Bengals vs. Dallas Cowboys called ''[[The Simpsons Funday Football]]'' in Week 14 that will use the league's player tracking data to render a live animated version of the game portrayed by characters from ''[[The Simpsons (franchise)|''The Simpsons'' franchise]]''.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Volner |first=Derek |date=October 28, 2024 |title=Ay, Caramba! The Simpsons Funday Football Streams Live December 9 on Disney+ and ESPN+, a Real-Time Animated Monday Night Football Game Featuring the Bengals and Cowboys in the Iconic Simpsons Cartoon World |url=https://espnpressroom.com/us/press-releases/2024/10/ay-caramba-emthe-simpsons-funday-football-em-streams-live-december-9-on-disney-and-espn-a-real-time-animated-imonday-night-football-i-game-featuring-the-bengals-and-cowboys-in-the-iconic-simpsons-cart/ |access-date=October 29, 2024 |work=ESPN Press Room U.S.}}</ref>

This is the second year in which flex scheduling applies to ''MNF'' games. Games between Weeks 12 and 17 enable ESPN to select more viable matchups in later weeks of the season, though ESPN waived Week 12 due to the lead time involving pre-production elements for ''The Simpsons Funday Football'' broadcast.

==Anthems==
[[Hank Williams Jr.]] reworked his country music hit "[[All My Rowdy Friends Are Coming Over Tonight]]" to be included in the telecast's introduction as "All My Rowdy Friends Are Here on Monday Night" (the original introduction music was an organ-based piece called "Score", written by [[Charles Fox (composer)|Charles Fox]] and recorded by Bob's Band). In addition, [[Edd Kalehoff]] modernized the classic "[[Heavy Action]]" theme in 1989.

For ABC's last ''MNF'' game in 2005, Williams Jr.'s rendition of  "[[The Party's Over (Willie Nelson song)|Turn Out the Lights, The Party's Over]]", closed the broadcast.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/10612536/ns/sports-nfl/ |work=[[NBC Sports]] |publisher=[[NBC Sports Group]] |title=Monday Night Football signs off after 36 years on ABC|url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121012025010/http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/10612536/ns/sports-nfl/ |archive-date=October 12, 2012 }}</ref>

In 2018, ESPN brought back the classic "Heavy Action" theme as the main theme song for ''Monday Night Football''.

In 2020, ESPN replaced Hank Williams Jr.'s ''MNF'' theme with a cover of [[Little Richard]]'s "[[Rip It Up (Little Richard song)|Rip It Up]]" by Virginia-based band Butcher Brown for the 2020 and 2021 seasons.<ref name="Grow" /> For the 2021–22 season, the theme sometimes played in reverse.

In 2022, ESPN added the remixed version of "Heavy Action" done by American DJ [[Marshmello]] as the intro theme for ''MNF'' as a replacement for Butcher Brown's ''Rip It Up''; the aforementioned original version of "Heavy Action" is still being used in the broadcast.

In 2023, ESPN debuted the official new opening song, "In the Air Tonight," a cover of the 1981 [[Phil Collins]] classic, featuring [[Chris Stapleton]], [[Cindy Blackman Santana]], and [[Snoop Dogg]]. The new opening song is co-produced by ESPN's Creative Content Unit and Grammy-winning musician David Cobb, with lyrics written by [[M. K. Asante]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://people.com/snoop-dogg-chris-stapleton-cover-phil-collins-monday-night-football-7971240|title=Snoop Dogg and Chris Stapleton Team Up to Cover Phil Collins' 'In the Air Tonight' for 'Monday Night Football'|website=Peoplemag}}</ref> The song aired before all Monday Night Football games as well as ESPN's week 18 Saturday doubleheader, super wild card and first divisional playoff game. This theme was retained for the 2024 and 2025 seasons. For the 2025 season, the theme (excluding Snoop Dogg's spoken verse) will sometimes play in reverse.

==Digital on-screen graphics==
{{Unreliable sources|date=September 2012}}
Prior to 1997, ''Monday Night Football'' had a limited graphics package. A [[Computer-generated imagery|CGI]]-based intro began being used in 1984, with on-screen graphics still limited to basic text.<ref>{{YouTube|title=1983 Monday Night Football intro|id=dfYNkMH-R9k}}</ref><ref>{{YouTube|title=1984 Monday Night Football intro|id=uaKzKXGJNnw}}</ref> In 1988, the entire graphics package was updated significantly to be more in line with the rest of [[ABC Sports]]' presentations. That year, it introduced the "clashing helmets" intro, with on-screen graphics consisting of italicized text underlined in red.<ref>{{YouTube|title=1988 Monday Night Football intro|id=pUS8sHmdeMo}}</ref> It was updated in [[1994 NFL season|1994]], the year the network hosted [[Super Bowl XXIX]], with a more box-like design.<ref>{{YouTube|title=Monday Night Football, 1994|id=bHun6pJbVKk}}</ref> A permanent [[score bug]] would not be introduced until [[1997 NFL season|1997]].

===1997–2005===
''Monday Night Football'' began using a score bug in 1997, the second network to do so after [[NFL on Fox|Fox]] introduced the first regular on-screen scoring bug when it began airing NFL games in 1994. Prior to this, the graphics package was limited, but followed a basic "ketchup and mustard" color scheme of red and yellow. The first scorebug included team names, scores, time remaining, and displayed which quarter the game was in.<ref>{{YouTube|title=Monday Night Football, 1997|id=Ysi5MTgIVh0}}</ref> This design was used through the [[1998 NFL season|1998 season]].

ABC hosted [[Super Bowl XXXIV]] for 1999, and updated its graphics package to more closely resemble those of sister cable network ESPN. ABC began using extended abbreviations for team names (for example, "[[Tennessee Titans|TENN]]", "[[Minnesota Vikings|VIKES]]", "[[Green Bay Packers|PACK]]", and "[[Miami Dolphins|FINS]]" instead of "TEN", "MIN", "GB", and "MIA"), as four-letter and five-letter abbreviations were used on ESPN coverage. The result was a larger scorebug with a more conventional font.<ref>{{YouTube|title=Super Bowl XXXIV|id=ojNKQi8_ZBQ}}</ref> It was slightly modified in [[2000 NFL season|2000]] to have a border that was more in line with the red and yellow color scheme.<ref>{{YouTube|title=Monday Night Football, 2000|id=lQmyLLxRNcA}}</ref>

The graphics for ''Monday Night Football'' were changed in the [[2002 NFL season|2002 season]], the year the network hosted [[Super Bowl XXXVII]]. The scorebug was a solid color, with a more rounded shape, and a horizontally compressed font. ESPN's graphics were no longer similar to those of ABC's (with ESPN instead using a gray and black design with rounded corners).<ref>{{cite web|title=Super Bowl XXXVII| website=[[YouTube]] |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aKsQeTh3TRs| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120901232231/http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aKsQeTh3TRs&gl=US&hl=en| archive-date=2012-09-01 | url-status=dead}}</ref> In [[2005 NFL season|2005]], the broadcast's final year on ABC, ''Monday Night Football'' began using a horizontal bar on the bottom of the screen rather than a scorebug, with all information being contained on a single line.<ref>{{YouTube|title=Super Bowl XL|id=JP2uJBWZ1IE}}</ref>

===2006–present===
After ''MNF'' moved to ESPN in 2006, ESPN adopted new red and black graphics with heavier use of 3D elements and animations; this package would be adopted by other major ESPN properties, including [[ESPN College Football|college football]], the [[NBA on ESPN|NBA]], [[Major League Baseball on ESPN|Major League Baseball]], and [[NASCAR on ESPN|NASCAR]] among others. For ''MNF'', a "pod" scoreboard at the bottom-center of the screen was used.

For the 2008 season, a new graphics scheme was introduced, in which the scorebar and all [[lower third]]s were confined to a dedicated "dashboard" area spanning across the bottom of the screen. Lower third graphics replaced the scorebar when in use.<ref name="svg-rethinks">{{cite web|title=ESPN Rethinks Lower-Third Graphics for 'Monday Night Football'|url=http://www.sportsvideo.org/portal/artman/publish/article_12270.shtml|website=Sports Video Group|access-date=September 5, 2014}}</ref> For 2009, an updated metallic silver design was introduced, dropping the "dashboard". The scheme would, again, be adopted by other major ESPN properties. In the 2011 season, ''MNF'' introduced a dedicated graphics package with a red and black metallic design and larger scoreboard, as well as a redesigned ''MNF'' shield logo.

For the 2015 season, ESPN introduced another overhaul of its ''MNF'' graphics, with a new scoreboard spanning the bottom of the screen; the scoreboard was also sometimes hidden when plays were in progress.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://awfulannouncing.com/2015/espn-debuts-sweet-new-monday-night-football-graphics.html|title=ESPN debuts sweet new Monday Night Football graphics|date=2015-09-15|website=Awful Announcing|language=en-US|access-date=2019-09-10}}</ref> This design persisted through 2018, although with amendments in its final season (including a different, italicized font for the scoreboard and downs indicator, and the downs indicator now resembling an arrow, and alternating sides of the screen with the ESPN logo depending on the direction of play).<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://awfulannouncing.com/espn/espn-monday-night-football-scorebug-down-distance-font.html|title=ESPN's new Monday Night Football scorebug now includes down and distance arrow|date=2018-09-11|website=Awful Announcing|language=en-US|access-date=2019-09-10}}</ref>

In 2019, ESPN introduced a new graphics scheme for its NFL programming (modeled upon branding it debuted during the [[NFL draft]] in 2018), incorporating refreshed logos, new visual motifs such as [[monochrome photography]], smoke, [[liquid metal]], and a black, white, and [[Lime (color)|lime]] color scheme (the last of which being referred to internally as "venom").<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.newscaststudio.com/2019/09/04/espn-nfl-new-graphics/?og=1|title=ESPN unites NFL programming under bold new look — powered by 'venom'|website=NewscastStudio|date=September 4, 2019 |language=en-US|access-date=2019-09-11}}</ref> The ''MNF'' scoreboard retained a similar layout to before, but with new fonts and only showing team logos.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" /> 

During the first half of ESPN's opening game, the downs indicator was initially an arrow in the aforementioned "Venom" color, attracting criticism from viewers who felt that it could be confused for the penalty indicator (typically colored in yellow to match the [[penalty flag|flag]]; the flag graphic used a black rectangle with a venom-colored border and text). ESPN producers quickly modified the graphic over halftime, changing it to a black arrow with a white outline and text. ''[[Chicago Tribune]]'' media writer [[Phil Rosenthal]] described the briefly-used graphic as a "fluorescent-highlighter fever dream", and felt that "the quickness with which ESPN abandoned this unnecessary bit of flash probably speaks more to how misguided this latest supposed 'innovation' was than any increased sensitivity to the twitterati."<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/breaking/ct-espn-monday-night-football-graphic-20190910-75qfa5shhjhorcud55dj6g7w2a-story.html|title=ESPN introduced an ugly 'Monday Night Football' graphic. Viewers complained — it was gone by halftime.|last=Rosenthal|first=Phil|website=Chicago Tribune|date=September 10, 2019 |access-date=2019-09-10}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite web|url=https://deadspin.com/dear-espn-please-stop-using-yellow-in-your-monday-nigh-1837996545|title=Dear ESPN, Please Stop Using Yellow In Your Monday Night Football Down-And-Distance Graphic [UPDATE: It's Gone]|last=Thompson|first=Chris|date=September 9, 2019|website=Deadspin|access-date=September 10, 2019}}</ref> Despite the previous incident, ESPN faced similar criticism in January 2021 during the [[College Football Playoff]] semi-finals, where the same indicator used a [[Gold leaf|gold]]-texture to match the event's branding.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2021-01-01|title=ESPN's gold Rose Bowl scorebug is again making fans think there's a flag on every play|url=https://awfulannouncing.com/espn/espns-gold-rose-bowl-scorebug-is-again-making-fans-think-theres-a-flag-on-every-play.html|access-date=2021-01-13|website=Awful Announcing|language=en-US}}</ref>

Starting with the [[2023 NFL season]], ESPN debuted new on-air presentation for its NFL broadcasts, updating the 2019 graphics with a glossier, neon theme.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2023-09-11|title=Monday Night Football New Scorebug|url=https://awfulannouncing.com/espn/monday-night-football-new-scorebug.html|access-date=2023-09-23|website=Awful Announcing|language=en-US}}</ref>

For the [[Toy Story (franchise)|Toy Story]] Funday Football broadcast on [[Disney+]] and [[ESPN+]], the graphics have been modified to match the film's visuals, such as sky wallpaper in Andy's Room.

Similarly, for ''[[The Simpsons Funday Football]]'' broadcast on Disney+ and ESPN+, the graphics have been modified to match the show's visuals, like Springfield's sky background.

==Scoring records==
{{See also|List of Monday Night Football results (1970–2005)|List of Monday Night Football results (2006–2019)|List of Monday Night Football results (2020–present)}}
* '''Most points'''
** 59 – [[2010 Philadelphia Eagles season|Philadelphia Eagles]], November 15, {{nfly|2010}} vs. [[2010 Washington Redskins season|Washington Redskins]]
** 55 – [[1988 Indianapolis Colts season|Indianapolis Colts]], October 31, {{nfly|1988}} vs. [[1988 Denver Broncos season|Denver Broncos]]
** 54 – [[2018 Los Angeles Rams season|Los Angeles Rams]], [[2018 Kansas City Chiefs–Los Angeles Rams game|November 19, 2018]] vs. [[2018 Kansas City Chiefs season|Kansas City Chiefs]]
** 52 – [[1991 San Francisco 49ers season|San Francisco 49ers]], December 23, {{nfly|1991}} vs. [[1991 Chicago Bears season|Chicago Bears]]
** 51 – [[2008 New Orleans Saints season|New Orleans Saints]], November 24, {{nfly|2008}} vs. [[2008 Green Bay Packers season|Green Bay Packers]]
** 51 – [[2018 Kansas City Chiefs season|Kansas City Chiefs]], [[2018 Kansas City Chiefs–Los Angeles Rams game|November 19, 2018]] vs. [[2018 Los Angeles Rams season|Los Angeles Rams]] (most points scored by a losing team in NFL history)
** 50 – [[1982 San Diego Chargers season|San Diego Chargers]], December 20, {{nfly|1982}} vs. [[1982 Cincinnati Bengals season|Cincinnati Bengals]]
** 49 – [[2004 Philadelphia Eagles season|Philadelphia Eagles]], November 15, {{nfly|2004}} vs. [[2004 Dallas Cowboys season|Dallas Cowboys]]
** 49 – [[2004 Kansas City Chiefs season|Kansas City Chiefs]], December 13, {{nfly|2004}} vs. [[2004 Tennessee Titans season|Tennessee Titans]]
** 48 – [[1981 Detroit Lions season|Detroit Lions]], October 19, {{nfly|1981}} vs. [[1981 Chicago Bears season|Chicago Bears]]
** 48 – [[1983 Green Bay Packers season|Green Bay Packers]], October 17, {{nfly|1983}} vs. [[1983 Washington Redskins season|Washington Redskins]]
** 48 – [[2004 Tennessee Titans season|Tennessee Titans]], October 11, {{nfly|2004}} vs. [[2004 Green Bay Packers season|Green Bay Packers]]
** 48 – [[2005 Baltimore Ravens season|Baltimore Ravens]], December 19, {{nfly|2005}} vs. [[2005 Green Bay Packers season|Green Bay Packers]]
** 48 – [[2018 New York Jets season|New York Jets]], September 10, {{nfly|2018}} vs. [[2018 Detroit Lions season|Detroit Lions]]
* '''Most one-sided games'''
** 45 points – [[2005 Baltimore Ravens season|Baltimore]] 48, [[2005 Green Bay Packers season|Green Bay]] 3 – December 19, {{nfly|2005}}
** 42 points – [[1986 Miami Dolphins season|Miami]] 45, [[1986 New York Jets season|N.Y. Jets]] 3 – November 24, {{nfly|1986}}
** 42 points – [[2005 Seattle Seahawks season|Seattle]] 42, [[2005 Philadelphia Eagles season|Philadelphia]] 0 – December 5, {{nfly|2005}} (largest margin of victory by an MNF road team)
** 42 points – [[2010 New England Patriots season|New England]] 45, [[2010 New York Jets season|N.Y. Jets]] 3 – December 6, {{nfly|2010}}
** 41 points – [[1987 San Francisco 49ers season|San Francisco]] 41, [[1987 Chicago Bears season|Chicago]] 0 – December 14, {{nfly|1987}}
** 39 points – [[1975 Los Angeles Rams season|Los Angeles]] 42, [[1975 Philadelphia Eagles season|Philadelphia]] 3 – November 3, {{nfly|1975}}
** 39 points – [[2019 Baltimore Ravens season|Baltimore]] 45, [[2019 Los Angeles Rams season|L.A. Rams]] 6 – November 25, {{nfly|2019}}
** 38 points – [[2011 Green Bay Packers season|Green Bay]] 45, [[2011 Minnesota Vikings season|Minnesota]] 7 – November 14, {{nfly|2011}}
** 38 points – [[1991 San Francisco 49ers season|San Francisco]] 52, [[1991 Chicago Bears season|Chicago]] 14 – December 23, {{nfly|1991}}
** 38 points – [[1992 San Francisco 49ers season|San Francisco]] 41, [[1992 Atlanta Falcons season|Atlanta]] 3 – November 9, {{nfly|1992}}
** 38 points – [[1970 St. Louis Cardinals (NFL) season|St. Louis]] 38, [[1970 Dallas Cowboys season|Dallas]] 0 – November 16, {{nfly|1970}}
* '''Highest scoring games'''
** [[2018 Kansas City Chiefs–Los Angeles Rams game|105 points]] – [[2018 Los Angeles Rams season|L.A. Rams]] 54, [[2018 Kansas City Chiefs season|Kansas City]] 51 – [[2018 Kansas City Chiefs–Los Angeles Rams game|November 19, 2018]]
** 95 points – [[1983 Green Bay Packers season|Green Bay]] 48, [[1983 Washington Redskins season|Washington]] 47 – October 17, {{nfly|1983}}
** 89 points – [[2020 Baltimore Ravens season|Baltimore]] 47, [[2020 Cleveland Browns season|Cleveland]] 42 – December 14, {{nfly|2020}}
** 87 points – [[2004 Kansas City Chiefs season|Kansas City]] 49, [[2004 Tennessee Titans season|Tennessee]] 38 – December 13, {{nfly|2004}}
** 87 points – [[2010 Philadelphia Eagles season|Philadelphia]] 59, [[2010 Washington Redskins season|Washington]] 28 – November 15, {{nfly|2010}}
** 84 points – [[1982 San Diego Chargers season|San Diego]] 50, [[1982 Cincinnati Bengals season|Cincinnati]] 34 – December 20, {{nfly|1982}}
** 82 points – [[2004 Dallas Cowboys season|Dallas]] 43, [[2004 Seattle Seahawks season|Seattle]] 39 – December 6, {{nfly|2004}}
** 80 points – [[2008 New Orleans Saints season|New Orleans]] 51, [[2008 Green Bay Packers season|Green Bay]] 29 – November 24, {{nfly|2008}}
** 80 points – [[2014 Green Bay Packers season|Green Bay]] 43, [[2014 Atlanta Falcons season|Atlanta]] 37 – December 8, {{nfly|2014}}
** 79 points – [[1980 Oakland Raiders season|Oakland]] 45, [[1980 Pittsburgh Steelers season|Pittsburgh]] 34 – October 20, {{nfly|1980}}
** 78 points – [[1983 Los Angeles Raiders season|L.A. Raiders]] 40, [[1983 Dallas Cowboys season|Dallas]] 38 – October 23, {{nfly|1983}}
** 78 points – [[1988 Indianapolis Colts season|Indianapolis]] 55, [[1988 Denver Broncos season|Denver]] 23 – October 31, {{nfly|1988}}
** 78 points – [[2008 Dallas Cowboys season|Dallas]] 41, [[2008 Philadelphia Eagles season|Philadelphia]] 37 – September 15, {{nfly|2008}}
* '''Lowest scoring games'''
** 3 points – [[2007 Pittsburgh Steelers season|Pittsburgh]] 3, [[2007 Miami Dolphins season|Miami]] 0 – November 26, {{nfly|2007}}
** 9 points – [[2006 Jacksonville Jaguars season|Jacksonville]] 9, [[2006 Pittsburgh Steelers season|Pittsburgh]] 0 – September 18, {{nfly|2006}}
** 10 points – [[1990 San Francisco 49ers season|San Francisco]] 7, [[1990 New York Giants season|N.Y. Giants]] 3 – December 3, {{nfly|1990}}
** 12 points – [[1980 Oakland Raiders season|Oakland]] 9, [[1980 Denver Broncos season|Denver]] 3 – December 1, {{nfly|1980}}
** 13 points – [[1975 Los Angeles Rams season|Los Angeles]] 10, [[1975 Pittsburgh Steelers season|Pittsburgh]] 3 – December 20, {{nfly|1975}}
** 13 points – [[1977 Baltimore Colts season|Baltimore]] 10, [[1977 Washington Redskins season|Washington]] 3 – November 7, {{nfly|1977}}
** 14 points – [[1978 Washington Redskins season|Washington]] 9, [[1978 Dallas Cowboys season|Dallas]] 5 – October 2, {{nfly|1978}}
** 15 points – [[1979 Houston Oilers season|Houston]] 9, [[1979 Miami Dolphins season|Miami]] 6 – November 5, {{nfly|1979}}
** 15 points – [[1983 Detroit Lions season|Detroit]] 13, [[1983 Minnesota Vikings season|Minnesota]] 2 – December 5, {{nfly|1983}}
** 15 points – [[1997 Buffalo Bills season|Buffalo]] 9, [[1997 Indianapolis Colts season|Indianapolis]] 6 – October 20, {{nfly|1997}}
* '''Ties'''
** [[1971 Detroit Lions season|Detroit]] 14, [[1971 Green Bay Packers season|Green Bay]] 14 – November 1, {{nfly|1971}}
** [[1973 Oakland Raiders season|Oakland]] 23, [[1973 Denver Broncos season|Denver]] 23 – October 22, {{nfly|1973}}
** [[1983 New York Giants season|N.Y. Giants]] 20, [[1983 St. Louis Cardinals (NFL) season|St. Louis]] 20 (OT) – October 24, {{nfly|1983}}
* '''Scorigami'''
** 22-20 – [[1970 Green Bay Packers season|Green Bay Packers]], October 12, {{nfly|1970}} at [[1970 San Diego Chargers season|San Diego Chargers]]

===Most frequent matchups===
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Count
! Matchup
! Record
! Years Played
! Significance
|-
| 20
| [[Denver Broncos]] vs. [[Las Vegas Raiders]]
| {{nowrap|Broncos, 10–9–1}}
| 1973, 1975, 1978, 1980, 1987, 1988, 1993, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2008, 2011, 2013, 2018, 2019
| [[Broncos–Raiders rivalry]]
|-
| 17
| [[Dallas Cowboys]] vs. [[Washington Commanders]]
| {{nowrap|Cowboys, 9–8}}
| 1973, 1978, 1980, 1983, 1985, 1987, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1997, 2000, 2001, 2004, 2005, 2011, 2014, 2015
| [[Commanders–Cowboys rivalry]]
|-
| 15
| [[Los Angeles Rams]] vs. [[San Francisco 49ers]]
| {{nowrap|49ers, 11–4}}
| 1972, 1974, 1976, 1982, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1989, 1990, 1991, 2002, 2014, 2016, 2021, 2022
| [[49ers–Rams rivalry]]
|-
| 14
| [[Miami Dolphins]] vs. [[New York Jets]]
| {{nowrap|Jets, 7–6}}
| 1974, 1980, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1999, 2000, 2004, 2006, 2009, 2011, 2014, 2025
| [[Dolphins–Jets rivalry]]
|-
| 13
| [[Dallas Cowboys]] vs. [[New York Giants]]
| {{nowrap|Cowboys, 10–3}}
| 1971, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1994, 1995, 1998, 1999, 2003, 2006, 2010, 2019, 2022
| [[Cowboys–Giants rivalry]]
|-
| 13
| [[Dallas Cowboys]] vs. [[Philadelphia Eagles]]
| {{nowrap|Cowboys, 9–4}}
| 1974, 1979, 1992, 1993, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2004, 2005, 2008, 2021(1), 2021(2)
| [[Cowboys–Eagles rivalry]]
|-
| 13
| [[Miami Dolphins]] vs. [[New England Patriots]]
| {{nowrap|Dolphins, 7–6}}
| 1975, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1997, 1998, 2004, 2010, 2011, 2017
| [[Dolphins–Patriots rivalry]]
|-
| 12
| [[Cincinnati Bengals]] vs. [[Pittsburgh Steelers]]
| {{nowrap|Steelers, 8–4}}
| 1970, 1977, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1992, 2010, 2013, 2017, 2019, 2020
| [[Bengals–Steelers rivalry]]
|-
| 11
| [[Chicago Bears]] vs. [[Green Bay Packers]]
| {{nowrap|Bears, 6–5}}
| 1974, 1985, 1986, 1994, 1995, 1997, 2002, 2003, 2008, 2010, 2013
| [[Bears–Packers rivalry]]
|-
| 11
| [[Buffalo Bills]] vs. [[Miami Dolphins]]
| {{nowrap|Bills, 6–5}}
| 1976, 1981, 1984, 1988, 1991, 1992, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999
| [[Bills–Dolphins rivalry]]
|}

==Monday Night Football scheduling==

From {{NFL Year|1970}} to {{NFL Year|1997}}, ABC's ''Monday Night Football'' coverage began at 9 p.m. Eastern Time, with game kickoff typically occurring at seven minutes past the hour. Coverage was moved one hour earlier to 8 p.m. Eastern Time in {{nfly|1998}}, with a [[pre-game show]] titled ''Monday Night Blast'', hosted by [[Chris Berman]] from the [[ESPN Zone]] restaurant in [[Baltimore]] preceding the start of the game at 8:20&nbsp;p.m. This was done mainly to address ABC's inability to find a suitable 8 p.m. lead-in program for ''MNF'' since ''[[MacGyver (1985 TV series)|MacGyver]]'' ended its run in 1992 (not even two other series from ''MacGyver''{{'}}s production company [[Paramount Television]] – ''[[The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles]]'' and ''[[The Marshal]]'' – saw success, despite the former's ties to [[Paramount Pictures|Paramount]]'s ''[[Indiana Jones]]'' film series), and to allow stations to start their late local newscasts nearer to their regular times. Poor ratings caused this experiment to be dropped after one season, with ''MNF'' once again moving to 9 p.m. in {{nfly|1999}}, though in many NFL markets, the 8 p.m. (Eastern Time) hour from 1999 to 2006 was replaced by affiliates with locally produced and programmed sports discussion and coaches shows, with ABC programming in that hour moved to late night or weekend slots; by the end of the ABC run, the 8 p.m. time-slot was filled with either news magazines and short-lived reality television programs which failed to make any ratings headways due to affiliate pre-emptions.

From {{NFL Year|1970}} to {{NFL Year|1995}}, [[Fisher Communications|Fisher Broadcasting]]'s ABC affiliates in [[Seattle]] ([[KOMO-TV]]) and [[Portland, Oregon|Portland]] ([[KATU]]) aired ''MNF'' games on a one-hour [[broadcast delay|tape delay]] starting at 7 p.m. [[Pacific Time Zone|Pacific Time]] (games normally started in the Pacific Time Zone at 6 p.m., corresponding to 9 p.m. Eastern) in order to accommodate local newscasts (unless the [[Seattle Seahawks]] were playing, in which case the game was shown [[Live television|live]]). The practice, long opposed by viewers and ABC, ended in {{nfly|1996}}. KOMO then tried to accommodate having to air its local newscasts earlier than its local station competitors by marketing it as ''KOMO 4 News Primetime'', touting it as a way to watch the news at a more convenient time than during evening rush hour. Additionally, this practice was done in Hawaii, where [[Honolulu]] ABC affiliate [[KITV]] delayed the game until 7 p.m. [[Hawaii–Aleutian Time Zone|Hawaii–Aleutian Time]]. Thus, the game, which was broadcast live on local radio starting at 3 or 4 p.m., was almost over before it aired on television. In the case of [[Guam]], [[KTGM]], the ABC affiliate in that U.S. territory, aired ''MNF'' live on Tuesdays at 11 am-2:30 pm as Guam is a day ahead of the United States due to being located on the other side of [[International Date Line]].

The demand to broadcast ''Monday Night Football'' games live across the United States over ABC was difficult to reconcile with other prime-time programming, which is usually set to begin at a certain local time regardless of time zone. On the East Coast, with ''MNF'' beginning at 9 p.m. [[Eastern Time Zone|Eastern Time]], there was an hour of primetime in which to schedule regular programming. However, on the West Coast, the games lasted from 6 to 9:30&nbsp;p.m. Pacific Time (or in the case of Seattle and Portland from 1970 to 1995, 7 to 10:30&nbsp;p.m.), leaving little or no time for additional network programming on Monday. As a result, network programs scheduled for prime time on the East Coast were broadcast at various hours on the West Coast. Most affiliates pushed the network shows to immediately after the game; however, Los Angeles [[owned-and-operated station]] [[KABC-TV]] postponed them until 10 p.m. from at least the mid-1990s until 2005 to show trivia contests and other sports shows produced locally (the longest-tenured such show was ''Monday Night Live'', hosted by sports anchor [[Todd Donoho]]). Meanwhile, KOMO, one of the stations that tape delayed ''MNF'' in most cases, broadcast new episodes of the sitcom ''[[Coach (TV series)|Coach]]'' on Saturday afternoons (usually reserved, coincidentally enough, for [[College Football on ABC|college football telecasts]]; much of the series took place on a fictional college campus). Except for Seattle and Portland from 1970 to 1995, ''[[ABC World News Tonight]]'' was routinely preempted on most West Coast affiliates, though the ABC network-owned stations (e.g. Los Angeles) aired the program earlier in the afternoon.

Since ESPN took over the coverage in 2006, games normally had a kickoff time of 8:30&nbsp;p.m. Eastern, which was later changed to 8:15&nbsp;p.m. Eastern in 2018. However, when ESPN aired a [[doubleheader (television)|doubleheader]] during the first week of the season until 2021, the games respectively started at 7 p.m. and 10:15&nbsp;p.m. Eastern.

When ESPN took over ''MNF'' in 2006, the NFL mandated that games needed to be simulcast on a local station in each team's home market. Although they were officially determined via a [[Broadcast syndication|syndication]]-like process, in most cases these local stations were ABC affiliates. This became a problem when ABC aired ''[[Dancing with the Stars (American TV series)|Dancing with the Stars]]'' on Monday nights. Whenever an ABC affiliate pre-empted the show to air the NFL, these stations would then broadcast ''Dancing with the Stars'' on tape delay immediately after their late-evening local newscasts, ''[[Jimmy Kimmel Live!]]'', and ''[[Nightline]]''. This resulted in the program's telephone and Internet voting coordinators keeping a late-night voting window open for the market(s) where ''Dancing with the Stars'' was pre-empted.

In some cases, the ''Dancing with the Stars'' was moved to a sister station of the ABC affiliate to air live instead (for example, until 2011 in the [[Minneapolis]]–[[St. Paul, Minnesota|St. Paul]] market, when [[NBC]] affiliate [[KARE (TV)|KARE]] took over as the local broadcaster of ''MNF'' games if the [[Minnesota Vikings]] were playing a game being simulcast on local ABC affiliate [[KSTP-TV]], sister independent station [[KSTC-TV]] aired ''DWTS'' live). In 2016, for the opening week Monday night game (the second in a doubleheader) between the [[Los Angeles Rams]] and [[San Francisco 49ers]], the ABC-owned stations in both markets ([[KABC-TV]] and [[KGO-TV]]) would broadcast ''World News Tonight'' and ''DWTS'' in their live Eastern Time Zone slots, thus airing at 3:30&nbsp;p.m. and 5 p.m. PT respectively (the ''WNT'' simulcast was later made permanent on both stations every weekday for ratings purposes).

In 2022, when ABC began airing select exclusive ''MNF'' telecasts, ''Dancing with the Stars'' was moved to [[Disney+]] for at least that season.<ref name="Lynette Rice" /> ABC then scheduled ''[[Bachelor in Paradise (American TV series)|Bachelor in Paradise]]'' and other programming on Monday nights instead, which were then preempted nationally during those weeks when the network aired its exclusive ''MNF'' games.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://deadline.com/2022-23-abc-schedule/|title=2022-23 ABC Schedule|website=Deadline Hollywood|date=May 9, 2022 |access-date=May 3, 2023}}</ref> In May 2023, ABC announced that ''Dancing with the Stars'' would be moved back to ABC on Monday nights, and would thus again cause the same local market conflict during those weeks when ''MNF'' is nationally only on ESPN, in August, as a result of the [[2023 Hollywood labor disputes]], ABC announced that its Monday and Tuesday schedules were getting revised, with ''Dancing With the Stars'' scheduled to air on Tuesdays, once again, therefore resolving the conflict for this season.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Rice |first=Lynette |date=2023-05-02 |title='Dancing With The Stars' Shocker: Popular Show Is Moving Back To ABC From Disney+ |url=https://deadline.com/2023/05/dancing-with-the-stars-moving-back-to-abc-1235353662/ |website=Deadline Hollywood|access-date=May 3, 2023}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Breaking News - ABC, No. 1 in Entertainment for Fourth Consecutive Season, Announces 2023-2024 Fall Primetime Schedule Featuring Strong Slate of Fan-Favorite Programming With Originals Debuting Every Night {{!}} TheFutonCritic.com |url=http://www.thefutoncritic.com/news/2023/05/16/abc-no-1-in-entertainment-for-fourth-consecutive-season-announces-2023-2024-fall-primetime-schedule-featuring-strong-slate-of-fan-favorite-programming-with-originals-debuting-every-night-744115/20230516abc01/ |access-date=2023-05-16 |website=www.thefutoncritic.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Rice |first=Lynette |date=2023-09-12 |title='Dancing With The Stars' Moves To Tuesdays This Fall; Jamie Lynn Spears Latest Celebrity Set To Compete |url=https://deadline.com/2023/09/dancing-with-the-stars-tuesdays-fall-jamie-lynn-spears-joins-cast-1235543907/ |access-date=2023-09-12 |website=Deadline}}</ref> Eventually, because of the strikes, ABC picked up the entire season of MNF, in addition to their four exclusive games, to fill their Monday schedule in the fall. This wound up being the first full season of MNF to air on ABC in any capacity since 2005.

==Commentators==
{{Main|List of Monday Night Football commentators}}
{{Timeline Monday Night Football}}

==Foreign-language versions==
===Spanish version===
Since {{nfly|2006}}, a [[Spanish language|Spanish-language]] telecast is also broadcast on [[ESPN Deportes]], the Spanish version of ESPN and on [[ESPN Latin America]], featuring NBA and NFL play-by-play announcer [[Álvaro Martín (sports announcer)|Álvaro Martín]], Super Bowl winner [[Raul Allegre]] as color commentator and John Sutcliffe as the field reporter. This is the same crew of '''La NFL Dominical''', the Spanish version of [[ESPN Sunday Night Football]], until {{nfly|2005}}. The announcers of the second game of the 2006 doubleheader were [[Eduardo Varela]] (play-by-play), Robert Abramowitz (color) and Georgina Ruiz Sandoval (field reporter). Preceding the game '''''NFL Esta Noche''''' (''NFL Tonight''), the 30-minute pre-game show, can be seen on both networks.

The four booth announcers called the 2007 season opening games from ESPN's [[Bristol, Connecticut]] headquarters while watching games on [[television set|monitors]]. None of them traveled to the game sites and there were no sideline reporters in the early weeks. Sutcliffe would later report from the game sites. Allegre did not work the season finale between the Broncos and Chargers; he was replaced by Abramovitz.

In 2008, Martin and Allegre only travelled to the Cowboys–Eagles game, during the NFL's celebrations of [[Hispanic Heritage Month]].

As part of ESPN's agreement to simulcast their Wild Card game on ABC, Martin and Allegre's Spanish-language commentary is carried over the [[second audio program|SAP channel]] on ABC, equivalent to the rest of the NFL's over-the-air broadcast partners.

When [[NFL on CBS|CBS]] televised [[Super Bowl 50|Super Bowls 50]], [[Super Bowl LIII|LIII]], and [[Super Bowl LV|LV]], ESPN sub-licensed the rights to air dedicated Spanish-language telecasts on ESPN Deportes, using the ''Monday Night Football'' commentary team and with surrounding coverage in the language. CBS did not have any sister Spanish-language cable or broadcast network like Fox and NBC, who have used [[Fox Deportes]] and [[Universo (TV network)|Universo]]/[[Telemundo Deportes|Telemundo]], respectively.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.sportspromedia.com/news/espn-deportes-super-bowl-spanish-language-rights|title=ESPN Deportes picks up Super Bowl Spanish-language rights|work=SportsPro |access-date=2018-11-05}}</ref><ref name="latimes-espndeportes">{{cite news|title=ESPN Deportes to carry Spanish-language telecast of Super Bowl 50|url=https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/envelope/cotown/la-ca-ct-spanish-language-super-bowl-20160206-story.html|access-date=February 10, 2016|work=[[Los Angeles Times]]|date=February 5, 2016}}</ref><ref name="adage-espnsuperbowl">{{cite web|title=CBS Goes Out of House, Taps ESPN Deportes to Simulcast Super Bowl 50|url=http://adage.com/article/special-report-super-bowl/cbs/301950/|website=Advertising Age|date=December 29, 2015 |publisher=Crain Communications|access-date=January 17, 2016}}</ref><ref name="deadline-espndeportes50">{{cite web|title=ESPN Deportes To Air Spanish-Language Broadcast of Super Bowl 50|url=https://deadline.com/2015/12/super-bowl-50-spanish-broadcast-airs-on-espn-deportes-1201673769/|website=[[Deadline Hollywood]]|date=December 29, 2015 |access-date=December 29, 2015}}</ref><ref name="variety-superbowl50spanish">{{cite web|title=Super Bowl 50: CBS, NFL Set Spanish Simulcast with ESPN Deportes|url=https://variety.com/2015/tv/news/super-bowl-50-espn-deportes-nfl-spanish-language-1201668715/|website=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]|date=December 29, 2015 |publisher=Penske Media Corporation|access-date=January 13, 2016}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=October 12, 2020|title=ESPN Deportes nabs Spanish-language rights to Super Bowl, AFC Championship in 2021|url=https://awfulannouncing.com/espn/espn-deportes-nabs-spanish-language-rights-to-super-bowl-afc-championship-in-2021.html|access-date=October 13, 2020|website=Awful Announcing|language=en-US}}</ref> For [[Super Bowl LVIII]], CBS sold its sub-license rights to [[TelevisaUnivision]] instead.<ref>{{cite web |last=Hayes |first=Dade |date=May 16, 2023 |title=Super Bowl Spanish-Language Rights Claimed By TelevisaUnivision In U.S.; Company Tells Upfront Buyers Its Vix Streaming Service Has Passed 30 Million Users |url=https://deadline.com/2023/05/super-bowl-spanish-language-televisaunivision-upfronts-vix-streaming-1235368196/ |access-date=2023-05-25 |website=[[Deadline Hollywood]]}}</ref>

In 2017 and 2018, [[ESPN2]] simulcast ESPN Deportes' telecast, ''NFL Esta Noche'', and the [[ESPN Latin America]] ''SportsCenter'' after the game, during the first nine weeks of the season (prior to the start of its Monday-night [[ESPN College Basketball|college basketball]] broadcasts). ESPN2 had previously scheduled lesser-viewed filler programming during the period.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.sportsbusinessdaily.com/Journal/Issues/2017/09/04/Leagues-and-Governing-Bodies/NFL-Spanish.aspx|title=Spanish-language 'MNF' coming to ESPN2|website=Sports Business Daily|date=September 4, 2017 |access-date=4 September 2017}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.sportspromedia.com/news/espn-deportes-super-bowl-spanish-language-rights|title=ESPN Deportes picks up Super Bowl Spanish-language rights|work=SportsPro|access-date=5 November 2018}}</ref><ref>[https://espnpressroom.com/us/press-releases/2018/09/espns-coverage-of-the-2018-19-nfl-season/ ESPN's Coverage of the 2018-19 NFL Season] -  Allie Stoneberg, 5 September 2018</ref> In the 2020-21 playoffs, ESPN Deportes also aired an AFC Divisional Playoff game and the AFC Championship Game.<ref>[https://awfulannouncing.com/espn/espn-deportes-nabs-spanish-language-rights-to-super-bowl-afc-championship-in-2021.html ESPN Deportes nabs Spanish-language rights to Super Bowl, AFC Championship in 2021] - Joe Lucia, Awful Announcing, 12 October 2020</ref>

For the 2023 season, ESPN Deportes introduced the new Monday Night Football team of Rebeca Landa on the play-by-play, with [[Sergio Dipp]] as analyst, and Katia Castorena as sideline reporter. John Sutcliffe will continue to be part of the team, providing reports from site.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://espnpressroom.com/us/press-releases/2023/09/espn-deportes-introduces-new-voices-for-monday-night-football/|title=ESPN Deportes Introduces New Voices for Monday Night Football|first=Ardi|last=Dwornik|date=September 6, 2023}}</ref>
On October 16, 2023, [[ESPN2]] did simulcast ESPN Deportes’ Spanish-Language Presentation of Monday Night Football, featuring the Dallas Cowboys and the L.A. Chargers.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://espnpressroom.com/us/press-releases/2023/10/espn2-to-simulcast-espn-deportes-spanish-language-presentation-of-monday-night-football-on-october-16th-featuring-the-dallas-cowboys-and-the-l-a-chargers/|title=ESPN2 to Simulcast ESPN Deportes' Spanish-Language Presentation of Monday Night Football on October 16th, featuring the Dallas Cowboys and the L.A. Chargers|first=Ardi|last=Dwornik|date=October 13, 2023}}</ref>

For the 2024 season, [[MJ Acosta|MJ Acosta-Ruiz]] joined Monday Night Football on ESPN Deportes as sideline reporter.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://espnpressroom.com/us/press-releases/2024/07/mj-acosta-ruiz-joins-espn/|date=July 25, 2024 |title=MJ Acosta-Ruiz Joins ESPN as Sideline Reporter for ESPN Deportes' Monday Night Football and Anchor of ESPN's SportsCenter in Los Angeles }}</ref>

===Portuguese version===
Since the 1990s, ESPN Latin America has a [[Portuguese language]] feed targeted to their viewers in Brazil. Ivan Zimmermann (play-by-play), André José Adler (play-by-play), Roberto Figueroa (color), and Marco Alfaro (color), among others, were the announcers broadcasting from ESPN's headquarters. Since {{nfly|2006}}, the structure of the Brazilian feed has been merged with [[ESPN Brasil]] and the broadcasting is done from [[São Paulo]]. The current and main announcers are Fernando Nardini (play-by-play) and Paulo Antunes (color).<ref>{{Cite web |last=Simon |first=Allan |date=2024-02-09 |title=Nardini exalta Super Bowl in loco pela ESPN e projeta 'efeito Taylor Swift' |url=https://www.uol.com.br/esporte/colunas/allan-simon/2024/02/09/fernando-nardini-nfl-super-bowl-espn.htm |access-date=2025-10-27 |website=UOL |language=pt-br}}</ref> Ari Aguiar (play-by-play) and Deivis Chiodini (color) occasionally fill in or broadcast the game that starts the latest.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Play |date=2025-09-02 |title=NFL: novo comentarista da Globo, Antony Curti já tem data para estrear |url=https://oglobo.globo.com/play/noticia/2025/09/02/nfl-novo-comentarista-da-globo-antony-curti-ja-tem-data-para-estrear.ghtml |access-date=2025-10-27 |website=O Globo |language=pt-br}}</ref>

==Radio broadcasts==
{{Main|NFL on Westwood One Sports|NFL on NBC Radio}}
''Monday Night Football'' has also been carried on national radio networks over the years. The [[Mutual Broadcasting System]] aired the games initially, with [[Van Patrick]] ({{nfly|1972}}–{{nfly|1973}}), [[Lindsey Nelson]] ({{nfly|1974}}–{{nfly|1977}}) and Al Wester announcing. [[NFL on CBS Radio|CBS Radio]] took over the rights in {{nfly|1978}} with [[Jack Buck]] and [[Hank Stram]] commentating. After a two-year stint ({{nfly|1985}}–{{nfly|1986}}) with [[Don Criqui]] and [[Bob Trumpy]] calling the games on [[NFL on NBC Radio|NBC Radio]], Buck and Stram resumed with CBS Radio in {{nfly|1987}}. In {{nfly|1996}}, [[Howard David]] and [[Matt Millen]] replaced Buck and Stram. [[Marv Albert]] and [[Boomer Esiason]] were the ''MNF'' radio voices from {{nfly|2002}} to {{nfly|2009}}, with [[Kevin Harlan]] replacing Albert in {{nfly|2010}}. [[Kurt Warner]] joined the crew in {{nfly|2014}} for games when Esiason was unavailable, taking over full-time in {{nfly|2018}}.

In the 1990s, [[CBS Radio]] purchased a controlling stake in [[Westwood One (1976–2011)|Westwood One]], which in turn had bought out both the NBC and Mutual networks. As of 2008, Westwood One was no longer controlled by CBS, but the network retained its NFL broadcast rights. In {{nfly|2011}}, Westwood One was purchased by [[Dial Global]].  Then in {{nfly|2014}}, Dial Global, including [[Westwood One (current)|Westwood One]], was acquired by [[Cumulus Media]].

The Spanish-language broadcast is carried on [[ESPN Deportes Radio]].

As with other regular-season NFL games, Monday night games are also broadcast locally by the featured teams' own radio networks and announcers.

==Nielsen ratings==
===Top-rated recent regular season games since 2014===
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|+
!Rank
!Day
!Date
!Year
!Week
! colspan="4"|Matchup
!Network(s)
!Viewers (millions)
!Significance
!Reference
|-
|1
|Monday
|September 11
|[[2023 NFL season|2023]]
|1
|[[2023 Buffalo Bills season|Bills]]
|16
|'''[[2023 New York Jets season|Jets]]'''
|'''22''' (OT)
|[[NFL on ABC|ABC]]<br />[[NFL on ESPN|ESPN]]<br />[[ESPN2]]
|22.64M
|22nd anniversary of [[9/11]]<br />[[Bills–Jets rivalry]]<br /> [[Aaron Rodgers]]' Jets debut
|<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.sportsmediawatch.com/nfl-tv-ratings-viewership-2023/|title=NFL TV ratings, 2023 season|access-date=September 14, 2023|work=Sports Media Watch}}</ref>
|-
|2
|Saturday
|January 8
|[[2021 NFL season|2022]]
|18
|[[2021 Dallas Cowboys season|'''Cowboys''']]
|'''51'''
|[[2021 Philadelphia Eagles season|Eagles]]
|26
|[[NFL on ABC|ABC]]<br />[[NFL on ESPN|ESPN]]
|20.21M
|[[Cowboys–Eagles rivalry]]
|<ref name="2021-SMW">{{Cite web|url=https://www.sportsmediawatch.com/2021-nfl-ratings-page/|title=2021 NFL ratings page|access-date=September 14, 2023|work=Sports Media Watch}}</ref>
|-
|3
|rowspan="2"|Monday
|September 12
|rowspan="2"|[[2022 NFL season|2022]]
|1
|[[2022 Denver Broncos season|Broncos]]
|16
|[[2022 Seattle Seahawks season|'''Seahawks''']]
|'''17'''
|rowspan="2"|[[NFL on ABC|ABC]]<br />[[NFL on ESPN|ESPN]]<br />[[ESPN2]]
|19.84M
|[[Russell Wilson]]'s return to Seattle<br />[[Broncos–Seahawks rivalry]]
|<ref name="2022-SMW">{{Cite web|url=https://www.sportsmediawatch.com/nfl-tv-ratings-viewership-2022/|title=2022 NFL ratings page|access-date=September 14, 2023|work=Sports Media Watch|archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20230830015708/https://www.sportsmediawatch.com/nfl-tv-ratings-viewership-2022/ | archive-date = August 30, 2023 }}</ref>
|-
|4
|September 26
|3
|[[2022 Dallas Cowboys season|'''Cowboys''']]
|'''23'''
|[[2022 New York Giants season|Giants]]
|16
|19.34M
|[[Cowboys–Giants rivalry]]
|<ref name="2022-SMW" />
|-
|5
|rowspan="2"|Saturday
|January 8
|[[2021 NFL season|2022]]
|rowspan="2"|18
|[[2021 Kansas City Chiefs season|'''Chiefs''']]
|'''28'''
|[[2021 Denver Broncos season|Broncos]]
|24
|rowspan="2"|[[NFL on ABC|ABC]]<br />[[NFL on ESPN|ESPN]]
|19.10M
|[[Broncos–Chiefs rivalry]]
|<ref name="2021-SMW" />
|-
|6
|January 7
|[[2022 NFL season|2023]]
|[[2022 Tennessee Titans season|Titans]]
|16
|[[2022 Jacksonville Jaguars season|'''Jaguars''']]
|'''20'''
|19.00M
|Jaguars won the [[AFC South]] as a result of the victory<br>[[Jaguars–Titans rivalry]]
|<ref name="2022-SMW" />
|-
|7
|rowspan="2"|Monday
|October 27
|[[2014 NFL season|2014]]
|8
|[[2014 Washington Redskins season|'''Redskins''']]
|'''20''' (OT)
|[[2014 Dallas Cowboys season|Cowboys]]
|17
|rowspan="2"|ESPN
|18.81M
|[[Commanders–Cowboys rivalry|Redskins–Cowboys rivalry]]
|<ref name="2014-SMW">{{Cite web|url=https://www.sportsmediawatch.com/2014-nfl-tv-ratings-viewership/|title=2014 NFL ratings page|access-date=September 14, 2023|work=Sports Media Watch}}</ref>
|-
|8
|December 26
|[[2016 NFL season|2016]]
|16
|[[2016 Detroit Lions season|Lions]]
|21
|[[2016 Dallas Cowboys season|'''Cowboys''']]
|'''42'''
|18.60M
|
|<ref name="2016-SMW">{{Cite web|url=https://www.sportsmediawatch.com/2016-nfl-tv-ratings-viewership/|title=2016 NFL ratings page|access-date=September 14, 2023|work=Sports Media Watch}}</ref>
|-
|9
|Saturday
|January 7
|[[2022 NFL season|2023]]
|18
|[[2022 Kansas City Chiefs season|'''Chiefs''']]
|31
|[[2022 Las Vegas Raiders season|Raiders]]
|13
|[[NFL on ABC|ABC]]<br />[[NFL on ESPN|ESPN]]
|17.76M
|[[Chiefs–Raiders rivalry]]
|<ref name="2022-SMW" />
|-
|10
|Monday
|September 13
|[[2021 NFL season|2021]]
|1
|[[2021 Baltimore Ravens season|Ravens]]
|27
|[[2021 Las Vegas Raiders season|'''Raiders''']]
|'''33''' (OT)
|[[NFL on ABC|ABC]]<br />[[NFL on ESPN|ESPN]]<br />[[ESPN2]]
|16.97M
|First Raider game with fans in attendance at [[Allegiant Stadium]]
|<ref name="2021-SMW" />
|-
|}

==Additional NFL game rights==
===Playoff games and Super Bowls===
{{Main|List of Super Bowl broadcasters}}

When ABC first acquired the rights to air ''MNF'' in 1970, it did not include any playoff games. The network was eventually allowed into the rotation of airing the [[Super Bowl]], starting with [[Super Bowl XIX]] in January 1985. When the league expanded the playoffs from a 10-team to a 12-team tournament in 1990, ABC was then given the rights to air the first two Wild Card Playoff games. Originally, ABC's college football crews would call the first Wild Card Game.

Following [[The Walt Disney Company]]'s purchase of both ESPN and ABC, the two network's sports departments merged in 1997. Beginning with the 1997 season, the ''[[ESPN Sunday Night Football]]'' crew called the first game, with the ABC ''MNF'' crew calling the second game. ESPN provided wraparound studio programming, with part of the pre and postgame airing on ABC, and ESPN's [[Ron Jaworski]] often appeared from the studio for extra analysis during the first game. This arrangement lasted from 1997 through 2005, except for 2002 when ESPN/ABC's college football crew did the early game. Super Bowls on ABC in this period were treated as ESPN events.

After ''MNF'' was awarded to ESPN and ''Sunday Night Football'' was acquired by NBC in 2006, the Wild Card doubleheader that had aired on ABC, as well as a share of the rotating rights to the Super Bowl, was also given to NBC.

On April 22, 2014, the NFL announced that it had exercised an option in ESPN's recent contract extension for ''Monday Night Football'' rights to air a first-round Wild Card [[National Football League playoffs|playoff]] game on the channel after the conclusion of the [[2014 NFL season|2014 season]]. This was the first time that an NFL playoff game was ever broadcast exclusively on cable television in the United States, in lieu of any of the league's broadcast network partners.<ref name="ESPN to air 1st NFL playoff game in 2015">{{cite web|title=ESPN to air 1st NFL playoff game in 2015|url=https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/10821899/espn-air-1st-nfl-playoff-game-2015|publisher=[[ESPN]]|date=April 22, 2014|access-date=April 22, 2014}}</ref><ref name="USA Today20140422">{{cite news|title=ESPN to broadcast first ever NFL playoff game in 2015 |url=https://ftw.usatoday.com/2014/04/espn-nfl-playoffs-tv-nbc-wild-card|first=Chris|last=Chase|newspaper=[[USA Today]]|date=April 22, 2014|access-date=April 22, 2014}}</ref><ref>[[Pro Bowl#Television]]</ref> The ''MNF'' broadcast team of Mike Tirico, Jon Gruden and sideline reporter Lisa Salters called the game, the first of the [[2014–15 NFL playoffs]]. The NFC South Champion [[2014 Carolina Panthers season|Carolina Panthers]] defeated the [[2014 Arizona Cardinals season|Arizona Cardinals]] 27–16.<ref name="ESPN to air 1st NFL playoff game in 2015" /><ref name="USA Today20140422" /> As with all ''MNF'' games, the matchup was simulcast on local affiliates [[WJZY]] (a Fox affiliate) in Charlotte and [[KASW]] (a CW affiliate) in Phoenix. This was because of the NFL's rule that requires local affiliates to allow viewers over-the-air access to the game.

However, the cable-only playoff game experiment would only last one season, as on May 11, 2015, it was announced that ABC would simulcast ESPN's Wild Card playoff game for the [[2015 NFL season|2015 season]].<ref name="espnabcwildcard">{{cite press release|last=Coelho|first=Ana Livia|title=NFL Wild Card Playoff Game Will Return to ESPN – and Be Simulcast for the First Time on ABC|url=http://espnmediazone.com/us/press-releases/2015/05/nfl-wild-card-playoff-game-will-return-espn-simulcast-first-time-abc/|publisher=ESPN MediaZone|date=May 11, 2015|access-date=August 24, 2015}}</ref> This was the first NFL game broadcast nationally on ABC since ''MNF'' left the network at the end of the 2005 season. The game, announced by the broadcast team of Tirico, Gruden and Salters, was the first of the [[2015–16 NFL playoffs]]. The [[2015 Kansas City Chiefs season|Kansas City Chiefs]] defeated the [[2015 Houston Texans season|Houston Texans]] 30–0. The ESPN/ABC simulcast has continued ever since.<ref>{{cite news|last=Stoneberg|first=Allie|title=NFL Wild Card Playoff Game Will Return to ESPN and ABC|url=http://espnmediazone.com/us/pressreleases/2016/05/nfl-wild-card-playoff-game-will-return-to-espn-and-abc|publisher=ESPN Media Zone|date=May 17, 2016|access-date=August 8, 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Fang|first=Ken|title=ESPN TO AGAIN SIMULCAST ITS NFL WILD CARD PLAYOFF GAME ON ABC|url=http://awfulannouncing.com/2016/espn-to-again-simulcast-its-nfl-wild-card-playoff-game-on-abc.html|publisher=Awful Announcing|date=May 17, 2016|access-date=May 17, 2016}}</ref>

Additionally, [[ESPN Deportes]] picked up the rights to air [[Super Bowl 50]], [[Super Bowl LIII]] and [[Super Bowl LV]] in Spanish (from [[Super Bowl LVIII]] on [[Univision]] picked up those rights), as CBS, who aired the game in English, does not have a Spanish language sports network. It will also air additional CBS playoff games in the [[2020-21 NFL playoffs|2021 playoffs]] and [[2022 NFL playoffs|2022 playoffs]].

Starting with Super Bowl LIII, [[ESPN International]] has produced an English-language broadcast of the Super Bowl for [[ESPN Australia]] (as an alternative to the main world feed produced by [[NFL Network]] and the domestic U.S. feed), using the domestic broadcasters' camera feeds and the ''Monday Night Football'' commentary team. It also features additional pre-game coverage, augmenting ESPN's U.S. NFL studio programming. The video is also used by the Super Bowl telecast for [[ESPN Brasil]], dubbed with Portuguese commentary.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.sportsvideo.org/2020/02/01/live-from-super-bowl-liv-espn-international-calls-nep-en2-home-for-the-big-game/|title=Live From Super Bowl LIV: ESPN International Calls NEP EN2 Home for the Big Game|last=Director|first=Ken Kerschbaumer, Editorial|website=Sports Video Group|date=February 2020 |language=en|access-date=2020-02-09}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.mediaweek.com.au/super-bowl-liii-live-on-espn-with-broadcast-for-australia-nz/|title=Super Bowl LIII live on ESPN with broadcast for Australia & NZ|last=Mediaweek|date=2019-01-31|website=Mediaweek|language=en-AU|access-date=2020-02-09}}</ref>

During the [[2020 Baltimore Ravens season|Baltimore Ravens]]–[[2020 Tennessee Titans season|Tennessee Titans]] Wild Card game during the [[2020-21 NFL playoffs|2021 playoffs]], not only did ESPN and ABC simulcast the game, but other ESPN and [[Disney-ABC Domestic Television|Disney-owned networks]] helped to broadcast the game for the first ever NFL Playoff [[ESPN Megacast|Megacast]]. [[ESPN2]], [[ESPN+]], and [[Freeform (TV channel)|Freeform]] all pitched in alternate feeds of the game. This was the first NFL Playoff game to get a Megacast treatment. The announcement of the Playoff Megacast went along with the announcement of ABC simulcasting two late-season MNF games that aired on ESPN (both games involving the [[2020 Buffalo Bills season|Buffalo Bills]]).

With the new NFL TV contracts that begin during the 2023 season, ESPN/ABC's playoff coverage expands to include a game in the Divisional Round, to go along with the Wild Card Game. Both games will air on ESPN and ABC. The new contracts also see both networks re-enter the Super Bowl rotation, beginning with [[Super Bowl|Super Bowl LXI]] in 2027.

Beginning with the 2022 playoffs, ESPN will begin a new 5-year deal that will see the ESPN networks and ABC Megacast the brand new "Monday Night Wild Card Game", as part of the NFL expanding Wild Card Weekend (branded by the league as "Super Wild Card Weekend" until the 2024 playoffs<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.nbcsports.com/nfl/profootballtalk/rumor-mill/news/super-wild-card-is-no-more |title="Super Wild Card" is no more|website=Pro Football Talk|date=January 8, 2025 |publisher=NBC Sports|access-date=January 8, 2025}}</ref>) from two days to three days. ESPN and ABC will simulcast the main feed, with ESPN2, ESPN+, and other ESPN and Disney networks providing alternative options. The final game always features a matchup between a No. 4 and No. 5 seed to ensure that it is known which opponent the winner will play before kickoff. This arrangement allows the NFL to release the divisional round schedule upon the completion of the other five wild card games, and the winner of the Monday game always plays the following Sunday to ensure they receive six days' rest.<ref>{{cite web|last=Pergament|first=Alan|url=https://buffalonews.com/sports/bills/alan-pergament-why-bills-patriots-playoff-game-is-scheduled-for-saturday-night/article_762ecd66-73e3-11ec-be00-6b113db710b0.html | title=Alan Pergament: Why Bills-Patriots playoff game is scheduled for Saturday night |date=January 13, 2022 }}</ref>

===Non-Monday games===
{{See also|NFL on ABC}}

From [[1974 NFL season|1974]] to [[1977 NFL season|1977]], ''MNF'' aired on Saturday during the final week of the regular season instead of Monday. From [[1978 NFL season|1978]] to [[1986 NFL season|1986]], it broadcast selected Thursday and Sunday night games. And from [[1983 NFL season|1983]] to [[1986 NFL season|1986]], ''MNF'' also aired a Friday night game in the final week of the regular season, in addition to the normal Monday night game.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Total Football II|editor-first1=Bob|editor-last1=Carroll|editor-first2=Michael|editor-last2=Gershman|editor-first3=David|editor-last3=Neft|editor-first4=John|editor-last4=Thorn|publisher=Harper Collins Publishing|publication-date=1999|isbn=0-06-270174-6}}</ref>

From [[2003 NFL season|2003]] to [[2005 NFL season|2005]], ''MNF'' also aired the [[NFL Kickoff|Thursday night NFL Kickoff game]] during the first week of the regular season.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2003-04-03|title=ABC Sports Unveils MNF Schedule|url=https://www.koat.com/article/abc-sports-unveils-mnf-schedule/5015077#|access-date=2022-11-27|website=koat.com|language=en}}</ref>

As part of ESPN's new contract signed in [[2021 NFL season|2021]], ESPN/ABC/ESPN+ began simulcasting a Saturday NFL doubleheader during the final week of the regular season,<ref name="2021 deals"/><ref name="espnpressroom.com">{{Cite web|date=2021-12-14|title=ESPN's Presentation of Monday Night Football: Doubleheader Saturday in Week 18 Set to Debut; Simulcast on ABC and ESPN+|url=https://espnpressroom.com/us/press-releases/2021/12/espns-presentation-of-monday-night-football-doubleheader-saturday-in-week-18-set-to-debut-simulcast-on-abc-and-espn/|access-date=2022-11-27|website=espnpressroom.com|language=en}}</ref> and ESPN+ was given the rights to exclusively stream one game per season starting in [[2022 NFL season|2022]].<ref name="2021 deals"/><ref name="espnpressroom.com"/> ESPN+'s exclusive games are not tied to a specific day: they could either be Sunday morning [[NFL International Series]] games like in 2022 and [[2023 NFL season|2023]],<ref>{{Cite web |last=Volner |first=Derek |date=2022-05-04 |title=ESPN's 2022 NFL International Games: First-Ever ESPN+ Exclusive Game Set for London and Monday Night Football Returns to Mexico City |url=https://espnpressroom.com/us/press-releases/2022/05/espns-2022-nfl-international-games-first-ever-espn-exclusive-game-set-for-london-and-monday-night-football-returns-to-mexico-city/amp/ |access-date=2024-10-24 |website=ESPN Press Room U.S. |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Volner |first=Derek |date=2023-05-12 |title=ESPN's 25-Game 2023-24 NFL Schedule: More Monday Night Football Games, Multiple Playoff Games, Flex Scheduling, and More of the League's Signature Matchups, Marquee Teams, Storylines than Ever Before |url=https://espnpressroom.com/us/press-releases/2023/05/espns-25-game-2023-24-nfl-schedule-more-monday-night-football-games-multiple-playoff-games-flex-scheduling-and-more-of-the-leagues-signature-matchups-marquee-teams-storylines-t/amp/ |access-date=2024-10-24 |website=ESPN Press Room U.S. |language=en-US}}</ref> or part of an ''MNF'' doubleheader like in [[2024 NFL season|2024]] and originally 2025 (that game was later moved back to ESPN).

In [[2023 NFL season|2023]], ''MNF'' aired a game on Saturday, December 30, to accommodate New Year's Day falling on a Monday.<ref>{{Cite web |title=NFL TV Schedule |url=https://www.sportsmediawatch.com/nfl-tv-schedule-2023-fox-nbc-cbs-espn-amazon-watch-stream-live/ |access-date=2023-05-24 |website=Sports Media Watch}}</ref> The game featured the [[2023 Detroit Lions season|Detroit Lions]] at the [[2023 Dallas Cowboys season|Dallas Cowboys]].<ref>{{cite web |last1=Marion |first1=Laurie |title=Printable Monday Night Football Schedule; TV Broadcasts, PDF Format - Sports Brackets |url=https://sportsbrackets.net/2024/09/11/printable-monday-night-football-schedule-tv-broadcasts-pdf-format/ |website=Sports Brackets |publisher=NFL |access-date=25 September 2024 |language=en |date=11 September 2024}}</ref>

===Pro Bowl===
ABC televised the [[Pro Bowl]] from 1975 to 1987, and again from 1995 to 2003.

As part of their 2011 rights agreement, ESPN was given the exclusive rights to the Pro Bowl from [[2015 Pro Bowl|2015]] through 2022.<ref name="ESPN to air 1st NFL playoff game in 2015" /> from 2018 on the game was simulcast on [[NFL on ABC|ABC]].

As part of their 2021 rights agreement, ESPN and ABC will continue to air the Pro Bowl games for the duration of their NFL contract (2023-2033), with a 2030 opt out clause.

==See also==
* ''[[NFL on CBS]]''
* ''[[NFL on Fox]]''
* ''[[NBC Sunday Night Football]]''
* ''[[Monday Night Mayhem]]'', a 2002 television film about the origin of ''Monday Night Football''

==Notes==
{{Notelist}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
*Gunther, Marc, and Bill Carter. (1988). ''Monday Night Mayhem: The Inside Story of ABC's Monday Night Football''. New York: Beech Tree Books. {{ISBN|0-688-07553-3}}
*Hyatt, Wesley. (2007). ''Kicking Off the Week: A History of Monday Night Football on ABC Television, 1970–2005''. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Co. {{ISBN|0-786-42969-0}}.

==External links==
* {{IMDb title|0065323|Monday Night Football}}
* [https://www.timeplusnews.com/sports/nfl-monday-night-football-2022-schedule-on-espn/ NFL Monday Night Football 2022 Schedule on ESPN]

{{ESPN}}
{{ESPN original programming}}
{{National Football League}}
{{NFL on ABC}}
{{NFL on ESPN}}
{{NFL on television and radio}}
{{ABC programming}}
{{ESPN on ABC}}
{{Sports Emmy Award for Outstanding Live Sports Series}}
{{Hank Williams Jr.}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Monday Night Football| ]]
[[Category:1970 American television series debuts]]
[[Category:1970s American sports television series]]
[[Category:1980s American sports television series]]
[[Category:1990s American sports television series]]
[[Category:2000s American sports television series]]
[[Category:2010s American sports television series]]
[[Category:2020s American sports television series]]
[[Category:American Broadcasting Company original programming]]
[[Category:ABC Sports]]
[[Category:American English-language television shows]]
[[Category:ESPN original programming]]
[[Category:Monday]]
[[Category:Television shows adapted into video games]]