Peyton And Eli Manning's ESPN2 'MNF' Debut Attracts 800,000 Viewers

It appears that the Manning brothers are just as effective talking about football as they are playing the game.

The Sept. 13 premiere broadcast of “Monday Night Football with Peyton and Eli” on ESPN2 registered an audience of 800,000 viewers.

What Happened: ESPN, a division of Walt Disney Co. DIS, also reported that its “Monday Night Football MegaCast” broadcast of the Baltimore Ravens at Las Vegas Raiders attracted 15.2 million viewers across ESPN, ABC, ESPN2 and ESPN Deportes, marking ESPN’s best first-week entry in “Monday Night Football” since 2013 and the second most-watched first-week game since it started airing “Monday Night Football” in 2006.

While the main game was invigorating — the Raiders clawed back to beat the Ravens 33-27 in overtime — the Mannings’ color commentary alternative to the “Megacast” was entertaining as the pair shared their observations and were caught off-guard by a couple of snafus: a fire alarm abruptly sounded during a segment with Ray Lewis and Travis Kelce dropped a four-letter synonym for “excrement” that escaped a censorship bleep. To his credit, Kelce apologized for his salty language.

See Also: Backed By Peyton Manning, Eli Manning, BBQGuys Lands SPAC Deal

What Else Happened: The Mannings, joined by their father Archie and their brother Cooper, are also turning up in a new commercial for BBQGuys, with the duo in an excessive sibling rivalry in their attempts to transfer their quarterback skills to creating lunch on one of the sponsor’s grills.

“That wasn’t even in the script, but after a long day of shooting, enough was enough,” Peyton said in a press release. “But seriously, my brothers and I had a blast shooting this BBQGuys campaign with our dad, having fun as a family and poking fun at some of the natural tensions that sometimes arise during family gatherings.”

Photo: Eli and Peyton Manning in a new commercial for BBQGuys.