23 Million watched ESPN’s Monday Night Football during Damar Hamlin injury

A record 23 million people watched ESPN’s broadcast of Monday Night Football this week when the Buffalo Bills’ Damar Hamlin suffered a frightening injury that caused him to collapse on the field.

ESPN averaged 23.6 million viewers on ESPN, ABC, ESPN2 and ESPN Deportes from 8:28 – 10:10pm, according to Nielsen Media Research figures, breaking a previous reported record of 21 Million set in 2006.

ESPN has been averaging in the neighborhood of 15 Million viewers for its featured Monday Night Football program this season.

Hamlin, a defensive back, went down in the first quarter after laying a hit on Bengals wide receiver Tee Higgins. The Bill said Hamlin went into cardiac arrest and was given CPR on the field as his distraught teammates looked on. The game was eventually postponed by the NFL.

The incident served as a major test for ESPN, which was thrust into an almost unprecedented situation of covering what became a national news story with limited information and speculation about Hamlin’s condition swirling on social media.

An ESPN spokesperson told The Hill this week it was not clear if the figures would be used for historical or season averages purposes.

The Bills said Wednesday that Hamlin was showing “signs of improvement” as he continues to recover from the cardiac arrest episode in a Cincinnati hospital.

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