The Peyton and Eli show, a popular companion to the Monday Night Football main broadcast, has had an early-season hiatus. Tonight, it’s back.
As ESPN televises the Saints-Seahawks game, the Manning brothers will conduct what eventually has become a live podcast of the contest. Announced guests for Week Seven include Marshawn Lynch, Tom Brady, Sue Bird, and Drew Brees.
Tonight’s game could be the perfect occasion for a folksy, self-aware football conversation with the game playing out in the background. The Saints are 3-2, the Seahawks are 2-4, and the weather is expected to be far less than ideal. Really, Peyton and Eli are the perfect antidote for a crappy game.
They’re only doing 10 games this year. Those who love the experience will want more. Even if the ratings for the Manningcast still lag well behind the ratings for the primary broadcast. It will be interesting to see whether the mini-break results in a bump for the Mannings numbers -- which necessarily cannibalize the viewers who would watch the game on the mother ship.
The bigger question is whether the Manningcast results in more total viewers than a given game would otherwise draw. With many enjoying a semi-unfiltered experience from Peyton and Eli (in their last appearance, Eli flashed a double-barreled middle finger to the camera, foolishly thinking that his fingers could be blurred in real time), maybe there will be people who wouldn’t otherwise have watched tonight’s game who will watch the Manningcast.
