Monday Night Record Seen for Bears-Giants

CHICAGO — The golden touch of the Chicago Bears should serve as a mighty springboard for ABC’s 18th year of Monday Night Football.

The inaugural game of the ABC coverage Monday night from Soldier Field between the Bears and the Super Bowl champion New York Giants promises to be the highest-rated Monday Night game in history.

ABC officials are cautiously optimistic in public. But in private they are beaming over the anticipated ratings blockbuster.

“Monster rating? Well, I don’t know about that. But it has all the ingredients,” says director Larry Kamm, starting his first season at the controls for the Monday Night package. “Sure, it’s a great way to start.”

The ingredients are all there: Two huge viewer markets, the Super Bowl champions of the past two years and a Bears team dripping with intrigue a soap opera writer would envy.

“You’ve got McMahon and Ditka, ‘The Refrigerator,’ Walter Payton, the great defense,” says producer Ken Wolfe. “The Bears have that kind of interest beyond what goes on the field.”

History also is on the side of ABC in reaping the rewards of the opening matchup.

The highest-rated Monday Night game in history is the Bears’ 38-24 loss at Miami Dec. 2, 1985, that drew a 29.6 rating and a 46 share. It was Chicago’s lone loss of their Super Bowl campaign.

Last season, the three highest-rated Monday night telecasts were the ones that included Chicago. The Bears’ 25-12 win at Green Bay drew a 22 rating and a 36 share, high-water marks for the ABC coverage.

“The Bears are a great matchup and it is important to start off well. It could be the kind of thing you used to get the viewers hooked all season long,” Kamm says. “I’d rather have it coming first. It’s a blockbuster.”

Wolfe hedges on whether it is beneficial for ABC and its sponsors to have a powerful matchup to kick off the season.

“If it were later in the year it could be even bigger in terms of significance,” Wolfe says. “The winner could be vying for home field advantage in the playoffs. I’ll be interested to see what it does in the West Coast. But of course, the Rams and 49ers figure to be in the hunt in the NFC, too, and they are bound to be interested.”

The only potential negative statistic is the way the two clubs have played on Monday Night. Chicago is 7-13, the Giants 5-11-1 in Monday Night appearances.

ABC’s highest-rated season opener was the Sept. 13, 1982, game between Pittsburgh and Dallas won by the Steelers 36-28. It drew a 24.9 rating and a 42 share.

ABC figures the competition from other prime time shows on the opening Monday night will be less than in previous years, further solidifying the network’s hope for a huge rating.

The Bears are on Monday night two other times, both on the road, and that may help continue ABC’s revival in the ratings.

After three straight seasons of declining ratings, ABC’s numbers increased in 1985. They slipped again last year -- down 6 percent -- but ABC officials believe this year’s overall schedule is stronger.

In addition, ABC was hinting one year ago it might get out of the Monday Night football market altogether. ABC ordered 10 made for TV movie scripts, possibly as a warning to the NFL it was serious about either dropping football or paying less for the rights.

The entire NFL package was scaled down in terms of rights fees for all of the networks this year and ABC committed to stay with the Monday Night concept. But it had to watch ESPN, a rival even though it is owned by ABC owner Capital Cities Communication, grab a share of eight prime time Sunday night telecasts.

“We’re solidly behind Monday Night football. It was a matter of paying the rights fee that made sense considering the market,” says ABC Sports President Dennis Swanson. “Cable is involved now and that’s something we’re living with. But we like our schedule and we feel our presentation is the best.”