The Miami Dolphins’ head coach has released a new formula for winning every game.

The Miami Dolphins’ head coach has released a new formula for winning every game.

This season marks the third phase of the NFL’s “Monday Night Football” viewership experiment.

This one involves two games on two channels at the same time, but both are owned by the same company. The Green Bay Packers will face the New York Giants on ABC, and the Tennessee Titans will face the Miami Dolphins on ESPN, both at 8:15 p.m. ET.

The games were originally planned when the league announced the 2023 schedule earlier this year. However, ESPN recently announced that “Monday Night Football with Peyton and Eli,” or ManningCast for the less formal crowd, will now air simultaneously on ESPN2 and ESPN.

(All three broadcasts are available on ESPN+. The Titans vs. Dolphins game can also be seen on ESPN Deportes.)

In Week 2 (New Orleans Saints at Carolina Panthers and Cleveland Browns at Pittsburgh Steelers) and Week 3 (Philadelphia Eagles at Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Los Angeles Rams at Cincinnati Bengals), the NFL used two Monday night games. Each evening, however, there was an hour between the start times of the two games.

But why is the league double-dipping when it comes to MNF? According to the league and ESPN, it’s about getting real-time data on viewer interest regarding “Monday Night Football” doubleheader start times.

“We’re going to learn more about what optimizes best, and I think by next year we’ll continue to hone on driving the biggest viewership between the two games,” ESPN president of content Burke Magnus told The Athletic’s Richard Deitsch in September. “We will learn if it is better to start with the ABC game, the ESPN game, or the other way around. … In Week 14, we’re doing both games at the same time. The thought there is, can we combine total audience and do a little bit like we used to do in the old days of college football where we create a simultaneous national and regional appeal and use our networks to do that in a single window? Then it combines to sort of like a super audience total number.”

Hans Schroeder, the NFL’s executive vice president of media distribution, called it a unique opportunity with a single broadcast partner to examine the possibilities.

“We have the unique opportunity with a single partner, with two really strong national distribution assets in ESPN and ABC, and what we want to do is continue to innovate and create a new viewing experience,” Schroeder told Deitsch in September. “So you’ll see more look-ins in between the games. You’ll see more coverage between the two games going on, you’ll see things at halftime in those first couple weeks where they go to the other game. The whole desire is, how do we create a new and different and compelling way for fans to watch games, and how do we continue to test and innovate as we do that? We’re really excited for those side-by-sides with Disney.”

When the viewership data gets analyzed, as with all games, there will be additional factors beyond start times, including how competitive each game was, the market size for each team playing, if the game included national stars or traditional popular teams, and the estimated reach for each outlet.

Then there’s the ManningCast wrinkle.

Peyton and Eli will watch both games simultaneously and comment on whatever happens. The show typically presents guests, but that element could be eliminated this week given they’re juggling two games.

So why throw the ManningCast into the fray? It’s a chance to extend that brand. ESPN looks at the ManningCast as additive broadcasting so any way to expose more viewers to MNF is worth exploring. The week is already unique and experimental, so it’s a fit to do.