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The ManningCast is back in 2026.
Peyton and Eli Manning, through their Omaha Productions company, are participating in simulcasts alongside several “Monday Night Football” games throughout the NFL’s 2026 regular season.
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But ratings were down in Week 1.
Andrew Marchand of The Athletic reported on Thursday that only 705,000 viewers tuned in for the “ManningCast.” ESPN’s main “Monday Night Football” broadcast had more than 23 million viewers.
“Great number overall. 705K for the Manningcast on ESPN2 (not in the release, but I’ve confirmed),” Marchand reported.
Why are less people watching the ManningCast this year?
NFL fans think they know the problem.
Fans believe that Peyton and Eli Manning welcome too many guests onto the program. The guests are typically celebrities, either famous actors, musicians, athletes or others. But they typically don’t add much to the broadcast.
Instead, they take away from what fans want to see: Peyton and Eli talking football.
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NFL fans urge Mannings to have less guests
One NFL fan noted: “Just let them talk ball for 3 hours.”
Another responded: “THIS is what went wrong with the Manningcast. Someone decided it needed endless guests when all anyone wants to see is both Mannings watching the game.”
Not everyone sees it that way, though. Some believe that the added guests bring more to the broadcast, by enticing other fans of different industries.
“See this argument a lot this week. Anyone who wants to watch the manning cast for football takes was already watching the main broadcast. Bringing in non-football guests is an attempt to reach/entertain people who wouldn’t watch the main broadcast,” one fan added.
Does the ManningCast need to focus more on just football throughout the 2026 NFL regular season? Is that what fans want to see the most?
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Sound off in the comments below.
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