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News flash.
The Cincinnati Bengals are pretty popular in Cincinnati.
Alright, not quite the revelation considering that the team with Super Bowl expectations is playing their first regular season game of the season. Oh, and the whole Cincinnati part of the team name might have something to do with the level of Queen City popularity.
According to overnight ratings, the Bengals generated a 29.7 rating against the Chicago Bears with an audience share of 52 percent, "which translates to 267,544 TV homes". Per John Kiesewetter with the Cincinnati Enquirer:
The opener last year on "Monday Night Football" averaged a combined 25.5 rating for ESPN and Channel 12′s local simulcast. Last year Channel 12 didn’t meet or beat a 29.8 rating until Week 6 of the season, when the Bengals played in Cleveland on Oct. 14 and drew a 30 rating.
We could easily see the ratings go further north this weekend with the Bengals hosting the Pittsburgh Steelers on ESPN's Monday Night Football, which will be simulcast locally.