 Nielsen ratings data for the first 17 weeks of the 1998–99 television season showed that "Monday Night Football" averaged a 13.9 rating, down 8% from the 15.0 average rating for the broadcasts in 1997 – the previous standard in ratings futility.In actuality, "MNF" ratings had been hitting all-time record lows for the previous four years.Beginning in 1999, "Monday Night Football" telecasts used a computer-generated yellow line to mark where a team needs to get a first down, a method first used by ABC sister cable channel ESPN.