On Monday, October 19th, during halftime of Monday Night Football, the third trailer for Star Wars: The Force Awakens debuted in one of the greatest cross-branding promotions ever devised by a parent company. ESPN, home to Monday Night Football for several years now, and Lucasfilm, the studio that gives life to all things Star Wars, are both owned by parent company and media giant, Disney. The NFL and Star Wars are two of the most popular brands in America, so why not cross promote them and bring the two audiences together for two and a half minutes in order to crush the television competition on a Monday night?
Monday Night Football scored an 8.7 Neilsen household rating for the Giants vs. Eagles game on Monday, making it the most watched show on television (source: latimes.com.) Viewership peaked during the final moments of the second half and through the halftime break as Star Wars and NFL fans came together to boost the shows ratings to nearly 17 million before settling back at 14.2 at the start of the second half.
As a Giants and Star Wars fan, darthmaz314 was tuned in to the entire game and I can honestly say that the trailer was by far the highlight of the night. Let's just say that on Monday, the Force was not strong with the Giants. In any case, the final trailer has been released and as fans dissect it and purchase their opening night tickets, the countdown to the premier of the saga's seventh film and the dawn of a new era of Star Wars has officially begun.