On September 21st, 1970, the sports and television worlds collided with the premiere of Monday Night Football on ABC. Orchestrated by Roone Arledge, the debut featured the Cleveland Browns hosting the New York Jets at Cleveland Municipal Stadium, with the Browns emerging victorious 31-21. Arledge wanted to make the broadcast feel "big", so he doubled the usual number of cameras (nine instead of four or five) and introduced innovative features like graphic overlays and extensive use of instant replay. ABC charged advertisers a then-staggering $65,000 for a minute of commercial time, and while many sponsors were initially skeptical, the price proved to be a bargain given the massive turnout. The premiere attracted 33% to 38% of the television viewing audience at the time, and proved that fans were willing to stay up late on a work night to watch football, paving the way for the multi-billion dollar primetime sports industry.
