Monday Night Countdown Monday Night Countdown , which debuted in 1993 on ESPN , is a television program featuring analysis and news on that night ' s NFL match to be broadcast on ESPN . The show was originally titled " NFL Prime Monday " from 1993 - 97 before it was renamed " Monday Night Countdown " in 1998 . The official name of the show is " Monday Night Countdown served by Applebee ' s . " The show ' s previous sponsor was UPS . When it first debuted , it was one of the first cross - pollinations between ESPN and ABC Sports , which each largely operated under separate management at the time . History . " Monday Night Football " on ABC era . The show was initially hosted by Mike Tirico along with analysts Joe Theismann , Craig James , Phil Simms and Ron Jaworski . Mike Ditka also discusses certain topics and Chris Mortensen brings news and rumors from around the league . John Clayton is also a regular guest on the show . Former presenters include Mike Tirico , Bill Parcells , Michael Irvin , and Sterling Sharpe . During the 2005 season , it enjoyed its best ratings ever and was the highest - rated studio sports show on cable television . On occasion , the crew appeared on - site at the game , but for the most part the show is aired from the studios in Bristol , Connecticut . " Monday Night Football " moves to ESPN . 2006 . In 2006 , the show began appearing at the " Monday Night Football " site live as the game moved to ESPN from ABC . Stuart Scott moved to host of " NFL Primetime " which precedes " Monday Night Countdown " and Chris Berman moved from " NFL Primetime " to " Monday Night Countdown " and was joined by returning analysts Tom Jackson and Michael Irvin along with new analyst from " Sunday NFL Countdown " Steve Young . Ron Jaworski also contributed to the show along with Chris Mortensen , Ed Werder and Sal Paolantonio . Also , in 2006 " Monday Night Countdown " introduced a new logo and new graphics as part of The Syndicate ' s new NFL package for ESPN . In the same fashion as all ESPN NFL studio shows , " Monday Night Countdown " adopted ABC ' s alternate football musical theme , though presented as a shuffle . 2007 . Beginning with the 2007 , the show cutback its onsite presence by having its main anchor team at ESPN studio ' s in Bristol , but still kept a set at the actual game site . 2008 . The Bristol team was Berman , Jackson , Mortensen , Mike Ditka , Keyshawn Johnson , and Cris Carter . The on - site team is Scott , Young , and Emmitt Smith . 2009 - present . The current Bristol team is Berman , Jackson , Mortensen , Ditka , Johnson , and Carter . The on - site team is Scott , Young , and Matt Millen ( later Trent Dilfer ) in the third spot . On September 17 , 2012 , " Monday Night Countdown " moved up to the 6 : 30 ET timeslot and expanded to 2 hours . As a result , " SportsCenter Monday Kickoff " had its runtime cut in half , from 60 minutes to 30 minutes only . Additionally , " Monday Night Countdown " debuted a new program logo that closely resembles that of " Monday Night Football " and a new graphics scheme package matching that of " Monday Night Football " . Also , " Monday Night Countdown " began using MNF ' s " Heavy Action " theme music as this program ' s own theme music . Personalities . This is a list of personalities that currently or formerly appeared on " Monday Night Countdown " .