Two Decades atop Delivery of Valuable Male Audience
SportsCenter, Other Studio Shows Boost Performance
In November, ESPN maintained its leadership position among cable networks in delivering a valuable audience, especially among young men. For the month of November (October 28 – November 24):
In total day:
- ESPN was the #1 cable network among Men 18-34, 18-49 and 25-54 for at least a 20th straight year.
- ESPN was the #1 cable network among Adults 18-34 for a 15th straight year.
- ESPN was the #1 cable network among Adults 18-49 for a 14th straight year.
- ESPN was the #1 cable network among Adults 25-54 for a 10th straight year.
In prime time:
- ESPN led all cable networks among the key adult and male demos – 18-34, 18-49 and 25-54, as well as Men 18+ and has done so in each year for at least 20 years.
- ESPN was the #1 cable network among viewers (P2+) for a third consecutive year and the 19th time out of the past 20 years.
- ESPN was the #1 cable network among Boys 12-17 for a fourth straight year.
- ESPN was the #1 cable network among Women 18-49 for the second straight year.
Looking at notable studio show results in November (all increases are among P2+):
- Get Up increased for the ninth straight month, gaining 7% (418,000 vs. 390,000).
- Thanks to First Take and the noon ET SportsCenter, not only is ESPN the #1 cable network among Men 18-34, 18-49 and 25-54 on weekdays from 10 a.m. – 1 p.m., but it is the leading network – broadcast or cable – with men 18-34.
- Pardon the Interruption saw gains of 5% in November vs. a year earlier (861,000 vs. 819,000), climbing for seven of the last eight months.
- The 6 p.m. SportsCenter finished the month of November up 5% (594,000 vs. 564,000).
- Driven by the late night editions of SportsCenter, not only is ESPN is the #1 cable network from 11 p.m. – 2 a.m. across all key male and person demos (18-34, 18-49 and 25-54), but it is also the leading network – cable or broadcast – with men 18-34 and 18-49.
- Monday Night Countdown is up 11% for the month (1,490,000 vs. 1,342,000) and is up 12% for the season. With this as lead-in, Monday Night Football was up 8% in November (13,883,000 vs. 12,871,000) including the most-watched game in almost three years (Seattle-San Francisco; 16,947,000 viewers) which also was the week’s most-watched telecast on broadcast or cable. The post-game SportsCenter with Scott Van Pelt was up 6% in November (3,509,000 vs. 3,306,000).
And, “Did You Know?”…
- Across all ESPN networks, college football is up 7% for the season (including the most-watched noon game, Penn State at Minnesota, in almost three years) while College GameDay is up 4%. Also, Sunday NFL Countdown is up 8% for the year.
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