ESPN Had A Very Good 2009

This next press release deals with ESPN and the viewership it garnered for not only ESPN, ESPN 2, but for its five networks combined. Throw in ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNews, ESPN Classic and ESPN Deportes and you have a lot of eyeballs on those series of networks. Captain Blowhard joked at one time how he would love to program ESPN 6. Well, with ESPNU, you have six domestic networks for the sports behemoth.

Here’s the press release touting the viewership in 2009.

Most-Viewed Year for ESPN, ESPN2 & ESPN Networks Combined

ESPN Finishes Strong with Most-Viewed Quarter Ever; Strong Growth for ESPN Deportes

219 Million People Watched ESPN Networks in 4^th Quarter

Monday Night Football Provides Year’s Biggest 15 Cable Audiences & Biggest Ever

ESPN and ESPN2 each posted their most-viewed year in 2009, as did the combination of ESPN networks (ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNEWS, ESPN Classic and ESPN Deportes), a fitting conclusion to the year which was marked by the company’s 30^th anniversary September 7. 

ESPN averaged 827,000 homes on a 24-hour basis, up seven percent from 2008, the previous record. ESPN set a new viewership record in separate 10 months and in all four quarters. The network finished strong as the fourth quarter registered as its most-viewed quarter in history. The 24-hour average was 1,051,000 homes, up eight percent from 2008 and breaking the mark set in 2007. It was also ESPN’s most-viewed year in prime time, an average of 1,723,000 homes, up eight percent from last year and breaking the record set in 2006. 

ESPN’s fourth quarter and prime-time ratings were boosted once again by Monday Night Football. The legendary series, which celebrated its 40^th season, enjoyed its highest-rated slate since moving to ESPN in 2006, averaging a 10.4 rating. It posted cable’s top 15 household audiences of 2009, topped by cable’s biggest audience ever – 15,136,000 homes (based on an ESPN record rating of 15.3) for the October 5 game in which Brett Favre played his long-time team, the Green Bay Packers, for the first time. Favre’s Minnesota Vikings prevailed 30-23.

ESPN2 averaged 275,000 homes on a total day basis, up two percent from last year and edging out 2007 as the most-viewed year. The network set a record for viewership in five separate months, with September topping all as the network’s most-watched month ever. It was also ESPN2’s best year ever in prime time, a record average of 529,000 homes, up seven percent from last year and beating the previous mark of 2007.

The five networks combined to average a record 1,216,000 homes in 2009, an increase of seven percent over last year. In fourth quarter, those networks plus newly-rated ESPNU averaged a record 1,470,000 homes, up seven percent from 2008. (Even without the addition of ESPNU, the audience would still have been a record with 1,441,000 homes.) In the quarter, 219 million people tuned into either ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNEWS or ESPN Deportes, representing 75% of Americans and 90% of U.S. multichannel households. Adding ESPN on ABC, 249 million people in the U.S. watched ESPN content on television in October – December – 85% of the nation.

ESPN Deportes – which began receiving ratings in May 2008 – was the highest-rated U.S. Spanish-language sports network for 2009, and ranked second among all Spanish-language cable networks. For the May – December period, the audience was up 88% vs. last year.

With the new carriage agreements for ESPNU and placing it on widely viewed tiers will help that network in 2010.