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

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

Photo of Dave Nagle Dave Nagle Follow on Twitter December 31, 2010
(Photo by Allen Kee / ESPN Images)

 

ESPN Sets Record Every Quarter, Fourth Quarter its Most-Viewed Ever

Monday Night Football Provides Year’s 16 Biggest Cable Audiences

For the second straight year, in 2010 ESPN and ESPN2 each posted their most-viewed year, as did the combination of ESPN networks (ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNEWS, ESPNU, ESPN Classic and ESPN Deportes), according to Nielsen.  ESPN capped the year with its most-watched quarter ever and for the year led all cable networks in total-day delivery in key male demos – men 18-34, 18-49 and 25-54.

ESPN averaged 880,000 homes on a 24-hour basis, up six percent from 2009, the previous record.  ESPN set a new viewership record in all four quarters and finished strong as the fourth quarter registered as its most-viewed quarter in history.  The 24-hour average for the quarter was 1,140,000 homes, up eight percent from the last year’s previous best, and November was ESPN’s most-watched month of all time.  It was also ESPN’s most-viewed year in prime time, an average of 1,778,000 homes, up three percent from the record set last year. 

ESPN’s fourth quarter and prime-time ratings were boosted once again by Monday Night Football – it posted its highest-rated season since moving to ESPN and cable’s 16 biggest audiences of 2010 to rank eighth among all television shows in primetime (cable or broadcast) – and NFL studio programming.  Other strong performers included college football and NBA games, as well as continued growth for the network’s flagship program, SportsCenter.

ESPN2 averaged 276,000 homes on a total-day basis, edging last year’s 275,000 for a new record.  For the fourth quarter, the network averaged 307,000 homes, a record for the quarter and up seven percent from 2009, the previous high.  September was the network’s most-watched month in history.

ESPN’s six networks combined to average a record 1,282,000 homes on a 24-hour basis in 2010, an increase of five percent over last year. 

ESPNU nearly doubled its audience from a year ago once year-to-year comparisons were available in October.

ESPN Deportes was again the most-watched U.S. Spanish-language sports network this year, and ranked second among all Spanish-language cable networks for viewership among Hispanic men. 

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Photo of Dave Nagle Dave Nagle Follow on Twitter December 31, 2010
Photo of Dave Nagle

Dave Nagle

As I write this on 11-11-21, it's now 35 years for me at ESPN, the only real job I’ve ever had. I joined merely to help with the upcoming America’s Cup in Australia. I was told it would be for three months at all of $5.50 per hour. I like to say I simply kept showing up. I’ve worked on almost every sport, plus answered viewer calls and letters (people used to write!), given tours, written the company newsletter and once drove NASCAR’s Jeff Gordon to the local airport. My travels have been varied…I’ve been to Martinsville, Darlington, Indy and Super Bowls; the America’s Cup (all 3) in San Diego and College GameDay in the sport’s meccas such as Eugene, Auburn, Lubbock, Stillwater and more; the NBA Finals, Wimbledon (16 times and counting) and the “other Bristol,” the one with a race track in Tennessee. These days, my main areas are tennis, UFC, boxing, network-wide ratings (by month/quarter/year), and corporate communications documents, including fact sheets, chronologies, lists and nearly 35 of the Year in Review press releases. UPDATE EXACTLY ONE YEAR LATER: Today, November 11, 2022, I am retiring from ESPN -- 36 years to the day I began. As I ride off into the sunset – top down and E Street Radio blaring – I do so with so many wonderful memories, proud of my contributions and a heart full of gratitude for the opportunity. 
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