Jannah Theme License is not validated, Go to the theme options page to validate the license, You need a single license for each domain name.

ESPN Leads Cable in Key Demos in First Quarter in Total Day, Prime Time

Announcements

ESPN Leads Cable in Key Demos in First Quarter in Total Day, Prime Time

Photo of Dave Nagle Dave Nagle Follow on Twitter March 30, 2017
Uncasville, CT - December 4, 2016 - Mohegan Sun: Katie Lou Samuelson (33) of the University of Connecticut Huskies during the 2016 Jimmy V Womenâs Basketball Classic
  • Long Leaders with Young Males, Both Networks Showing Growing Appeal to Adults 25-54
  • ESPN, ESPN2 Both up 9% in Prime Time

In the first quarter of Nielsen’s 2017 (concluded March 26), ESPN was the top-rated full-time cable network in both total day and prime time among six important demographic groups:  Men 18-34, 18-49 and 25-54, and among Adults in the same three age ranges.

Significantly, while ESPN’s leadership in the male demos for every quarter goes back for years, the network’s ranking among all viewers has risen in recent years.  Just three years ago, for the first quarter of the year in prime time ESPN ranked third in the three demos for adults; 2017 was the first time the network claimed the top spot in all three.  In fact, in no quarter in history (back to at least 2002) has ESPN previously ranked no. 1 among Adults 25-54.

“Thanks to the allure of live sports, ESPN’s strength among the key young male demographic groups has been its strong suit since our 1979 launch,” said Artie Bulgrin, ESPN senior vice president, global research and analytics.  “However, our relative strength vs. the competition in a wider range of viewers is a newer development. “In an on demand world, sports has moved up in the hierarchy of choice for live TV viewing.”

For the three months, both ESPN and ESPN2 saw their prime-time audience grow nine percent.  Indicative of the networks’ growing appeal to Adults 25-54, they both were also up nine percent in that demographic.

Also, with the continuing uncommonly strong viewership to the news networks, for the quarter ESPN trailed only  Fox News Channel among full-time cable networks among all viewers, in both total day and prime time.

-30-

Tags
Photo of Dave Nagle Dave Nagle Follow on Twitter March 30, 2017
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. 
Back to top button