ESPN’s weekday studio programming surged in September as the return of football and other fall sports fueled record-breaking audience gains across its lineup, according to data from Nielsen.
The sports network’s daily shows, including “Get Up,” “First Take,” and “The Pat McAfee Show,” each drew their largest September audiences on record, while staples such as “SportsCenter” posted multi-year highs.
“This year’s compelling fall sports season, combined with Nielsen’s Big Data + Panel methodology, has further amplified our studio show viewership,” said Flora Kelly, the Senior Vice President of Research at ESPN. “We are thrilled with these September results, proving that fans continue to turn to ESPN for their sports conversations.”
Weekdays between 8 a.m. and 7 p.m. Eastern Time, ESPN averaged 445,000 viewers, a 22 percent increase compared to last September. “Get Up” delivered 459,000 viewers, up 24 percent year-over-year, while “First Take” averaged 551,000 viewers, a 23 percent gain. “The Pat McAfee Show,” which includes viewership from both ESPN and YouTube, attracted 447,000 viewers, marking its best September ever.
“NFL Live” matched that total with 447,000 viewers, its strongest September since 2016 and up 18 percent from last year. “SportsCenter” at 5 p.m. drew 448,000 viewers, a 16 percent improvement, while “Pardon the Interruption” averaged 676,000 viewers, also up 16 percent. The 6 p.m. edition of “SportsCenter” logged 542,000 viewers, its best September since 2019 and up 39 percent year-over-year.
September was the first full month that ESPN’s studio shows and live sports programming was fully available on its own streaming plan, independent of a cable, satellite or pay TV package. The plan, called ESPN Unlimited, costs $30 per month and is available within the ESPN app for phones, tablets and smart TVs.
ESPN is a joint venture between the Walt Disney Company and Hearst Corporation.
