Best Second Quarter Ever for ESPN & ESPN2

June's Top Seven TV Audiences Were ESPN on ABC Programming

Thanks to large audiences tuning to ESPN for the NBA playoffs, SportsCenter, the NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament and golf's Masters Tournament and U.S. Open, the network posted its most-viewed second quarter in history, averaging 704,000 households on a 24-hour basis. In addition, ESPN2 also set new marks for total day household audience.

The quarter ended with ESPN on ABC programming topping the list of June's top seven audiences in all of television. The top six were the six games of the NBA Finals and the seventh was the Belmont Stakes, all on ABC.

For ESPN, the household audience represents an increase of 20% over the second quarter of 2007 (586,000) and breaks the record set in 2006 (665,000). For the period of March 31 � June 29, the network averaged a 0.7 rating, up 17% from a 0.6 last year, and 824,000 viewers (P2+), up 20% from last year (689,000) and also a new record (2006: 783,000). ESPN's coverage of the first two hours of the U.S. Open playoff on Monday, June 16, attracted the largest household audience for golf in cable TV history, breaking the record set two months earlier with round two of ESPN's first-ever presentation of The Masters on Friday, April 11.

ESPN also set a new household audience mark in primetime, averaging 1,347,000 homes, up 21% from 2007 and breaking the record set in 2006. The prime-time rating was 1.4, up 17% from 1.2 a year ago, with viewers up 22% (from 1,415,000 to 1,730,000).

ESPN2 � boosted by Euro 2008, the NASCAR Nationwide Series, tennis' French Open and last week's coverage of Wimbledon, as well as the continued growth for the live weekday morning lineup of ESPN Radio's Mike & Mike in the Morning (6 � 10 a.m. ET) and FirstTake (10 a.m. � noon) � also enjoyed its most-watched second quarter. ESPN2 averaged 272,000 homes, up 11% from 246,000 in 2007 and breaking the record of 256,000 set in 2006. The network averaged a 0.3 rating for the quarter both years, although the increase for viewers was 10%, from 294,000 to 322,000.

By Month

ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPNEWS each posted its best April ever.

ESPN2 and ESPNEWS each posted its best May ever while ESPN's 24-hour audience grew 21% over last year, and was the second largest for the month in the network's history.

ESPN posted its best June ever. ESPN2's 24-hour audience was up 12% from last year.

In June, ESPN's 24-hour audience was up 18% from last year, and ESPN2 was up 12%.