Most-Viewed Fiscal Year Ever for ESPN

Network Posts Highest-Rated Fiscal Year in 20 Years, Tying All-time Record

ESPN recorded its most-watched fiscal year - and the highest-rated in 20 years. The network averaged 858,000 households on a 24-hour basis, breaking the record set last year (809,000) with an increase of six percent. The network's total-day rating of 0.9 was the highest in 20 years, equaling the highest ever. In 1990, ESPN averaged a 0.9. All data is according to Nielsen.

Football and "futbol" get much of the credit for ESPN's success this past year:

Monday Night Football was up 18 percent from FY09 (10.5 vs. 8.9 rating)

The 2010 NFL Pro Bowl aired on ESPN and delivered an 8.2 rating

Regular-season college football was up slightly from FY09, with 4 more games

College Bowl games were up five percent from last year

44 live World Cup games aired in FY10, averaging a 2.0 rating

For the fiscal year, it was also a record for viewership with the P2+ demographic, an average of 1,048,000 viewers on a 24-hour basis, up seven percent from the previous high mark, 975,000 last year.

Combined Audience for ESPN Networks

A record for the fiscal year was also set when combining the average total-day audience for the ESPN family of six networks (ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNEWS, ESPNU, ESPN Classic and ESPN Deportes). The total television audience averaged 1,251,000 homes, four percent better than 1,199,000 last year, the old record. Among P2+, the new record is 1,528,000 people, up six percent from 1,447,000.