or


[01/08/15 - 07:26 AM]
ESPN Rings in 2015 with its Most-Viewed Week Ever
ESPN spins the numbers for the week of December 29-January 4.
[via press release from ESPN]

ESPN Rings in 2015 with its Most-Viewed Week Ever

· Three of Top Eight Most-Watched Cable Programs of All-Time Last Week

· January 1, 2015 is Most-Viewed Day in Network History

· 2014's Most-Watched Cable Network in Primetime

· Outback Bowl Delivers Highest Audience in ESPN2's History

· ESPN Claims Top 19 Programs in Cable History

Buoyed by the inaugural College Football Playoff Semifinals and its first ever NFL Playoff telecast - three of the top eight most-viewed programs in cable television history, ESPN earned the most-viewed week in its 35-year history, averaging 4,119,000 viewers from Monday, Dec. 29, 2014 - Sunday, Jan. 4, 2015, according to Nielsen.

The Allstate Sugar Bowl featuring No. 4 Ohio State's victory over No. 1 Alabama (Thursday, Jan. 1 at 9 p.m. ET) became the most-viewed program in cable television history, garnering 28,271,000 viewers. The Rose Bowl Game Presented by Northwestern Mutual, which saw No. 2 Oregon defeat No. 3 Florida State (January 1 at 5 p.m.), produced the second most-watched program in cable history with 28,164,000 viewers. ESPN's unprecedented stretch concluded with the NFL Wild Card game which resulted in the Carolina Panthers defeating the Arizona Cardinals (Saturday, Jan. 3, at 4:20 p.m.), earning 21,678,000 viewers, the eighth most-viewed program in cable history and ESPN's second most-watched NFL telecast.

Other notable milestones...

Most-Viewed Day Ever

ESPN celebrated the New Year in historic fashion on Thursday, Jan. 1, 2015. Starting with SportsCenter and continuing with College GameDay, The 2015 Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic, The Rose Bowl Presented by Northwestern Mutual, and concluding with the Allstate Sugar Bowl, ESPN averaged 11,680,000 million viewers, making it the most-viewed day ever in the network's 35-year history.

No. 1 Primetime Cable Network in 2014

ESPN was the most-watched cable network in primetime in 2014, averaging 2,300,000 viewers. Additionally, ESPN's 2014 primetime audience saw an increase of +5% in viewership when compared to 2013 (2,194,000 viewers). This marks the first time ESPN has finished No. 1 in primetime within a calendar year.

Outback Bowl Delivers Record Audience for ESPN2

The Outback Bowl, featuring No. 18 Wisconsin defeating No. 19 Auburn in overtime, on January 1, 2015 at noon, averaged 6,400,000 viewers, the most-ever for a telecast on ESPN2. The back-and-forth game also generated a 3.8 rating, a new high for the network as well. Additionally, the New Year's Day bowl is currently the seventh most-viewed bowl game of 2014-15 season.

Cable Television Records

ESPN now claims the top 19 most-viewed programs in cable history with the inaugural College Football National Championship Presented by AT&T to be played Monday, Jan. 12, at 8:30 p.m. (No. 2 Oregon vs. No. 4 Ohio State).

Top 20 Most-Viewed Programs in Cable Television History (Viewers)
Rank Date Program Network Viewers (000s)
1. 01/01/2015 CFB/Sugar Bowl: Alabama-Ohio St. ^ ESPN 28,271
2. 01/01/2015 CFB/Rose Bowl: Oregon-Florida St. ^ ESPN 28,164
3. 01/10/2011 CFB/BCS Champ: Oregon-Auburn ESPN 27,316
4. 01/07/2013 CFB/BCS Champ: Alabama-Notre Dame ESPN 26,380
5. 01/06/2014 CFB/BCS Champ: Florida St.-Auburn ESPN 25,572
6. 01/09/2012 CFB/BCS Champ: Alabama-LSU ESPN 24,214
7. 10/05/2009 NFL MNF: Green Bay-Minnesota ESPN 21,839
8. 01/03/2015 NFL Wild Card: Arizona-Carolina ESPN 21,678
9. 11/30/2009 NFL MNF: New England-New Orleans ESPN 21,402
10. 01/01/2011 CFB/Rose Bowl: TCU-Wisconsin ESPN 20,558
11. 12/27/2010 NFL MNF: New Orleans-Atlanta ESPN 19,137
12. 10/27/2014 NFL MNF: Washington-Dallas ESPN 18,809
13. 01/01/2014 CFB/Rose Bowl: Stanford-Michigan State ESPN 18,636
14. 09/15/2008 NFL MNF: Philadelphia-Dallas ESPN 18,608
15. 10/25/2010 NFL MNF: NY Giants-Dallas ESPN 17,953
16. 01/02/2012 CFB/Rose Bowl: Wisconsin-Oregon ESPN 17,558
17. 12/03/2007 NFL MNF: New England-Baltimore ESPN 17,522
18. 09/27/2010 NFL MNF: Green Bay-Chicago ESPN 17,454
19. 10/11/2010 NFL MNF: Minnesota-NY Jets ESPN 17,313
20. 10/12/2014 Season Premier: Walking Dead AMC 17,286

^ = College Football Playoff Semifinal

2014-15 Bowl Season

Overall, ESPN's 33 bowl telecasts this season have averaged 5,423,000 viewers, up 4% (5,229,000 viewers) from the 2013-2014 bowl telecasts (minus the BCS Championship game).





  [january 2015]  
S
M
T
W
T
F
S
    


· SHOWATCH
(series past and present)
· DEVWATCH
(series in development)
· MOVIEWATCH
(tv movies and mini-series)




most recent ratings | view all posts
[10/23/25 - 02:33 PM]
Largest Audience for "NBA Tip-Off" Doubleheader Since 2010 as NBA Returned to NBC and Debuted on Peacock
Tuesday night's audience across NBC and Peacock peaked at 7.1 million viewers from 10:45-11 p.m. ET as Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder to a one-point win over the Houston Rockets in double overtime.
[10/23/25 - 11:28 AM]
"High Potential" Rises to Season High as Show Nears Fall Finale
ABC's popular drama rose to a multiplatform season high in Total Viewers (12.50 million) and Adults 18-49 (2.31 rating) after seven days of viewing on ABC, Hulu, Hulu on Disney+ and digital platforms.
[10/22/25 - 03:06 PM]
FOX Sports Delivers Most-Watched ALCS Game Since 2017
9,028,000 viewers tuned in across FOX, FS1, FOX Deportes & FOX Sports streaming services for the Toronto Blue Jays' ALCS Game 7 victory over the Seattle Mariners.
[10/22/25 - 08:07 AM]
ESPN College Football on ABC Delivers Top Three Games Across All Networks for Saturday, Oct. 18 - Off to Best Start Since '09
Coverage of Ole Miss at Georgia averaged 9.8 million viewers.
[10/22/25 - 08:03 AM]
FOX NFL's America's Game of the Week Delivers 25,630,000 Average Viewers for Commanders-Cowboys
Season-to-date, the NFL on FOX is off to its best start to the season since 2014, averaging 19,646,000 viewers and up +4% over last year's season-to-date average.
[10/22/25 - 07:44 AM]
"9-1-1: Nashville" Debuts with Over 12 Million Total Audience to Date
The star-studded, high-octane first-responder drama delivered 7.80 million Total Viewers and 1.51 rating among Adults 18-49, excluding encores.
[10/22/25 - 06:21 AM]
ABC's Telecast of Formula 1 U.S. Grand Prix Draws Event's Largest TV Audience on Record
Viewership peaked at 1.6 million between 4:15-4:30 p.m. as Max Verstappen drove to victory, further tightening up the battle for the F1 driver's championship with only five races left in the season.
[10/21/25 - 12:01 PM]
Netflix Top 10 Week of October 13: "The Woman in Cabin 10" Sails Smoothly to No. 1 in This Week's Top 10
In the final stretch to Halloween, those lured in by the story of the OG horror villain put "Monster: The Ed Gein Story" at No. 1 on the English TV list with 9.5 million views.
[10/17/25 - 01:16 PM]
"Live with Kelly and Mark" Hits Season Highs with Best Audience Performance Since July
"Live" has now ranked as the No. 1 talk show in syndication for 139 consecutive weeks across all key measures.
[10/17/25 - 10:38 AM]
"Dancing with the Stars" Continues Historic Hot Streak - Rising for Fourth Straight Week Since Premiere with 6 Million Total Viewers
Plus: "High Potential" dominated the 10 p.m. hour with 4.15 million Total Viewers and a 0.33 rating among Adults 18-49.
[10/16/25 - 06:01 AM]
ESPN's Monumental 2025 WNBA Season Sets New Viewership Records
Across all networks, the 2025 WNBA Postseason was the most-viewed since 1999.
[10/15/25 - 04:02 PM]
"20/20" Is Friday's No. 1 Program on Broadcast TV
"20/20" increased its lead week to week over "Dateline" in Total Viewers to post its largest of the season.
[10/15/25 - 04:01 PM]
ABC News' "Nightline" Ranks No. 1 in Total Viewers, Adults 25-54 and Adults 18-49, Leading NBC in All Key Demos for the 3rd Straight Week
"Nightline" saw double-digit gains in the year-ago week in Adults 25-54 and Adults 18-49.
[10/14/25 - 03:06 PM]
ESPN Records the Most-Watched WNBA Postseason Ever Across Its Networks
Across 24 games, the '25 WNBA postseason averaged 1.2 million viewers, up 5% from last year.
[10/14/25 - 03:03 PM]
"College GameDay Built by The Home Depot" Delivers Most-Watched West Coast Episode Ever; ESPN College Football on ABC Scores Top Three Programs Across All Networks and Content for Saturday, Oct. 11
The Texas Longhorns' upset victory over the Oklahoma Sooners averaged 8.7 million viewers.