or


[04/28/20 - 02:27 PM]
ESPN Airs Television's Most-Watched Programming Among Multiple Key Demos Between April 23-26
ESPN spins the numbers for Thursday through Sunday, April 23-26.
[via press release from ESPN]

ESPN Airs Television's Most-Watched Programming among Multiple Key Demos between April 23-26

· ESPN's Presentation of NFL Draft and "The Last Dance" Top the Charts Among Men 18-34, Women 25-34 and Persons 18-49

· Among All Programming, ESPN Networks Air 10 Most-Watched Programs for Men 18-34 During the Time Period

· NFL Draft is Most-Watched Program Among Multiple Key Female Demos

ESPN was the destination for key demos across all television (both broadcast and cable) from Thursday through Sunday, April 23-26, as the network's presentation of the NFL Draft and Episodes 3 & 4 of the "The Last Dance" documentary series on Michael Jordan's final championship season with the Chicago Bulls delivered the four most-watched programs among Men 18-34 and Persons 18-49 and the two most-watched for Women 25-34. Expanding the most-watched list in the same four-day time period, ESPN's networks accounted for the 10 most-watched programs/events in the same Men 18-34 demo and five most-watched in the persons 18-49. Focusing back in on the NFL Draft, the network's first round presentation was the most-watched among multiple key female demos.

NFL Draft and "The Last Dance" Buoy ESPN to Top Among Key Demos

The four most-watched telecasts in both Men 18-34 and persons 18-49 mimic each other, as ESPN's telecast of the NFL Draft Round 1 (April 23) came in atop both demos lists. "The Last Dance" Episode 3 (Sunday, April 26) and "The Last Dance" Episode 4 (Sunday, April 26) and ESPN's presentation of the NFL Draft Rounds 2 and 3 (Friday, April 25) round out, in that order, the most-watched programs in both demos during this time period.

Completing the top 10 most-watched programs among Men 18-34 were ABC's presentation of the NFL Draft - Round 1 and ESPN's telecast of the NFL Draft Rounds 4 through 7 (Saturday, April 25) and multiple editions of SportsCenter. ABC's telecast of NFL Draft Round 1 was also fifth most-watched program for persons 18-49. A full list is below

NFL Draft and Last Dance Drive ESPN to Lead in Women Demos

ESPN's NFL Draft Round 1 and "The Last Dance" - Episode 3 were the two most-watched among Women 25-34, while The Last Dance Episode 4 was the fourth most-watched in the same demo during this four-day time period.. Focusing on the first round of the NFL Draft, ESPN's production of the first round was the most-watched program among Women 18-49, 18-34, Women 18-24 and female teens between April 23-26.

Demo Success Adds Another Layer of Success to Overall Viewership

ESPN's success among key demos adds to the overall record-breaking viewership marks for the NFL Draft and standard-setting viewership of The Last Dance. Across all networks, including NFL Network, the NFL Draft reached more than 55 million viewers and averaged 8.4 million viewers each of the three days. "The Last Dance" averaged 5.9 million viewers this past weekend and is averaging six million viewers through the first four episodes.

Most-Watched Programs Broadcast and Cable - Persons 18-49

Rank Date Program Time (ET) Viewership Network

1 Thu, April 23 NFL Draft - Round 1 8 p.m. 4,184,000 ESPN

2 Sun, April 26 "The Last Dance" - Episode 3 9 p.m. 2,938,000 ESPN

3 Sun, April 26 "The Last Dance" - Episode 4 10 pm. 2,722,000 ESPN

4 Fri, April 24 NFL Draft - Rounds 2 and 3 7 p.m. 1,962,000 ESPN

5 Thu, April 23 NFL Draft - Round 1 8 p.m. 1,857,000 ABC

Date Range: Thursday, April 23 to Sunday, April 26

Most-Watched Programs Broadcast and Cable - Men 18-34

Rank Date Program Time (ET) Viewership Network

1 Thu, April 23 NFL Draft - Round 1 8 p.m. 1,339,536 ESPN

2 Sun, April 26 "The Last Dance" - Episode 3 9 p.m. 902,599 ESPN

3 Sun, April 26 "The Last Dance" - Episode 4 10 pm. 876,060 ESPN

4 Fri, April 24 NFL Draft - Rounds 2 and 3 7 p.m. 627,490 ESPN

5 Thu, April 23 SportsCenter Special 7 p.m. 445,927 ESPN

6 Thu, April 23 NFL Draft - Round 1 8 p.m. 372,980 ABC

7 Thu, April 23 SportsCenter with SVP Midnight 301,387 ESPN

8 Sat, April 25 NFL Draft - Rounds 4-7 Noon 267,337 ESPN

9 Sun, April 26 SportsCenter 11 p.m. 254,234 ESPN

10 Fri, April 24 SportsCenter Midnight 221,658 ESPN

Date Range: Thursday, April 23 to Sunday, April 26





  [april 2020]  
S
M
T
W
T
F
S
   


· LAST DANCE, THE (ESPN)




most recent ratings | view all posts
[06/02/26 - 12:01 PM]
Netflix Top 10: Week of May 25 - "The Boroughs" Makes Itself at Home at No. 1 in This Week's Top 10
Plus: "Nemesis" stole away with the No. 2 spot on the list, commanding 5.9 million views.
[06/01/26 - 11:04 AM]
ESPN Scored Most-Watched NCAA Women's College World Series Opening Thursday on Record
Arkansas-Nebraska averaged 1.4 million viewers, with a peak of 1.6 million.
[06/01/26 - 08:27 AM]
ESPN Scores Most-Viewed Stanley Cup Playoffs Western Conference Final Since 2015, The Latest Viewership Successes Headed Into the Stanley Cup Final
Across four games on ESPN, the series averaged 2.2 million viewers and was up 44% vs. the Western Conference Final last year (Edmonton vs. Dallas) which went five games on ESPN.

[05/29/26 - 03:02 PM]
"20/20" Is Friday's No. 1 Newsmagazine, Leading "Dateline" in Total Viewers for the 5th Consecutive Broadcast Season
"20/20" improved on the previous season in Total Viewers (+5%/+170,000 - 3.672 million vs. 3.502 million).
[05/29/26 - 03:01 PM]
ABC News Is #1 in Total Viewers Sunday Morning and in Late-Night
"Nightline" posted double-digit gains week to week in Adults 25-54 and Adults 18-49.
[05/28/26 - 03:23 PM]
2026 NBA Eastern Conference Finals Presented by Dunkin' Finishes Strong with Average Audience of 7.4 Million Viewers Across ESPN and ABC
Additionally, Game 4 on ESPN averaged 7.2 million viewers, marking the most-viewed Eastern Conference Finals Game 4 across any network since 2018.
[05/28/26 - 11:00 AM]
CBS Outpaces Competitors with Eight of the Top 25 Series Across All Streaming and Broadcast Originals in Nielsen's All-Series Ranker
CBS has the most top 25 series of any streaming or broadcast competitor and twice as many as its closest broadcast competitor, including six series with 10+ million viewers.
[05/28/26 - 10:31 AM]
FOX Delivers Most-Watched UFL Game Since League Started in 2024
1,593,000 viewers watched as Louisville defeated Dallas 37-23 on Sunday.
[05/28/26 - 10:26 AM]
FOX Scores with 110th Running of the Indianapolis 500
6,635,000 viewers watched Felix Rosenqvist edge David Malukas by 0.0233 seconds with a last-lap pass to win the Indy 500 Sunday on FOX.
[05/27/26 - 03:13 PM]
FOX Saturday Baseball Draws Strong Audience Over Holiday Weekend
2,355,000 viewers tuned in to the two-game slate highlighted by the Dodgers' 11-3 victory over the Brewers in most of the country.
[05/26/26 - 12:03 PM]
"Off Campus" Season 1 Has Reached 36 Million Viewers Worldwide in Its First 12 Days
Off Campus. On everyone's screen.
[05/26/26 - 12:01 PM]
Netflix Top 10: Week of May 18 - In Ruthless Pursuit, "Nemesis" Steals No. 1 in This Week's Top 10
Retirement in "The Boroughs" is anything but sleepy as the Duffer Brothers-produced sci-fi series took No. 2 on the list with 5.6 million views.
[05/26/26 - 11:00 AM]
"Dutton Ranch" Is the Biggest Original Series Debut in Paramount+ History
In addition to its record-setting performance on Paramount+, "Dutton Ranch" is also the #1 streaming series according to Nielsen based on average audience for the week of May 11 according to preliminary data.
[05/21/26 - 02:32 PM]
ESPN Delivered Most-Watched NBA Eastern Conference Finals Game 1 Since 2018
The New York Knicks overtime victory against the Cleveland Cavaliers on May 19 generated an average audience of 7.1 million viewers and peaked with 8.87 million viewers at 10:45 p.m. ET.

[05/21/26 - 02:00 PM]
"Survivor" Historic 50th Season Concludes with Most-Watched Finale Since 2020
The season finale drew an average of 5.78 million viewers, based on Nielsen Preliminary panel only data.