or


[01/12/24 - 06:56 AM]
ESPN's "Sunday NFL Countdown" Achieves Its Most-Watched Regular Season Since 2019 & All NFL on ESPN Studio Shows Increased Viewership in Key Demos, Highlighting the 2023 Success
"Sunday NFL Countdown" earned its most-watched regular season since 2019 and its second best since 2016, as the weekly pregame show elevated its audience to 1,335,000 viewers per show.

[via press release from ESPN]

ESPN's "Sunday NFL Countdown" Achieves its Most-Watched Regular Season Since 2019 & All NFL on ESPN Studio Shows Increased Viewership in Key Demos, Highlighting the 2023 Success

· Sunday NFL Countdown Up 8% Year-Over-Year and Second Best Viewership in Almost a Decade

· Monday Night Countdown Maintains Audience on ESPN, Averages More than Four Million for Select ABC Shows

· NFL Live Adds to its Most-Watched Seasons Since 2016 with Current Cast

· NFL Primetime Leads the Way on ESPN+ Again

ESPN's NFL studio shows added to success of the NFL on ESPN's entire 2023 season with Sunday NFL Countdown generating its best viewership since 2019, Monday Night Countdown gaining more exposure on ABC and maintaining its audience on ESPN and NFL Live adding to the current cast's successful run since the revamp several seasons ago.

Sunday NFL Countdown with Season-Long and Weekly Wins

Sunday NFL Countdown (10 a.m. - 1 p.m. ET) earned its most-watched regular season since 2019 and its second best since 2016, as the weekly pregame show elevated its audience to 1,335,000 viewers per show. The viewership marks a significant 8% jump from the 2022 season and was up 15% from the 2021 season. This season, Sunday NFL Countdown increased its audience in every key demo including Persons 18-49 (6%), Persons 18-24 (3%), and Females (5%).

On the months-long path to season success, the show produced many weekly wins, including delivering its most-watched episode in nine seasons (Week 4) and matching its most-watched Week 2 episode since 2016. The early success was sustained throughout the season, including a New Year's Eve edition (Week 17) which was up 9% year-over-year.

Current Era of NFL Live Continues to Out Pace Prior Years

The current era of NFL Live - with Ryan Clark, Mina Kimes, Dan Orlovsky, Marcus Spears and Laura Rutledge - continues to outpace former iterations, as the daily show deepens its connection with NFL fans.

This season's NFL Live (4 - 5 p.m. ET, daily), with a viewership of 406,000 viewers, along with the 2021 and 2022 seasons of the show, are the three most-watched seasons of NFL Live dating back to 2016. Additionally, the show increased its younger audience, with a jump in Persons 18-24, and achieved a highwater mark for the year with 588,000 viewers on October 31 - the show's NFL Trade Deadline edition. Andrew Hawkins also contributed to the show regularly this season.

Monday Night Countdown Delivers Multiple Wins Across ABC and ESPN

Monday Night Countdown (6 - 8 p.m.) averaged 1.4 million viewers on ESPN-only and an additional 4.2 million viewers for the five shows on ABC, providing the lead-in to ESPN's Monday Night Football's 20+ year viewership high. The show's ESPN-only viewership was in-line with the show's 2022 viewership, even with more MNF on ABC, and, continuing the trend of increases in demos, the show elevated its female audience (2%), as well as its younger audience by 3% (Persons 12 - 17) this season. This year was the most extensive presence the show has had on ABC in the current era of Monday Night Football.

NFL Matchup with Strong Growth

NFL Matchup (Saturdays) earned its best audience since 2019, as the weekly film breakdown program averaged 320,000 viewers. The audience was up 7% year-over-year.

NFL Primetime Leads the Way on ESPN+

NFL Primetime (Sundays, 7:30 p.m. ET and on-demand) continuous to be the most-watched original studio program on ESPN+ during the season.

Please note: Sunday NFL Countdown excludes weeks it went up against an International game not on an ESPN platform. Monday Night Countdown excludes Weeks 2 and 3 when format was different due to multiple Monday Night Football games. NFL Live season-to-date range is Sept. 7 to end of regular season and compared to similar dates in past seasons.

-30-





  [january 2024]  
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
[12/15/25 - 09:19 AM]
Driven by Strong November Viewership, ESPN Earns Third Straight Month of Year-Over-Year Audience Growth for Weekday Studio Programming
Highlights include "The Pat McAfee Show" having its most-viewed November of all time across linear and YouTube with 445,000 average viewers per show and "NFL Live" reaching its second most-watched November since 2016 with 445,000 average viewers.

[12/12/25 - 03:04 PM]
ESPN Scored Most-Watched Jimmy V Women's Classic Ever; Men's Classic Most-Watched in Five Years
The former averaged 1.0 million viewers, peaking with 1.3 million.

[12/11/25 - 03:15 PM]
ABC News' "Nightline" Ranks No. 1 in All Key Target Demos
The series also saw gains on the same week last year in Adults 25-54 and Adults 18-49.

[12/10/25 - 02:59 PM]
FOX NFL Scores Massive Week 14 Viewership
28 million viewers watched FOX Sports' Week 14 "America's Game of the Week," featuring the Green Bay Packers divisional win over the Chicago Bears.

[12/10/25 - 12:08 PM]
NBCU's November to Remember Showcases the Power of Company's Programming
"All Her Fault" became the most-watched original series launch in Peacock history with 46 million hours.

[12/10/25 - 09:54 AM]
ABC Unwraps Holiday Presentations of Fan Favorite Shows
"Dancing with the Holidays" was the top-performing holiday-themed special across the broadcast networks among Adults 18-49 in two years.

[12/09/25 - 04:11 PM]
"College GameDay" Delivers Second Most-Watched Conference Championship Episode Ever; ABC/ESPN Score Second Most-Watched Conference Championship Week Since 2014
The SEC Championship delivered 16.9 million viewers on Saturday, December 6.

[12/09/25 - 02:03 PM]
18.3 Million Viewers Tuned in for Big Ten Championship Game on FOX
Indiana's win peaked with 19,993,000 viewers from 11:00-11:15 PM ET.

[12/08/25 - 11:30 AM]
College Football on The CW Network Sees Double Digit Year-Over-Year Viewership Gains for 2025 Season
ACC football experienced the largest year-over-year growth, up 26% in total audience compared to 2024.

[12/05/25 - 03:31 PM]
ABC News' "Nightline" Ranks No. 1 in Total Viewers
"Nightline" improved on the previous week in Total Viewers and Adults 18-49, hitting nine-week highs in both measures.

[12/05/25 - 02:05 PM]
ESPN Networks Deliver Best College Football Regular Season Since 2011; "College GameDay Built by The Home Depot" Scores Most-Watched Season Ever
ESPN networks aired the most-watched game in 34 of 42 key Saturday windows, including seven of 14 noon windows, 13 of 14 late afternoon windows and all 14 prime windows.

[12/05/25 - 12:35 PM]
2025 CFB Viewership Surges on FOX & FS1
The 2025 regular season wrapped with big numbers for "Big Noon Saturday," "Big Noon Kickoff" and more - including year-over-year gains across the board.

[12/05/25 - 11:00 AM]
CBS Premiere Week Episodes Post Gains and Lead In Live Plus 35-Day Multiplatform Viewership
"Tracker" delivered 17.3 million viewers, up +6% versus its year-ago premiere.

[12/05/25 - 08:45 AM]
ESPN Delivered Most-Watched Women's College Volleyball Season on Record
Said coverage averaged 190,000 viewers, up 36% from the 2024 season.

[12/04/25 - 04:19 PM]
"College GameDay Built By The Home Depot" Delivers Second-Best Regular Season Episode Ever; ESPN Scores Best Rivalry Week Since 2012
The Lone Star Showdown drew over 13 million viewers, peaking with 14.3 million viewers.