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ESPN Says 2025 Was Its Most-Watched Year Since 2017 as Studio Shows Set Records

The gains reflect a talent-first daytime strategy during a year of sweeping distribution changes.

Overview

  • ESPN reports record 2025 results for daytime studios: Get Up averaged 424,000 viewers (+10% YOY), First Take averaged 517,000 (+6%), and The Pat McAfee Show rose 8% across linear and digital.
  • Pardon the Interruption remained the top weekday studio program at 679,000 viewers, its best performance since 2019.
  • SportsCenter posted broad daypart growth, with 6 p.m. up 16% to its best since 2015, 11 p.m. up 17% to its best since 2019, and 7 a.m. up 5%.
  • NFL Live climbed 18% to its best year since 2016, including youth (+78%) and female (+48%) gains, while NBA Today rose 16% for the strongest daily NBA studio performance since 2018.
  • Coverage links the rebound to ESPN’s 2025 DTC launch, an NFL equity deal, and a YouTube TV carriage dispute, while noting Nielsen’s Big Data changes and a December surge complicate comparisons.