Shortly after The Walt Disney Company released financial results for individual divisions under its strategic reorganization – which revealed $2.9 billion in profit for ESPN – the sports network revealed additional information about its yearly performance. The network’s 2022-2023 fiscal year runs from October through September and resulted in the largest overall viewership in four fiscal years.
Moreover, viewership within the persons 18-49 demographic was up 5% on the year, with the network reporting its largest gains in the third quarter.
The viewership data is provided by Nielsen Media Research, which also revealed that the network’s total day audience experienced a 2% rise in the year. ESPN amassed an average of 721,000 viewers with nearly 40% of the audience coming from the P18-49 demographic above.
ESPN retained its position as the No. 1 sports network by average audience, and also ranks as the No. 3 network overall on cable television. The network’s sports viewership share, which excludes ESPN on ABC or its other cable networks, is 31.5%, an increase over the previous two fiscal years.
The network’s streaming platform – ESPN+ – garnered an 11% rise in unique viewers year-over-year and also experienced a 15% increase in minutes viewed. Digital platforms accrued 111 million monthly unique visitors, equating to growth of 4% from the last fiscal year. Additionally, these figures surpass the closest competitor by 49%, reaffirming the network’s commitment and innovation in this space.
On social media, ESPN recently became the most-followed brand on TikTok and is up 25% with its engagements year-over-year. Across multiple platforms – including Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), Instagram, and TikTok – ESPN procured 8.7 billion social media engagements, marking its 24th straight month of being No. 1 in the category.
Aside from its coverage of live sports, the network is closing in on the conclusion of its second month under a new daytime programming lineup. The Pat McAfee Show collected record-setting viewership on digital and linear platforms, while First Take recently attained its 14th consecutive month of YoY viewership growth.
These figures come at a time when Disney is looking for a strategic partner to purchase a minority equity stake in ESPN, concurrent with the development of a direct-to-consumer platform under the project name “Flagship.”
