ESPN Digital garnered its strongest February performance on record by reaching 47% of all users in the U.S. sports category and 103.4 million unique visitors, based on recent data released by Comscore. The network’s digital platform has been at the top of the U.S. sports category for 24 consecutive months, and it has also been experiencing growth across the board. The ESPN App remained No. 1 in the mobile sports app category with 25.5 million unique users, continuing to serve as a reputable source of sports information, commentary and analysis. Moreover, the ESPN Fantasy App was the top fantasy application for the month and attracted 3.2 million unique users.
ESPN, in partnership with PENN Entertainment, released the ESPN BET app in November and was initially available in the 17 U.S. states where PENN is able to operate. The network released a new commercial featuring SportsCenter anchor and Monday Night Countdown host Scott Van Pelt on Tuesday ahead of the playoffs for the National Basketball Association and National Hockey League.
Growth of the network’s YouTube platform continued in February, which includes multifaceted offerings such as clips from studio programs, game highlights and exclusive content. ESPN on YouTube accrued 42.6 million unique viewers and 726 million total minutes, which is up 23% and 77% respectively.
ESPN on social media platforms – including Facebook, X, Instagram and TikTok – remained at the top of the sports category for the 32nd straight month. As a whole, the network’s platforms amassed more than 652 million engagements throughout the month. ESPN regularly posts sports-related content every day across several media verticals.
ESPN Digital is coming off of a robust 2023 performance in which it established a new all-time record with 111.4 million monthly unique visitors. The network’s YouTube channels had 25 billion views, which was up 18% year-over-year, and on social media, it continued to lead the sports category with 6 billion engagements, up 11% year-over-year.
ESPN Digital platforms reached 49% of all digital users within the U.S. sports category last year as well. Additionally, ESPN became the most-followed brand on TikTok with over 44 million followers. These figures are according to findings within Comscore’s U.S. Media Metrix multiplatform data.
