ESPN networks kicked off the fall sports season with one of the most-watched Labor Day Weekends in decades, delivering the second-highest audience for the holiday period in at least 30 years and the network’s largest Labor Day Weekend audience since 2016. From Saturday, August 30, through Monday, September 1, fans consumed 16.8 billion minutes across ABC, ESPN and ESPN2, a 25 percent increase from the previous year.
The holiday slate featured standout performances across multiple sports, with several properties hitting all-time or multi-year audience highs.
College football led the charge, with ESPN networks posting their most-watched Kickoff Weekend on record. Fifteen games averaged 4.1 million viewers, up 31 percent year-over-year. Notably, three ABC games exceeded 10 million viewers, marking a first for a regular-season weekend.
College GameDay, ESPN’s flagship college football pregame show, also reached record viewership. Lee Corso’s final appearance drew an average of 4.0 million viewers, solidifying the episode as the most-watched in the program’s history.
Tennis coverage continued to resonate with fans as well. ABC’s broadcast of the U.S. Open Round of 16 averaged 2.2 million viewers, the most-watched Round of 16 telecast since 2015. Meanwhile, Third Round coverage posted a 15 percent increase over last year and drew its largest audience since 2022.
ESPN Events made history in college volleyball with the inaugural Broadway Block Party, as Nebraska’s matchup against Kentucky on ABC became the most-watched regular-season college volleyball match ever, averaging 1.2 million viewers.
Baseball also contributed to the network’s success. Sunday Night Baseball’s Braves-Phillies game attracted 1.9 million viewers, a 28 percent increase from last season’s Sunday Night Baseball average.
ESPN’s flagship news program, SportsCenter, saw growth across 11 live episodes. Saturday morning’s edition, which featured interviews with on-air personalities at top college football games, averaged 942,000 viewers. Monday night’s SportsCenter with SVP following the TCU-UNC matchup drew 1.2 million viewers.
Motorsports fans tuned in as well, with Sunday’s Formula 1 Dutch Grand Prix averaging 1.2 million viewers, the largest audience ever for the event. Viewership peaked at 1.3 million between 10:30 and 10:45 a.m. ET as Oscar Piastri crossed the finish line for the win.
ESPN’s Labor Day Weekend performance underscores the network’s continued ability to capture audience attention across a diverse sports lineup. From college football’s opening weekend to major tennis and motorsports events, the combination of marquee matchups and legacy programming drove substantial gains for the network, setting the stage for what is expected to be a high-octane fall season.
Barrett Media produces daily content on the music, news, and sports media industries. To stay updated, sign up for our newsletters and get the latest information delivered straight to your inbox.
