ESPN’s studio show lineup posted its strongest April performance in years. Consequently, overall viewership jumped 21% compared to April 2025 building upon the momentum from Q1 viewership.
What We Know: April’s gains built directly on a strong Q1, where studio shows combined to average 14% more viewers than the prior year. As a result, major sporting events fueled the surge, including the men’s and women’s college basketball championships, the Masters, and the NFL and WNBA Drafts. Additionally, NBA and NHL playoff coverage drove significant traffic across multiple platforms. Meanwhile, viewership spikes surrounding marquee events continue to outpace recent years, ultimately signaling a broader audience rebound for linear sports television.
What The Numbers Show (March 30-April 26 – via Nielsen Big Data + Panel and YouTube Analytics)
| Show / Program Title | Average Viewership | Lift Year Over Year |
|---|---|---|
| SportsCenter (Overall) | 643K | +21% |
| SportsCenter (7 a.m.) | 288K | +23% |
| SportsCenter (2 p.m.) | 394K | +64% |
| SportsCenter (5 p.m.) | 446K | +23% |
| SportsCenter (6 p.m.) | 529K | +28% |
| SportsCenter (Midnight) | 444K | +39% |
| SportsCenter (1 a.m.) | 344K | +10% |
| SC AM (Saturday) | 541K | +29% |
| SC AM (Sunday) | 474K | +12% |
| Get Up | 447K | +24% |
| Pardon the Interruption (PTI) | 719K | N/A |
| The Pat McAfee Show (Linear + Digital) | 430K | N/A |
| The Pat McAfee Show (Linear Only) | N/A | +29% |
| First Take | 491K | +6% |
| SportsCenter with Scott Van Pelt | 580K | N/A |
| NBA Today | 364K | +36% |
| NFL Live | 470K | +34% |
Additionally, the Pat McAfee’s NFL Draft Spectacular special on April 23 drew 54 million minutes across platforms. SportsCenter with Scott Van Pelt averaged 580K for the month and attracted 1.6M viewers after the first night of the NFL Draft.
What Remains Unclear: Whether April’s momentum is sustainable beyond the heavy spring event calendar remains an open question. The 2 p.m. SportsCenter led all shows with a 64% YOY increase — which is fascinating to see audience attract to that timeslot. Furthermore, could that be potentially why a report earlier stated that the network is considering adding a Peter Schrager-led studio program in the daypart?
What It Means: Compared to the Q1 viewership results released last month, The Pat McAfee Show (Linear + Digital) finished 90K below the average viewership for the quarter. Meanwhile, First Take also finished below its quarterly average. However, NBA Today and NFL Live remained relatively flat compared to the Q1 results, even during a particularly busy stretch for both sports. With the NFL off season coming to a close with NBA and NHL postseason dominating the conversation. May’s figures could prove interesting for programming very geared for NFL fans and viewers alike.
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John Mamola is Barrett Media’s sports editor and daily sports columnist. He brings over two decades of experience (Chicago, Tampa/St Petersburg) in the broadcast industry with expertise in brand management, sales, promotions, producing, imaging, hosting, talent coaching, talent development, web development, social media strategy and design, video production, creative writing, partnership building, communication/networking with a long track record of growth and success. He is a five-time recognized top 20 program director in a major market via Barrett Medi’s Top 20 series and has been honored internally multiple times as station/brand of the year (Tampa, FL) and employee of the month (Tampa, FL) by iHeartMedia. Connect with John by email at John@BarrettMedia.com.
