ESPN In 99 Million U.S. Homes To Start '10; Speed Nears 75 Million

ESPN begins '10 in 99 million U.S. TV households, up from 98.1 million at the start of last year, and up from 90.1 million at the start of '06. ESPN2 ranks second among sports nets with a presence in 98.7 million homes, and Golf Channel is third at 82 million homes. Speed comes in fourth with just below 75 million homes, an increase from 73.3 million the previous year. While each cable sports net has a higher carriage number than at the start of '06, Versus and ESPN Classic have seen dips recently that are bringing them closer to their '06 figures. Through various carriage deals, including a major deal with Comcast in '09, NFL Network starts this year in 55.4 million homes, compared to 41.9 million a year ago, and 39.7 million homes when the net first became Nielsen-rated. Below are U.S. cable penetration figures for cable sports nets in January '10, with comparisons to the same period from recent years (THE DAILY).

NOTES: Networks listed above are Nielsen-rated cable nets. Distribution unavailable for Universal Sports, CBS College Sports, Tennis Channel and Fox College Sports. Most recent estimates have MLB Network at 54 million HHs, NBA TV at 45 million HHs and NHL Network at 30 million HHs.