Versus, Speed See Double-Digit Viewership Growth In '08
For '08, Versus saw the biggest viewership gains among cable sports nets for both total day programming and primetime, up 20.2% and 23.6%, respectively, from a year ago. Speed also saw double-digit growth in '08, as the net had a successful season of NASCAR Camping World Truck Series telecasts. Among the ESPN-branded nets, only ESPN saw gains in '08, up in both total day and primetime. ESPN2 was only slightly off from its '07 marks, but ESPN Classic saw a significant drop, down around 30% in both total-day and primetime viewership. Golf Channel had a mixed bag in '08, seeing gains for their total programming day, but off 4.4% in primetime. NFL Network was down in '08 as well, with a double-digit percentage drop in its primetime viewership. The charts below reflect '08 viewership among cable sports nets for total-day programming and primetime (THE DAILY).
|
'08 TOTAL-DAY VIEWERSHIP
|
|
NET
|
AVERAGE VIEWERS
(000)
|
'07
(000)
|
% +/-
|
|
Versus
|
107
|
89
|
20.2%
|
|
Speed
|
150
|
129
|
16.3%
|
|
ESPN
|
937
|
869
|
7.8%
|
|
Golf Channel
|
77
|
76
|
1.3%
|
|
ESPN2
|
325
|
330
|
-1.5%
|
|
NFL Network
|
80
|
82
|
-2.4%
|
|
ESPNews
|
66
|
70
|
-5.7%
|
|
ESPN Classic
|
43
|
60
|
-28.3%
|
|
'08 PRIMETIME VIEWERSHIP
|
|
NET
|
AVERAGE VIEWERS
(000)
|
'07
(000)
|
% +/-
|
|
Versus
|
278
|
225
|
23.6%
|
|
Speed
|
273
|
240
|
13.8%
|
|
ESPN
|
2122
|
1952
|
8.7%
|
|
ESPN2
|
641
|
657
|
-2.4%
|
|
ESPNews
|
86
|
89
|
-3.4%
|
|
Golf Channel
|
131
|
137
|
-4.4%
|
|
NFL Network
|
175
|
196
|
-10.7%
|
|
ESPN Classic
|
74
|
107
|
-30.8%
|
NOTES: Total-day programming is measured as 6:00am-6:00am Monday through Sunday. Primetime programming is measured as 8:00-11:00pm. Figures for '08 were measured from December 31, 2007 through December 28, 2008. Figures for '07 were measured from January 1, 2007 through December 30, 2007.
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