ESPN saw healthy viewership growth in Q1, and a 14% increase for its studio shows was a big part of that. “The Pat McAfee Show,” “Get Up” and “NBA Today” also saw record Q1 audiences, as well as the 2pm ET and late-night Scott Van Pelt-helmed windows of “SportsCenter.” Studio shows since September have seen a noticeable bump from Nielsen Big Data – perhaps even more so than live events.
The record for Van Pelt comes amid his decision to not take over the 5pm ET window. That program, which SVP has hosted since 2015, averaged 868,000 viewers over the first three months of the year, which is up 22% from the same period in 2025 and the best average audience for any of ESPN’s regular studio shows. The 5pm “SC” averaged 477,000 viewers in Q1, up 10% from “Around the Horn” drew in the same slot last year.
“NBA Today” averaged 360,000 viewers for Q1, while “Get Up” averaged 464,000. Figures for “The Pat McAfee Show” included linear and YouTube viewership and could not be broken out.
Other superlatives for ESPN studio shows in Q1 include:
- “PTI” (777,000) and the Saturday morning “SC” (449,000) each had their best Q1 averages since 2019.
- The 6pm “SC” (533,000) had its best Q1 since 2016 (Christine Williamson joined co-anchor Kevin Negandhi in March).
- “NFL Live” (469,000) had its best Q1 since 2015.
- “First Take” (524,000) and the Sunday morning “SC” (455,000) each had their best Q1 since 2024
- The midnight “SC” (non-SVP editions, 443,000) saw its best Q1 since 2022.
- The 7am “SC” (270,000) was at its best figure for Q1 since 2020.
