EPL Talk » ESPN360

How the ESPN360 & Setanta Broadband Deal Will Work

The Gaffer — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 19:00:16 +0000

ESPN and Setanta announced last week that both networks will immediately begin sharing the broadband rights in the United States for the Carling Cup, Coca-Cola Championship and Football League. But how exactly will games be split between Setanta Broadband and ESPN360? Here’s how:

ESPN360 will have the first pick of Carling Cup matches from round 1 through round 5,
ESPN360 has non-exclusive rights to the Carling Cup semi-final and final,
ESPN360 has the first pick of any Coca-Cola Championship games,
Starting next season, ESPN360 will have the first pick of any Coca-Cola Championship games except for Saturday’s 12:15pm ET game where Setanta will have first rights, and
ESPN360 will have second selection of semi-final playoffs from the Coca-Cola Championship, League One and League Two.

Spain-Italy Most Watched Match So Far And Other ESPN Euro Ratings News

Jeff Hash — Sat, 28 Jun 2008 02:56:10 +0000

As we head into the final weekend of Euro 2008, ESPN decided to take the occasion yesterday to put out a new press release talking about how the tournament is doing viewership wise through the quarterfinal round. So, what did they have to say?

As noted in the headline, the Spain v Italy quarterfinal shown on ESPN Sunday was the most watched Euro 2008 match before the semifinals. The game scored a 1.4 rating, with 1.39 million homes and 1.91 million viewers tuning in. Given these were two of the highest-profile teams in the tournament, the result doesn’t come as much of a surprise. Overall, in six matches shown on the ESPN, the average rating is a .9, with 835,000 homes and 1.1 million viewers. Compared to the same time slot (2:30-5PM eastern) on ESPN in 2007, this represents an 80% increase in rating, a 90% increase in households, and a 116% increase in total viewers from the network average.

Meanwhile, ESPN2 in 16 matches aired has a .5 rating with 506,000 homes and 635,000 viewers, which respectively represent a 67%, 59%, and 75% increase on ESPN2’s average for the same time slot in 2007. And the online video service ESPN360 has had it’s biggest month in history between Euro 2008, the US Open, and Wimbledon, with eight of the 10 most viewed single events being Euro matches.

As for the one game broadcast on ABC, the Netherlands v Russia quarterfinal finished with a 1.2 rating and 1.84 million viewers according to ratings site TV by the Numbers. Compared to other Saturday afternoon sports broadcasts, it roughly fell in the middle of the pack. The match finished well behind FOX Saturday Baseball and the Men’s Gymnastics Olympic Trials on NBC, but it did finish ahead of the rest of NBC’s afternoon sports lineup and the PGA Tour on CBS.

Overall, the ratings seem fairly positive given this is an event without an obvious American interest and with most of its matches falling in the middle of the workday. Positive enough to ensure its return in four years time, or to cause ESPN to bring in more European soccer? We will have to wait and see. For now, the focus will be on a big finish with Sunday’s soccer doubleheader on ABC, with the LA Galaxy playing DC United in MLS action before the Germany v Spain final.

ESPN2 Sees 64% Increase in Households For Euro ‘08 Over Network Average

Jeff Hash — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 02:12:04 +0000

If you happen to notice a sense of relief coming from ESPN in the last few days, there is a reason for it. It’s because, while they are not coming in World Cup numbers, viewers are tuning in to the network’s broadcasts of Euro 2008.

ESPN announced today that, for the 15 Euro 2008 matches shown on ESPN2 through Tuesday, June 17th, the average rating for the tournament is .5, with 521,000 homes tuning in and 655,000 viewers. Compared to the network average for the same time block (Noon to 5PM eastern) in 2007, this represents a 64% increase in households tuned in to ESPN2 (2007 average of 318,000 homes), a 67% increase in rating, and an 81% increase in viewers (2007 average of 362,000 viewers). The most watched match of the tournament on ESPN2 was this past Saturday between Sweden and Spain. The match netted a .9 rating from 831,000 homes and 1.01 million viewers.

In addition to ESPN2, the Spanish-language broadcasts on ESPN Deportes have been averaging an additional 74,000 Hispanic homes per match. This puts the combined household average of ESPN2 and Deportes for each match at just shy of 600,000 homes. Interestingly, the most watched match on Deportes so far is the opening-day broadcast of Portugal v Turkey, seen in 123,000 Hispanic homes.

Along with the viewership on TV, ESPN is also getting more eyeballs online. ESPN’s Soccernet website has averaged over 1 million daily visits during the tournament, an 82 percent increase over the same period during Euro 2004. The tournament is also contributing to ESPN360’s most watched month online since it’s relaunch in September of last year.

With increased viewership being seen on cable, ESPN will now be hoping for a successful jump to broadcast TV with the Netherlands v Russia quarterfinal this Saturday and the final next Sunday on ABC. But for now, programmers will be breathing a little easier at the worldwide leader in sports.