ESPN viewership soars as it targets $2B NFL media deal and major streaming debut

ESPN is dominating the U.S. sports media landscape in 2025, with record-breaking viewership, digital engagement, and a bold strategy to reshape its future. The Disney-owned giant just posted its best midyear primetime performance in over a decade—just as it readies a game-changing direct-to-consumer (DTC) streaming platform and eyes a billion-dollar NFL Media acquisition.

With the Core Update lifted and search trends rebounding, this ESPN momentum couldn’t have come at a better time.

ESPN Viewership Peaks: Strongest first half since 2017

The numbers say it all—ESPN averaged 712,000 viewers per minute in the first six months of 2025, its second-best H1 performance since 2017. This includes 1.9 million viewers in primetime, making it the strongest midyear showing since 2014. When factoring in ABC’s sports coverage, the combined total hits 254 billion minutes watched, the highest since 2016.The cable sports network isn’t just drawing eyeballs—it’s dominating Nielsen’s metrics across the board. With almost 300 billion minutes watched across ESPN, ESPN2, ABC, ESPNU, and ESPN Deportes, it ranked No.1 in total viewing time among all U.S. sports networks. ESPN alone logged 187 billion minutes, far outpacing competitors.“ESPN has achieved multiple successes across the board,” the network said in its midyear summary, celebrating not just TV numbers but multi-platform gains.

ESPN digital growth sets industry standard

Beyond TV, ESPN is quietly becoming a digital juggernaut. It now reaches 175 million unique users across its U.S. digital and social channels—up 5% YoY and covering over 63% of the adult population. The ESPN app alone hit 27 million users in May, a 16% spike, outperforming the next nine apps combined.ESPN.com recorded 55.8 million unique visitors and 1.7 billion minutes watched in the same month, up 27% from 2024. On social media, ESPN kept its iron grip as the No.

1 sports brand for the 47th month in a row, with 768 million engagements in May—averaging almost 25 million per day.“ESPN continues to outperform the entire sports category,” the company stated, referring to its digital-first dominance across web and mobile.

NFL media in sight, DTC launch on the horizon

ESPN’s next chapter is already in motion. Internally codenamed “Flagship,” its upcoming standalone DTC service will give users full access to ESPN’s live programming without a cable login.

It’s expected to roll out this fall, at a time when cord-cutting is accelerating and audience behavior is changing fast.At the same time, ESPN is in talks to acquire NFL Media, including NFL Network and RedZone, in a potential deal reportedly valued at up to $2 billion. The NFL ownership group is expected to meet in August to weigh the proposal—a move that could realign the league’s digital rights structure and ESPN’s place in it.“ESPN is in active discussions and the NFL is evaluating options,” reports suggest, making this a high-stakes moment for both legacy media and streaming players.Also read: “Securing care was impossible”: Richard Tillman’s mental health spiral ends in fiery post office arrest

FAQs

Q1: Is ESPN still the No. 1 sports network in America?

Yes, both in total viewing time and engagement, ESPN leads U.S. sports networks by a wide margin in 2025.

Q2: When will ESPN’s DTC streaming service launch?

The full standalone ESPN DTC service, codenamed “Flagship,” is expected to launch in fall 2025.

Q3: Is ESPN really buying the NFL Network and RedZone?

ESPN is in active talks to acquire NFL Media, but a final decision by NFL owners is expected in August.