ESPN Radio announced significant year-over-year audience growth for their national network of weekday shows during the fall ratings period.
According to Nielsen, ESPN Radio enjoyed an 8 percent increase terrestrially in the male 25-54 demo, during their 6am – 6pm ET shows as compared to 2018.
The biggest increase was The Will Cain Show, which jumped 18 percent across all platforms. Cain was helped in part due to his show being added to ESPN Radio in Los Angeles, taking over their midday timeslot as of Sept. 3.
Golic and Wingo enjoyed a 5 percent year-over-year increase for the fall ratings period, finishing the book exceptionally strong with 13 percent growth for the month of December. ESPN also announced a significant listenership increase for The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz on SiriusXM. Le Batard was up 13 percent on the satellite platform and 10 percent terrestrially for the month of December.
Rounding out the successful ratings period for ESPN Radio’s weekday lineup was The Stephen A. Smith Show, which increased 2 percent on all platforms and 16 percent terrestrially when compared to 2018. The 1-3pm ET show also finished the year up 22 percent year-over-year in December.
ESPN Radio is set to undergo changes this month as Stephen A. steps away from his daily radio show to focus on his other contributions to the Worldwide Leader. But even without Stephen A. hosting the show, he’ll still play a prominent role on the new radio program.
ESPN Radio’s new 1-3pm ET show First Take Your Take is set to debut Jan. 20, featuring highlights from the network’s First Take TV show. First Take Your Take on ESPN Radio will be hosted by Jason Fitz, who will introduce the replay segments, reacting to them with guests and listeners.
Brandon Contes is a freelance writer for BSM. He can be found on Twitter @BrandonContes. To reach him by email click here