ESPN 2025 Ratings: First Take and Get Up Set All-Time Records

ESPN has announced viewership records for 2025 with the network achieving its most-watched year since 2017.

What's Happening:

Fueled by its studio success, 2025 was ESPN’s most-watched year overall since 2017.
Get Up hosted by Mike Greenberg secured its most-watched year ever (avg. 424,000 viewers), marking four straight years of growth.
Stephen A. Smith’s debate juggernaut First Take also set an all-time record, averaging 517,000 viewers (up 6% YOY).
The Pat McAfee Show show posted its best numbers since debuting on ESPN in 2023, with an 8% jump in viewership across linear and digital platforms.
SportsCenter Resurgence:
- 7 a.m.: Best year since 2019 (+5% YOY).
- 6 p.m.: Best year in a decade (since 2015), up 16% YOY.
- 11 p.m.: Best year since 2019 (+17% YOY).
NFL Live saw its best numbers since 2016 (up 18%), with massive growth among youth (+78%) and female (+48%) demographics.
NBA Today had its best daily studio performance since 2018.
Pardon the Interruption (PTI) remains the network's most-viewed weekday studio show, averaging 679,000 viewers.
This surge in viewership was punctuated by a massive December, where shows like the 11 p.m. SportsCenter saw jumps as high as 43% year-over-year.
For more details on how to stream these record-breaking shows, including the ESPN DTC Unlimited plan with Disney+ and Hulu, visit stream.espn.com.
Check out our article on the upcoming ESPN streaming service for more on how the network is evolving.

The Evolution of the "Hot Take"

Beyond the raw numbers, the success of 2025 highlights a shift in how fans consume sports media.
In the early 2000s, SportsCenter was the primary source for game recaps.
Today, with highlights instantly available on social media, ESPN has pivoted toward personality-driven content. The record numbers for First Take and The Pat McAfee Show validate this strategy.
The debate format popularized by Pardon the Interruption (which debuted in 2001) has become the blueprint. The show's creators, Tony Kornheiser and Michael Wilbon, successfully transitioned from newspaper columnists to TV stars, proving that opinion is as valuable as information.
Mike Greenberg, host of Get Up, has been a morning staple on ESPN since the Mike & Mike days (which began in 2000). His ability to anchor the morning slot for over two decades is a rarity in television history.
Stephen A. Smith has become the face of the network, not just on First Take, but appearing on NBA Countdown and often leading coverage for major events. His "animated" delivery has become a meme-worthy cultural phenomenon that drives engagement far beyond the television screen.

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