The 2015 ESPY Awards on ABC Ranks as the Highest-Rated on the ESPN Networks

Information on ABC's Tuesday, ahead of the regular press release.

Please note: Due to the live nature of the ESPYS on ABC, Nielsen's "Fast Affiliate Ratings" are inaccurate for last night awards show, as the program started before primetime in the Pacific. ABC has ordered time-zone adjusted true "Fast National Ratings" from Nielsen, scheduled to be delivered by 3PM EST today. ABC will issue a final ratings release this afternoon with correct demographic information, once the Fast National Ratings become available. Ahead of the National data, here is some information based on Household ratings in the U.S. Metered Markets:

Based on Nielsen overnights, the 2015 ESPY Awards on ABC averaged a 6.0 metered market rating from 8-11pm last night, up +253% from last year's telecast on ESPN (1.7). This ranks as the highest overnight for the ESPYs on the ESPN Networks! Please note that the 2015 ESPYs aired on a broadcast feed and was tape delayed to the West Coast.

· Last night's show peaked from 10:30-10:45pm with a 6.9 mtrd mkt rtg. This was during Caitlyn Jenner's Arthur Ashe Award acceptance speech.

Quarter Hour Mtrd Mkt Rtg
8:00 p - 8:15 p 5.31
8:15 p - 8:30 p 5.16
8:30 p - 8:45 p 5.12
8:45 p - 9:00 p 5.57
9:00 p - 9:15 p 6.18
9:15 p - 9:30 p 6.05
9:30 p - 9:45 p 6.14
9:45 p - 10:00 p 6.61
10:00 p - 10:15 p 6.13
10:15 p - 10:30 p 6.56
10:30 p - 10:45 p 6.88
10:45 p - 11:00 p 5.79

Quick Take for Wednesday, July 15, 2015 Based on Nielsen's True Fast National Ratings

ABC Towers Over Wednesday, with "The 2015 ESPYS" Dominating the Night

ABC Hits a 10-Year Summertime High on the Night in Total Viewers And a 6-Year High Among Adults 18-49

"The 2015 ESPYS" Scores its Strongest-Ever Broadcast

"The 2015 ESPYS" (8:00-11:01 p.m. - 7.7 million and 2.2/8 in AD18-49):

"The 2015 ESPYS" on ABC dominated Wednesday night, ranking as the most-watched program in all 6 half-hours of its 8:00-11:00 p.m. broadcast. In fact, the awards show swept the evening, standing as Wednesday's No. 1 program in Total Viewers, all key Adult (AD18-34/AD18-49/AD25-54) and Men (M18-34/M18-49/M25-54) demos. With its broadcast of "The 2015 ESPYS," ABC beat its closest competition on the night by 51% in Total Viewers (7.7 million vs. 5.1 million - CBS) and by 100% in Adults 18-49 (2.2/8 vs. 1.1/4 - CBS, NBC and Fox tied).

· "The 2015 ESPYS" attracted ABC's biggest summertime audience on the night since 2005 and the Net's top young adult number since 2009 - since 7/13/05 and 9/2/09, respectively.

· "The 2015 ESPYS" shot up from its year-ago telecast on ESPN (7/16/14) by 250% in Total Viewers (7.7 million vs. 2.2 million) and by 100% in Adults 18-49 (2.2/8 vs. 1.1/4) to stand as the most-watched and highest-rated "ESPYS" ever.

· Peaking in the 10 o'clock hour, "The 2015 ESPYS" grew by 1.9 million viewers (6.6 million to 8.5 million) and 53% among young adults (1.7/7 to 2.6/9) from its first hour to its final hour.

· With 1,233,877 tweets, "The 2015 ESPYS" was Wednesday's most-social broadcast.

· The top 5 highest-rated markets in Households: Kansas City (8.4/15), Atlanta (8.4/14), Philadelphia (8.1/14), Chicago (7.8/14) and Boston (7.6/14).

A note about DVR penetration: DVR penetration in the Nielsen sample is currently at 49% in U.S. TV Homes. More viewers are watching shows on their own timetables, which are increasingly not reflected in the overnight Live + Same Day numbers. As a result, the Live + 7 Day ratings are the most accurate measure to gauge the size of the TV audience.

Source: The Nielsen Company (Live + Same Day, Fast National Program Ratings) - 07/15/15. Nielsen Socialguide 07/15/15, Total Tweets +/- 3hrs during telecast. WRAP Overnights, Weighted U.S. Metered Market Averages, Live + Same Day (7/15/15).