ESPN/ABC Dominates Sports Ratings

By Multi Channel News Staff -- Multichannel News, 1/24/2002 10:56:00 AM MT

The Walt Disney Co. dominated the sports-TV realm in 2001, with ESPN, ESPN2 and ABC Sports accounting for a combined 43 percent of the gross rating points generated by the category, according to an ESPN analysis of Nielsen Media Research data released Thursday.

Sports GRPs last year totaled nearly 1.1 million.

ESPN alone represented 23 percent of sports viewing in 2001, well ahead of runner-up CBS (15.5 percent).

Among the other 'Big Four' broadcast networks, Fox accounted for 14.7 percent of sports viewing and NBC just over 11 percent.

The three Disney-owned networks were even stronger among men 18 through 34, accounting for 50 percent of GRPs within that demographic, according to the analysis. ESPN was the leader within that demo, too, at 32 percent.

Elsewhere on the chart, Viacom Inc.'s CBS Sports and TNN: The National Network represented 17.8 percent of total sports GRPs.

AOL Time Warner Inc.'s Turner Network Television and TBS Superstation amassed a combined 6.4 percent of sports viewing.

Miscellaneous other networks tallied a combined 5.3 percent of sports rating points.