ESPN’s signature studio show lineup built on its record-setting 2025, with the lineup in its entirety seeing a 13% year-over-year viewership increase in Jan., featuring record months, multi-year highs and significant growth for programs across its daily schedule.
On Monday, Jan. 19, following the NFL Divisional Round and ahead of the College Football Playoff National Championship, fans fueled milestone episodes for Get Up, First Take and The Pat McAfee Show, with the 7 a.m. ET edition of SportsCenter delivering its best episode of the month the following morning (Jan. 20).
Read more on ESPN’s overall Jan. viewership success at ESPN Press Room.
Record‑setting Jan.: Best month ever for Get Up & The Pat McAfee Show
- Get Up: Averaged 518,000 viewers | Up 3% vs. the previous high (Jan. 2024) | Third-best episode ever on Jan. 19, with 697,000 viewers
- The Pat McAfee Show: averaged 575,000 viewers (linear and digital) | Up 15% vs. the former record (Dec. 2025) | Second-best show ever on Jan. 19 with 915,000 viewers (linear and digital)
Top performing episodes power strong year-over-year growth for First Take, NFL Live & PTI
- First Take: Third-best episode ever on Jan. 19 (894,000 viewers) | Jan. overall averaged 598,000 viewers | Up 6% vs. Jan. 2025
- NFL Live: Best Jan. since 2018 | Averaged 564,000 viewers | Up 25% vs. Jan. 2025
- Pardon the Interruption: Most-viewed episode since 2018 on Jan. 9 | Jan. 8 & 9 episodes both averaged 1.2M viewers | Fourth-best Jan. ever, averaging 884,000 viewers | Up 16% vs. Jan. 2025
SportsCenter posts viewership gains across nearly every edition
- SportsCenter: Overall up 11% vs. Jan. 2025 | Averaged 643,000 viewers
- 7 a.m.: Up 7% | averaged 287,000 viewers | Post College Football Playoff National Championship led to best episode of the month with 496,000 viewers (Jan. 20).
- 2 p.m.: Up 2% | averaged 392,000 viewers
- 5 p.m.: Up 15% | averaged 589,000 viewers | Reaction to Mike Tomlin news generated second most-watched episode of the month with 799,000 viewers (Jan. 13)
- 6 p.m.: Up 30% | averaged 620,000 viewers | Best month since Feb. 2015
- Midnight: Up 16% | averaged 653,000 viewers
- 1 a.m.: Up 3% | averaged 502,000 viewers
- SC AM (Sat.): Up 4% | averaged 468,000 viewers
- SC AM (Sun.): Up 17% | averaged 618,000 viewers
- SportsCenter with Scott Van Pelt: Up 26% | Averaged 1.9 million viewers | Best Jan. ever, with its top eight episodes for the month averaging three million viewers
Please Note: Jan. 2026 is defined by Nielsen as Dec. 29-Jan. 25. All metrics are based on Nielsen Big Data + Panel.
All of ESPN. All in One Place.
ESPN offers its full suite of networks and services directly to fans on the ESPN App, providing more choice, flexibility and access to all of ESPN, including more than 47,000 live events per year, on-demand replays, industry-leading studio shows and original programming, and more. The ESPN App gives fans a unique viewing experience that includes multiview and synchronized two-screen viewing options, swipe-able vertical video and a personalized SportsCenter For You, as well as integrated game stats, ESPN Fantasy sports, betting odds and information from DraftKings, sports merchandise, and more. These features are available to all fans who watch on the ESPN App on mobile and connected TV devices, whether they subscribe directly or through a pay TV package. Bundling options available for fans include a limited time offer for the ESPN DTC Unlimited plan with Disney+ and Hulu for $29.99/month for the first 12 months. For more visit stream.espn.com.
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Media Contacts:
Andy Hall (Andy.Hall@espn.com)
Michael Skarka (Michael.Skarka@espn.com)
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