Amuse Productions

By Adrian Mancilla

Over the years since it’s inception, ESPN has become a global powerhouse for all things sports. Founded in 1979 by Bill Rasmussen and his son Scott who also put in some funds for the idea, ESPN quickly rose in popularity as the “Sports Center”, for all types of sports, and was the first ever 24 hour network that would air sports and talk about sports exclusively. The first ever targeted sport for ESPN and Rasmussen as a whole was collegiate basketball, namely “March Madness”. Back in 1980, was the first time the NCAA aired “March Madness” on ESPN and it was an instant success, flocking tv networks to want to add ESPN to their repertoire.

In this day and age, ESPN uses social media as a huge promo for not only their ratings on tv, but engagement and interaction in the first place. Back in 2023, ESPN became the most followed brand on Tik Tok surpassing 44 million followers, and passing PSG who held that title for months, and still ESPN holds that title to this day with over 46 million and counting. With all of these numbers going around, how vital and crucial is social media to not only ESPN, but sports as a whole?

When it comes to social media as a whole, ESPN is one of those leading juggernauts in the sports world, of course we know they boast the title of being the most followed brand on Tik Tok, but how do they faire up against competition?

ESPN v FOX Sports

FOX was in the middle of acquiring the rights to the NFL and the exclusivity of some of their games, in 1995 FOX successfully acquired the rights to NFL games, and the FOX Sports division was born, however ESPN already owned the rights to “Monday Night Football”, and they decided to respectfully let ESPN keep that day. FOX and ESPN would start a “rivalry”, where both would battle for rights to NBA games and the streaming of teams locally, as well as simply just being in the ratings war on television. So, to skim over the social media aspect, ESPN has 26.8 million current Instagram followers, while FOX Sports has a respectable 1.2 million followers. On Facebook, ESPN has 23.1 million followers, while FOX Sports has 9.8 million, on X (FKA Twitter) ESPN has 50.6 million followers, while FOX Sports has 2.1 million, and finally on Tik Tok, as unreachable as ESPN is at the moment with their 46 million followers, FOX Sports has a mere 160k followers in comparison.

Now, especially analyzing those numbers we can see where exactly the FOX Sports demographic falls under, especially with Facebook and X being the highest followed for them in terms of numbers, but with FOX Sports in comparison to ESPN I want to focus on ratings for television, what if we rip the social media out of this comparison?

According to Barrett Sports Media, they reported from Nielsen’s most updated numbers that out of the 75.8 million reported cable subscriptions left in the US, which is a number 3.1 million down from 2022, ESPN was reported to be in 71.321 million households, while FOX Sports for the first time in a decade surpassed ESPN by the tightest margin reporting, 71.375 million households.

That in itself is a big sign for television, but even then is ESPN simply just catering to the more casual viewer that uses individual means of social media instead of the more network based interactions, which for its origins, is somewhat ironic.

ESPN v Bleacher Report

Now, what about ESPN faring against a modern sports outlet that primarily works on the sense of interaction and virality. Bleacher Report was founded in 2005 by a group of people who really wanted to write about sports, and through their adversity and high competition were able to create a brand that was then acquisitioned by Turner Broadcasting System back in 2012 for over $175 million, which is now owned by Warner Bros. Discovery themselves, they’ve risen high in popularity through their mobile application that updates sports fans across the globe of news regarding whatever they individually would like to know about. From their favorite sports team, to a certain player, or tournament going on, even being updated about video games, the app truly does have a lot of individuality to it.

In terms of followers and engagements, ESPN fairs up against Bleacher Report followers by having on Instagram, 26.8 Million to Bleacher Report’s 22 Million, on Facebook, ESPN has 23.1 million followers, while Bleacher Report boasts 10.7 million, on X (FKA Twitter) ESPN has 50.6 million versus Bleacher Report’s 17.2 million, finally on Tik Tok, ESPN boasts their impressive 46 million followers, while Bleacher Report has 7.2 million followers. However, Bleacher Report may offset ESPN’s social engagement as they have reported to the Shorty Awards back in 2020 that they had 221 million visitors to their app that year, while also reaching over 100 million followers across all of their social media platforms.

Although no numbers exist past 2020 for Bleacher Report and their mobile app, ESPN had reported through their Press Room website that throughout 2023 they averaged 28 million visitors to their app per month, which, if true, would mean over 335 million people visited the ESPN mobile app throughout 2023. (ESPNPressRoom.com). For reference, the US has a population of 331.9 million as of 2024. Bleacher Report probably has around the same type of engagement, but their numbers are sadly not reflected anywhere for reference, but even then in comparison, ESPN had in 2020 a reported 14.1 million visitors to their app which totals to almost 170 million visitors that year, a difference of almost 50 million, which begs the question, might it be the same difference nowadays? (ESPNPressRoom.com).

Overall, ESPN has their finger pressed tightly on the social media aspect of sports, catering to a much more individual way of watching not only sports, but highlights and many shorts being conceived from their social media team that not only works around the clock, but also globally, which has helped ESPN reach a much wider audience.

ESPN v WWE

A much more wild comparison, yet it does fall under the category of entertainment and the largest competition for engagement, WWE is a powerhouse for when it comes to views, streams, and followers.

WWE, formally known as WWF, was started back in 1954 as CWC which as owned by Roderick James McMahon, but rose in popularity back in 1984 with the conception of the famed WrestleMania now owned by Vince McMahon, who owned the company until their notorious exit in 2023, amid a sex trafficking lawsuit, which now has the company in TKO’s hands, a newly merged company between WWE and UFC. (Wikipedia.com)

As it stands WWE as of March 4th, 2024 surpassed 100 million subscribers on YouTube, while also boasting 31 million followers on Instagram in comparison to 22 million followers for ESPN. WWE has 13.8 million followers on X (FKA Twitter), in comparison to 50.6 million followers from ESPN. WWE has an astonishing 81.8 million followers on Facebook, in comparison to 23.1 million for ESPN, and finally on Tik Tok, WWE has 26 million followers in comparison to that leading 46 million from ESPN. In comparison to ESPN, WWE has a very high rate of retention for their brand in general globally, including over 1 billion followers across all of their social medias internationally, a number that ESPN, nor any other US brand has remotely reached.

At this point, we know ESPN has a presence regardless throughout social media, but it still does not translate to an international scale just yet.

ESPN and their numbers

Overall, ESPN still has a very wide presence in their social medias which has a very respectable amount of not only engagement, but views in general. According to ESPN, they had their best digital year ever in 2023, including a record 111.4 million monthly visitors to their website, 8.6 billion engagements across all of their social medias, again, becoming the most followed brand on Tik Tok, as well as 25 billion views on YouTube that year, and to top it all off, they reached 49% of all digital users across all social media platforms.

ESPN themselves have become a lot more individualistic when it comes to their approach of reaching every single fan. From taking direct inspiration from Bleacher Report and having an app that caters to certain fans, receiving certain news, to getting exclusive rights to sporting events such as UFC, Top Rank Boxing, LaLiga, Bundesliga, The Masters, The US Open, and the FA Cup as some examples.

When it comes to the way ESPN caters to their social media audience nowadays is the prime example of adapting to their surroundings, as well as the ever changing landscape. The retention of people when it comes to social media has become a lot faster with so much information we have to gather, which is why many pages rely on clips, Tik Toks, and shorts to retain attention from an audience member and interest them in potentially watching the whole product. Although unfortunate as to the way things are going, it is still a way to interest even if just a fraction to tune into the next game, or the next “SportsCenter”, or the next big PPV your network may have. Social Media is the main influence for what audiences may see not only on their feed but also their TV’s, and it primarily matters the most to cater it to be as accessible and on-the-go as possible while still making a big portion of your audience move forth.

Sources Cited –

1. Adler, K. (2021, January 28). ESPN digital in 2020: 34 straight months at no. 1, ESPN App Grows leadership position by 42 percent, ESPN+ tops 11.5 million subscribers, social climbs to no. 1 for Best Year on record. ESPN Press Room U.S. https://espnpressroom.com/us/press-releases/2021/01/espn-digital-in-2020-34-straight-months-at-no-1-espn-app-grows-leadership-position-by-42-percent-espn-tops-11-5-million-subscribers-social-climbs-to-no-1-for-best-year-on-record

2. Bleacher Report Social: Connectivity and Impact. The Shorty Awards. (n.d.). https://shortyawards.com/13th/bleacher-report#:~:text=The%20B%2FR%20app%20further,engagements%20than%20the%20year%20before.

3. FS1 surpasses ESPN in cable distribution. Barrett Media | Daily coverage of the sports and news media business from broadcasting industry professionals, and best in class consulting services from Jason Barrett. (2023, August 1). https://barrettsportsmedia.com/2023/08/01/fs1-surpasses-espn-in-cable-distribution/

4. Ota, K. (2024, February 7). ESPN Digital 2023: Best year ever. ESPN Press Room U.S. https://espnpressroom.com/us/press-releases/2024/02/espn-digital-2023-best-year-ever/

5. Wikimedia Foundation. (2024, March 3). History of WWE. Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_WWE