ESPYS Ratings Plummet 36 Percent, Doubles Last Year’s Decline

Might be time to put the ESPYS back on ESPN.

With a 0.9 rating in the key 18-49 demographic, Wednesday’s 2018 ESPY Awards on ABC plummeted 36 percent from last year’s 1.4. To make matters worse, the 2017 version had already sunk 18 percent year over year in that all-important age range.

In terms of overall TV audiences, last night’s 3.9 million total viewers was off 26 percent from the prior July’s best-in-sports celebration. Danica Patrick emceed the event this time around.

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The 2016 broadcast was already down 36 percent in the demo and 31 percent overall. The prior year featured the first post-transition public appearance by Arthur Ashe Courage Award recipient Caitlin Jenner.

Last year had marked new lows for the annual ABC presentation — those just got shattered, and in the bad way.

Read the rest of Wednesday’s broadcast TV ratings here.