ESPY Award Ratings Collapse Compared to 2017

Espy Awards (Credit: Twitter)

The 2018 ESPY Awards suffered a crushing defeat in the ratings department.

A total of 3.9 million viewers watched Wednesday night’s broadcast on ABC, with the show receiving a 0.9 rating in the coveted 18-49 demographic, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Those numbers marked a 26 percent decline in total viewers and a 36 percent demo drop from last year’s broadcast, which scored 5.3 million viewers and a 1.4 demo rating.

They were the show’s lowest numbers since moving from ESPN to ABC in 2015.

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This year’s ESPYS were hosted by former professional racing driver, Danica Patrick.

Jim Kelly, a Pro Football Hall of Fame quarterback who has been diagnosed with cancer multiple times, received the Jimmy V Award for Perseverance; and 141 sexual abuse survivors who spoke out against Larry Nassar, the former USA Gymnastics and Michigan State University team doctor, were honored with the Arthur Ashe Courage Award.

The ESPYS aired from 8-11 p.m., landing ABC in third place for the night behind CBS and Fox.

Among the show’s competition were Big Brother, TKO: Total Knock Out and the series finale of Code Black on CBS.

MasterChef  and Gordon Ramsay’s 24 Hours to Hell and Back ran on Fox.  NBC aired repeats, except for Reverie, and The CW aired Girl Got Game and The Originals.