August 2, 2018

X Games Minneapolis 2018 TV Audience Records Double-Digit Growth

Triple-Digit Growth for Digital and Social Audience

X Games Minneapolis 2018 content across ESPN’s television networks enjoyed double-digit growth on television, triple digit growth on digital and streaming services, and video growth across social media networks enjoyed triple digit growth across all pages. It marks the second-straight event to see double-digit growth, following the X Games Aspen event in January.

“After all of the collective effort the X Games team put into this production, it’s great to see the audience react so positively to the event and content," said Tim Reed VP X Games. "The results are truly a testament to the top level performances of the athletes, musicians and artists that participated in the various events throughout the weekend.”

Across media, X Games Minneapolis 2018 successes include:

Television:

• X Games Minneapolis audience across ESPN, ESPN2 and ABC was up +38% year-over-year for all telecasts;
• Across the telecasts on ESPN, viewing by fans 18-34 increased by +34% year-over-year;
• Viewing by fans aged 12-34 across all telecasts increased by +21% year-over-year;
• ABC accounted for 50% of the event’s total time spent viewing.

Digital & Social:

• The X Games’ YouTube channel had more than 26 million minutes streamed, up +646% year-over-year, with the average watch time reaching more than 11 minutes;
• The total number of video views on X Games’ YouTube channel topped 2.3 million;
• The X Games Facebook page reached more than 9 million fans, up +120% year-over-year. Those fans logged 4 million video views, up +210% year-over-year;
• On Instagram, the X Games page reached more than 1.6 million people, with 8.5 million video views, up +225% year-over-year;
• X Games social media accounts gained over 50,000 new followers during the week of the event.
• This Instagram post – from skateboarder Nyjah Huston, featuring runs from his Skateboard Street competition – generated the most interactions of all posts during the games, with more than 692,000 interactions and video views during the games (up to 1.3 million to date).

On-site:

• The total on-site attendance for X Games Minneapolis 2018 was 119,000;
• X Games welcomed new sponsors Nexcare, SoFi, GO RVing and Hotels.com to the roster of returning sponsors Fruit of the Loom, Harley-Davidson, LifeProof, Monster Energy, Pacifico, the Real Cost, Toyota, Explore Minneapolis and GEICO.

Media Contact:
Danny Chi, ESPN Communications, 213-405-4400, danny.c.chi@espn.com
Grace Coryell, ESPN Communications, 213-405-4402, grace.s.coryell@espn.com
Olivia Wilson, ESPN Communications, 213-405-4145, olivia.wilson@espn.com