Who wouldn’t want to learn more every day about Michelle Beadle’s fascination with the Akron Hammer? ESPN announced Tuesday that ESPN2’s SportsNation presented by Toyota, in its first six months on the air, is off to one of the most impressive starts for an original program since Pardon the Interruption in 2001. The show’s average audience for the fourth quarter in 2009 was 233,500 household impressions, up 51 percent from 2008. So far in January, SportsNation’s average audience has grown to 276,700 homes, up 56 percent compared to the show’s first month (177,800 in July).
So is it the Weird Web Stories, special guest co-host Marcellus Wiley’s dance moves or Beadle’s unscripted Ringo Starr impersonation? Maybe the big push came from Colin Cowherd getting dunked in an icy lobster tank (… in Connecticut … in November … after sunset … brrrrrr).
Meanwhile, a programming note: To make way for coverage of the Australian Open, SportsNation has moved over to ESPNU this week. The show will air on ESPNU at 4 p.m. ET on weekdays through Thursday, Jan. 28.
