ESPN Winter X Games 14 and Athletes Set New Records

Record TV Viewership, Attendance and Groundbreaking Performances

A record number of fans and spectators enjoyed the unprecedented hours of Winter X Games 14 content across ESPN’s numerous global platforms. The annual winter action sports event welcomed 200 world-class athletes for a ninth straight year to Aspen/Snowmass at Buttermilk Mountain where a record number of spectators saw a number of record performances while more people than ever watched on television.

“It is always our goal as a network and event to deliver the best in action sports to fans worldwide,” said Rick Alessandri, senior vice president, X Games Franchise. “The continued success of Winter X Games, coupled by our increase to an all-time high in programming hours, speaks to the amazing talents and dedication of the athletes competing at Winter X.”

For the third straight year, the Winter X Games was ESPN’s highest-rated and most-viewed, and more than 43 million viewers tuned in to watch on ESPN and ESPN2. The ESPN telecasts posted a 1.2 household rating, representing an average of 1,147,000 households. In addition, both ESPN and ESPN2 recorded their highest-rated and most-viewed individual Winter X telecasts (1.3 on ESPN and a 0.8 on ESPN2).

ESPN and ESPN2 televised 24.5 hours of live high-definition programming Jan. 28 - 31. Additionally, the Winter X Games were also televised on ESPN's International networks to 172 countries and territories in Latin America, the Pacific Rim, Middle East, Africa, Israel and Canada.

Winter X Games 14 set a new attendance record in Aspen with a total of 84,100 spectators over four days, beating the previous Aspen best of 76,150 set in 2007 – an increase of nine percent.

The world watched Shaun White make history as he won Men’s Snowboard SuperPipe for the third time in a row, despite a scary fall during practice. Athletes who broke Winter X Games records:

Ophelie David: Four-peat in Women's Skier X. It was the first four-peat in Skiing history.

Tucker Hibbert: Four-peat in Snowmobile SnoCross. It was the first four-peat in Snowmobile history.

Nate Holland: Five-peat in Men’s Snowboarder X. It was the first five-peat in Winter X Games history.

Lindsey Jacobellis: Three-peat in Women’s Snowboarder X. Jacobellis was the first person to three-peat twice in the same discipline.

Shaun White: Three-peat in Men’s Snowboard SuperPipe. It was the first three-peat in Snowboard SuperPipe, Men or Women. White is also the second person to three-peat in two separate disciplines.