X fact-checks ESPN’s ratings brag amid YouTube TV blackout

ESPN encountered backlash after releasing Monday Night Football audience data amid a streaming conflict with YouTube TV, prompting commentary from X’s community notes team.

The post, which came from ESPN’s Public Relations account, highlighted the network’s 16.2 million viewers for Monday night’s broadcast of the standalone game between the Dallas Cowboys and Arizona Cardinals.

The post slanted the viewership number as the “second-highest MNF Week 9 audience since 2011,” adding that the average of “15.2 million viewers per game” on MNF is the second-best start to a season in 20 years.

Why the post was flagged by community notes

The post was panned as somewhat insensitive by football fans, who argued it was in poor taste to flex viewership numbers while a large portion of the streaming audience was being kept in the dark. Additionally, X’s community notes team viewed the post as misleading.

The community note cited an article from NBC Sports’ Pro Football Talk writer Mike Florio, reporting the data points with what was deemed a fuller, more complete analysis.

X argued that ESPN’s post omitted important context. While the “16.2 million” figure looks impressive on its face, MNF viewership was actually down roughly 21% from its 20.6 million viewers during last year’s Week 9 broadcasts. X noted that omitting this context made the post misleading.

X’s community notes feature has been around since before its rebrand from Twitter. It was rebranded and rolled out as a global feature in 2022, after Musk’s purchase and takeover of the site.

Under Musk’s ownership, community notes has expanded to include context notes on videos as well as posts containing information deemed manipulative.

What the controversy is all about

This post is among the latest developments in a public dispute between ESPN (and its parent company, The Walt Disney Company) and YouTube TV (owned by Google LLC).

The situation started last week, when YouTube TV subscribers were barred from accessing a large number of Disney-affiliated channels, including ESPN, ABC, and FX.

ESPN and YouTube TV each released statements blaming each other for the blackouts.

The Walt Disney Company accused YouTube TV of attempting to “strong-arm Disney into a deal that ignores market rates, industry standards, and Disney’s repeated proposals of flexible and innovative deals that would not only benefit both sides, but — most importantly — millions of consumers."

YouTube TV said it would “not agree to terms that disadvantage our members while benefiting Disney’s own live TV products.”

The situation impacted millions of sports fans, as live sports coverage is one of the primary draws for many YouTube TV subscribers. The service’s channel offerings and customizable multi-view feature (that allows you to watch up to four games at once) have made the application a popular option for streaming sports.

In the week since the dispute, ESPN’s personalities have stood in Disney’s corner. On-air personalities encouraged YouTube TV customers to go to a website called KeepMyNetworks.com, a site supporting Disney by encouraging fans to “Contact YouTube TV and let them know you want your favorite networks back.”

Southeastern Conference (SEC) Commissioner Greg Sankey also posted that he moved over to Hulu, a streaming service operated by Disney as part of its steaming portfolio.

While Sankey’s connection to the situation might seem harder to place than an ESPN on-air talent, it’s worth noting that the SEC Network is majority-owned by Disney, and the social‑media post did not clearly indicate it was a promotional endorsement, which some critics view as a potential conflict of interest.

Posts like these on both sides of the issue have received backlash from sports fans, who see the situation as large corporations trying to push them to pick a side when they just want to continue streaming games in one place without conflict.

It’s unclear whether or not the sides are any closer to coming to terms on a new deal.