EXCLUSIVE: The X Games had a successful year in Aspen with a 102% annual audience increase among the youth demographic.
The 2026 broadcast on ABC and ESPN put up the largest audience with the 2-17 crowd in five years. Overall, the event reached 15.2M viewers, up 48%, per Nielsen. Total audience was also up 46%.
“This growth reflects the innovation we are bringing to action sports, the athletes redefining what’s possible, and our large global fan base that believes in X Games and everything it stands for,” Jeremy Bloom, CEO of X Games, said in a statement.
Roku was the exclusive U.S. streaming partner, with total consumption up 149% from the year prior. Female viewership, in particular, saw a 233% increase.
This year’s event in Aspen featured both X Games legends as well as a new faces in winter sports. Scotty James became the most decorated X Games SuperPipe snowboarder of all time, and Mark McNorris is now the most decorated winter athlete ever with with his 25th career medal in the Jeep Men’s Snowboard Slopestyle Finals. Mac Forehand led the Stake Men’s Ski Big Air Finals, and, just days after turning 19, Mia Brookes dominated the Jeep Women’s Snowboard Slopestyle Finals to earn her second X Games gold.
The 25th year in Aspen helped launch the MoonPay X Games League (XGL), the world’s first year-round, team-based professional action sports league. For the first time in X Games history, athletes compete in a structured season and team-based format.
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