Overview
The story of the Winter X Games begins in 1996 with the event’s inception and evolves to today. This is a brief timeline on how the Winter X Games arrived as the world’s premier winter action sports brand.
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2009
Winter X Games 13 returned to Aspen, Colo., where ESPN and Aspen Skiing Company announced an agreement that will keep the Winter X Games in Aspen/Snowmass through Winter X Games 16 in 2012.
The viewers at home and 68,100 spectators in attendance witnessed the world's top winter action sports athletes compete in a new 22-foot SuperPipe, as well as the addition of two new disciplines making their debut - Women's Skiing Slopestyle and Snowmobile Next Trick.
The Winter X Games 13 telecast was ESPN's highest-rated and most-viewed Winter X Games in history.
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2008
Winter X Games 12 returns to Aspen, Colo., with 72,500 fans in attendance. The event was televised in high-definition for the first time on ESPN HD and ABC HD, and was ESPN’s most-watched in history with eight telecasts averaging 863,000 homes, up 17% from 2007. Many key demo groups (Men and Persons 18-24, 18-34, 18-49, and 25-54) also delivered their most-viewed Winter X Games, all up double-digits across the board from Winter X Games 11. Six out of eight telecasts were among the top ten most-viewed in Winter X history, including the final night and most-viewed Winter X telecast ever – Sunday night in 1,117,000 households. ABC's Winter X Games 12 telecast on Saturday afternoon delivered a 1.3 household rating and 1,424,000 HHs, up 9% and 10% respectively from Winter X Games 11. Overall, ABC was up across the board among all people and male demos, with Men 18+ up 29% from last year.
On November 19, ESPN announces Winter X Games 13 will for the first time feature new 22-foot SuperPipe for both ski and snowboard disciplines and two new disciplines will make their debut – Women’s Skiing Slopestyle and Snowmobile Next Trick.
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2007
Winter X Games 11 returns to Aspen/Snowmass, Colorado January 25-28. The four-day event attracted 76,150 spectators, breaking the attendance record in the event’s six-year history in Aspen. A record number of fans followed the extensive Winter X Games 11 content featured across the many global ESPN and ABC distribution platforms, including television, Internet, iPods and more. The unprecedented multi-media offerings were designed to provide coverage of the world’s leading winter action sports competition to fans everywhere.
ESPN averaged 734,000 households in prime time – its most-viewed Winter X average ever. Men 18-24 displayed the biggest growth in impressions among all demos from 2006, up 64%. On the final day of Winter X Games 11, the Sunday primetime telecast (1/28/07) was ESPN's most-viewed telecast in Winter X Games history with 925,377 households and the highest-rated Winter X Games telecast since 1997.
On ESPN.com, ESPN360 and the newly enhanced EXPN.com fans viewed a record number of Winter X Games videos online, more than two million highlights, interviews, and original features viewed in the week from Wednesday, January 24 through Monday, January 29 – more than doubling 2005. Additionally, fans logged more than three million page views on EXPN.com alone over the same period.
On November 21, ESPN announces that Winter X Games 12 will feature new events, a new stage and enhanced coverage across ESPN platforms. Three new disciplines will make their debut – Snowmobile Speed & Style, Skiing Big Air, and Snowboard Big Air.
On November 27, ESPN announces that ESPN HD and ABC HD will continue to expand their programming line-ups by offering all 15 hours of Winter X Games 12 in high-definition live from Aspen, Colorado. XCENTER, the daily highlight show for both the X Games and Winter X Games, will also be shown in HD on ESPN2 HD.
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2006
On January 27, ESPN and the Aspen Skiing Company reached an agreement that will keep the Winter X Games in Aspen/Snowmass through Winter X Games 14 in 2010.
Winter X Games 10 was held Jan. 28-31 in Aspen/Snowmass, Colo. The on-site spectator total of 69,650 was the second-highest in the event’s five-year history in Aspen and a 92% increase from 2002 (the first Winter X Games in Aspen). ESPN’s prime-time ratings averaged a 0.8, tying a Winter X Games record, while average viewership for ESPN’s prime-time (676,895 households) and weekend afternoon (520,772) slots posted 8% and 45% increases over 2005, respectively. Average television viewership across the three networks that carried coverage – ABC Sports, ESPN and ESPN2 – set an all-time record with 747,130 households, exceeding the year prior’s household average by 45% according to Nielsen Media Research.
On November 7, the addition of Snowmobile Freestyle is announced. Complementing the existing sport of Snowmobile SnoCross, Snowmobile Freestyle featured 10 riders competing on the inaugural Winter X Games freestyle course.
On December 7, it is announced that Winter X Games 11 will include its first ever disabled discipline, Mono Skier X. First introduced as a demo event at Winter X Games Nine, this new event will be modeled after Winter X mainstays, Skier X and Snowboarder X. It will feature the top 16 disabled men and women racing in individual sit-skis in heats of four. Additionally, Snowboarding will add the discipline of Snowboard Best Trick Showdown, and Moto X will not be in the Winter X Games lineup but remain a pillar in summer and international events.
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2005
Winter X Games Nine was held for its fourth consecutive year in Aspen/Snowmass, Colo Jan. 29 – Feb. 1, and was aired live on ESPN and ABC. ESPN’s four primetime telecasts earned a 0.8 average rating in 2005, up 33% from last year, reaching an average of 677,000 households. On-site attendance also reached a record high with a total of 69,750.
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2004
Winter X Games Eight was held January 24-27 for an unprecedented third year in Aspen/Snowmass, Colo. The on-site spectator total of 66,500 was the highest in the event’s three-year history. For the first time in X Games history, the event was telecast live on ESPN and ABC. Additionally, ESPN’s flagship sports news show, SportsCenter, reported live from the event. The show, hosted by Linda Cohn, featured live event coverage. Average viewership for Winter X set an all-time record by exceeding last year’s household average by 30%.
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2003
Winter X Games Seven is held in Aspen, Colorado for its second year featuring the sports of Moto X, Ski, Snowboard and Snowmobile. Attendance over the four-day event is increased by more than 12,000 from 2002, with a total of 48,700 spectators. Average viewership for Winter X Games Seven across the three networks that carried coverage - ESPN, ESPN2 and ABC Sports - set an all-time record for the signature winter action sports championship event. Including all telecasts, the three networks garnered an average of 412,673 households, the highest in the event’s history and a 33% increase from the 310,810 average households for Winter X Games Six (2002).
On June 17, ESPN announces the return of Winter X Games to Aspen/Snowmass for a third winter – an unprecedented move for X Games.
On January 20, ESPN and the Aspen Skiing Company reached a landmark agreement that will keep the Winter X Games in Aspen/Snowmass through Winter X Games 11 in 2007.
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2002
Winter X Games Six is held in Aspen, Colo. January 17-20 at the resort’s Buttermilk Mountain. Two new skiing disciplines are added: Ski Slopestyle and Ski SuperPipe. The event draws 36,300 spectators, as well as the entire 2002 U.S. Olympic Snowboard Freestyle team, all of whom compete in Winter X Snowboard SuperPipe just weeks prior to the Salt Lake City Olympics.
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2000
Winter X Games Four are held February 3-6 in Mount Snow, Vt. The first Winter X of the millennium features the largest crowds to date - 83,500 - and the debut of Winter X on the East Coast. The new Snowboard SuperPipe competition is added. Winter X Games Five is held February 1-4 for the second year in Mount Snow. Moto X Big Air at the Winter X Games makes its debut.
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1999
Crested Butte is once again the site for Winter X Games Three. More than 30,000 attend the event in January, which features more disciplines, including women’s Freeskiing.
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1998
Approximately 25,000 spectators gather over four days in January at Crested Butte Mountain Resort in Colo., for Winter X Games Two. New sports include Freeskiing, Snowmobile SnoCross and Skiboarding.
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1997
From January 30 through February 2, the inaugural Winter X Games are televised to 198 countries and territories in 21 different languages. This is the first year that ABC Sports broadcasts an X Games event. More than 38,000 spectators make the trek to Big Bear Lake for four days of competition. From June 20 through June 28, a record crowd of 221,000 fans watches X Games Three in San Diego and Oceanside, Calif., where Snowboard Big Air amazes on-lookers with a 10-story jump comprised of hundreds of tons of manmade snow.
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1996
The site of the first-ever Winter X Games is announced at a press conference on June 30. Snow Summit Mountain Resort in Big Bear Lake, Calif., hosted competitions in snowboarding, ice climbing, snow mountain bike racing, super-modified shovel racing and a crossover multi-sport event.