• by David Goetzl , July 21, 2008

ESPN said its broadband service streaming live sports had its highest traffic month ever in June, helped by the U.S. Open golf championship with the scintillating playoff with a limping Tiger Woods, along with just about all games in the European soccer championships.

ESPN said June brought some 3 million video streams to ESPN360.com, with viewers averaging about three hours spent viewing. Internet tracking firm comScore does not track the site specifically, only ESPN.com. June also gave ESPN360 its 10-most-watched individual events--including the Open playoff and nine European soccer matches--since its re-launch as a live-event network in September 2007.

Traffic could slow down over the next two months with a dearth of many high-profile events--Major League Baseball is not offered--but could accelerate during college football season, when the site offers a slew of games every Saturday, including some exclusive ones.

Damon Phillips, vice president of the site, said expanded programming--cricket, for example, was recently added--will bring continued "strong growth."

ESPN says 360 offers some 2,500 live events a year; next year, it will have all four tennis Grand Slams. It's available free to subscribers of broadband services that have agreed to pay license fees to ESPN such as Verizon DSL, although the largest cable operators have resisted so far.