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ESPN & US Open Tennis: Most Hours Ever Leads to 8% Rise in Total Live Audience

Tennis

ESPN & US Open Tennis: Most Hours Ever Leads to 8% Rise in Total Live Audience

Photo of Dave Nagle Dave Nagle Follow on Twitter September 19, 2017
  • Streaming Stats Set New US Open Record
  • Women’s Semifinals, Final the Most-Viewed Ever for ESPN

ESPN’s two weeks of exclusive live “first ball to last ball” coverage of the US Open in New York from August 28 to September 10 averaged a total live audience of 968,000 viewers, up 8% over 2016.  The TV audience also was up 8%, to an average of 948,000 viewers across ESPN and ESPN2 for the 150 hours of coverage from the Billie Jean National Tennis Center.  Not only is the 150 hours ESPN’s most ever, it is 13% more than the 130 scheduled, thanks to late-night action.

Starting with a big first night – the return of Maria Sharapova to a Major tournament after 18 months and her electric three-set win over No. 2 seed Simona Halep – the event was on a roll, with prime-time audiences larger than last year almost every night.  The trend in prime time culminated with strong performance from the quarterfinals and semifinals, leading to an ESPN record for the women’s championship, a battle of young Americans.  Unseeded Sloane Stephens defeated No. 15 Madison Keys 6-3, 6-0, and the match averaged a total live audience of 1.9 million, the most for the women’s final in ESPN’s three years televising the entire tournament.

It was the most-streamed US Open in ESPN history.  Linear streaming feeds generated an average minute audience of 20,300, up 43% from last year, and 175.1 million total minutes viewed, up +48%.

The highest-rated markets for the event were Washington D.C., West Palm Beach, New York, Richmond, and Tampa.

ESPN’s coverage of the 2017 tennis season concludes with “first ball to last ball” coverage of the ATP Finals from the O2 Arena in London.  Live streaming on the ESPN app begins Sunday, Nov. 12, with ESPN2 joining Thursday, Nov. 16, through the championship Sunday, Nov. 19.

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Photo of Dave Nagle Dave Nagle Follow on Twitter September 19, 2017
Photo of Dave Nagle

Dave Nagle

As I write this on 11-11-21, it's now 35 years for me at ESPN, the only real job I’ve ever had. I joined merely to help with the upcoming America’s Cup in Australia. I was told it would be for three months at all of $5.50 per hour. I like to say I simply kept showing up. I’ve worked on almost every sport, plus answered viewer calls and letters (people used to write!), given tours, written the company newsletter and once drove NASCAR’s Jeff Gordon to the local airport. My travels have been varied…I’ve been to Martinsville, Darlington, Indy and Super Bowls; the America’s Cup (all 3) in San Diego and College GameDay in the sport’s meccas such as Eugene, Auburn, Lubbock, Stillwater and more; the NBA Finals, Wimbledon (16 times and counting) and the “other Bristol,” the one with a race track in Tennessee. These days, my main areas are tennis, UFC, boxing, network-wide ratings (by month/quarter/year), and corporate communications documents, including fact sheets, chronologies, lists and nearly 35 of the Year in Review press releases. UPDATE EXACTLY ONE YEAR LATER: Today, November 11, 2022, I am retiring from ESPN -- 36 years to the day I began. As I ride off into the sunset – top down and E Street Radio blaring – I do so with so many wonderful memories, proud of my contributions and a heart full of gratitude for the opportunity. 
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