or


[09/13/22 - 11:32 AM]
US Open Audience Up 50% from 2021, ESPN's Third Best Ever
The semifinal between Alcaraz and Tiafoe on Friday, September 9, averaged 2.96 million viewers - peaking at 3.6 million - for the five-plus hour telecast that started at 7 p.m. ET.

[via press release from ESPN]

US Open Audience up 50% from 2021, ESPN's Third Best Ever

Alcaraz-Tiafoe Semifinal Averages 2.96 Million Viewers:

ESPN's Best-Ever Semifinal from any Event

The 2022 US Open on ESPN averaged 1.21 million viewers over the two weeks and nearly 168 hours of wall-to-wall live coverage, up 50% from last year and the third-best for ESPN since it gained exclusivity for the last of tennis' four Majors each year in 2015. The audience was boosted during the first week by the widespread attention to Serena Williams - who was featured three times in prime time plus in a doubles match with her sister Venus - who most believe was playing her final tournament and in the second week by matches with Frances Tiafoe, Coco Gauff and eventual men's champion, Carlos Alcaraz. (See individual match viewership notes below.)

The semifinal between Alcaraz and Tiafoe on Friday, Sept. 9, averaged 2.96 million viewers - peaking at 3.6 million - for the five-plus hour telecast that started at 7 p.m. ET. That is up 66% from the equivalent telecast in 2021 and ranks as ESPN's ninth biggest tennis audience on record. It is also ESPN's sixth best from the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows, N.Y. (coverage began in 2009). It is ESPN's biggest tennis audience for a match from a Major event that did not include the legends of the last 20+ years - Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Serena Williams. Not only is it the only semifinal in ESPN's top 10 tennis audiences, but when combined with the afternoon semifinal, Casper Ruud over Karen Khachanov, the 2.2 million average audience is the biggest for the penultimate round of any tournament ESPN has televised.

Did You Know?

The 167.7 hours aired is not only ESPN's most ever from the US Open, but it represents an increase of 27 hours from the scheduled 141 hours - an increase of 19% of "bonus" coverage.

More Notes on Individual US Open Audiences:

Monday, Aug. 29

· ESPN registered its best-ever opening day and opening day prime time audiences (started in 2009).

· The afternoon window on ESPN (noon - 7 p.m.) averaged the second-best ever for opening day, trailing only 2015, the launch of ESPN's exclusivity and first-ball-to-last-ball coverage (680,000 viewers) with 626,000 viewers, up 44% from 2021.

· ESPN broke its first-day record with 1.7 million viewers for PrimeTime at the US Open presented by IBM (7 p.m. - 12:03 a.m. ET), an increase of 279% - nearly four-fold - over last year and up 40% over the previous high in 2019.

· Combining the afternoon and prime-time windows, the total-day average of 843,000 viewers is ESPN's best ever for day one, again starting with 2009, and 4% better than the previous best, 809,000 in 2019.

· The audience for Serena Williams vs. Danka Kovinic averaged 2.7 million fans and peaked in the last quarter-hour (9 - 9:15 p.m. ET) at 3.2 million.

Wednesday, Aug. 31

· The entire 5.5-hour prime-time telecast averaged 2.3 million viewers, up 289% over last year's equivalent telecast. It is ESPN's most-watched Early Round (Rounds 1-3) telecast in its US Open history and ranks ninth on the list of ESPN's most-watched US Open telecasts ever (at the time).

· The Serena Williams vs. Anett Kontaveit match averaged 3.6 million viewers and peaked in the last quarter hour (9:30-9:45 p.m.) with five million viewers.

· Williams vs. Kontaveit helped ESPN lead all networks - broadcast or cable - among Men and Adults among 18-34, 18-49 and 25-54 in prime time. ESPN ranked as the second most-viewed network among households and P2+.

Thursday, Sept. 1

· ESPN's most-watched Day Four of the US Open ever (1.0 million viewers).

· ESPN2's prime-time telecast including the Williams sisters' doubles match was the third most-viewed Third-Round telecast ever on ESPN networks.

· The entire telecast averaged 1.5 million viewers, up 131% from the same night a year ago. The Williams Sisters' match averaged 2.2 million.

Friday, Sept. 2

· The Serena Williams vs. Ajla Tomljanovich third-round match was the most-watched tennis telecast on record in ESPN's 43-year history: an average of 4.6 million viewers (P2+). (The previous record of 3.9 million was for the 2012 Wimbledon Gentlemen's Championship, when Roger Federer defeated Andy Murray).

· The prime-time telecast was the most viewed telecast of the day for broadcast and cable networks in total viewers and all key male and person demos.

· Focusing on the exact time of the match, it averaged 4.8 million viewers from 7:15 p.m. - 10:30 p.m. ET and peaked with 6.9 million viewers in the 10:15 p.m. quarter-hour.

Notes from Week Two:

· Monday afternoon's upset victory by Frances Tiafoe over Rafael Nadal. earned an average audience of 2.4 million fans, peaking at 3.4 million. The entire 11 a.m. window of nearly eight hours delivered an average audience of 1.7 million viewers, up more than double - 113% - over the same telecast last year.

· Tuesday's prime-time telecast on ESPN averaged 1.8 million people, 75% higher than the same night in 2021. The Day Nine audience peaked at 2.6 million in the late stages of Coco Gauff dropping a quarterfinal match vs. Garcia.

-30-





  [september 2022]  
S
M
T
W
T
F
S
    


· SHOWATCH
(series past and present)
· DEVWATCH
(series in development)
· MOVIEWATCH
(tv movies and mini-series)





most recent ratings | view all posts
[07/03/25 - 02:33 PM]
ABC News Same-Day Primetime Special "Verdict: The Diddy Trial" Is No. 1 in Adults 18-49 and Adults 25-54
Versus the competition in the time period, "Verdict: The Diddy Trial" outperformed NBC by +40% in Adults 18-49 (212,000 vs. 151,000) and +22% in Adults 25-54.

[07/02/25 - 06:44 PM]
Tyler Perry's "Divorced Sistas" Quickly Rises to Become BET+'s Most Watched Original Series in Platform History
Just halfway through the eight-episode season, existing subscribers and new fans of the show have boosted the drama series to the most-watched series premiere on BET+ in just three weeks.

[07/02/25 - 02:38 PM]
Hallmark Channel Earns #1 Most-Watched Network on Weekends Throughout June with "Passport to Love" Programming Event
"Passport to Love" helped elevate Hallmark Channel to be the #1 most-watched network on weekends throughout the month of June.

[07/01/25 - 12:01 PM]
Top 10 Week of June 23: "Squid Game" Season 3 Takes Over with Record-Breaking Global Debut at No. 1
"The Waterfront" was a Top 10 hit once more as the No. 1 series on the English TV list (11.6 million views).

[07/01/25 - 10:26 AM]
ESPN Formula 1 Viewership Notes After Austrian Grand Prix
ESPN's live telecast on Sunday, June 29, averaged 1.1 million viewers, a two percent gain over last year's race and the largest audience ever for the event on U.S. television.

[07/01/25 - 09:16 AM]
ESPN's "Sunday Night Baseball" Featuring the Minnesota Twins vs. Detroit Tigers Averaged 2 Million Viewers - Up 66% from Last Year's Comparable Game
The audience peaked with 2,304,000 viewers in the 9:15 p.m. ET quarter hour.

[06/27/25 - 02:29 PM]
"Live with Kelly and Mark" Gears Up for Summer Rising Week to Week in All Key Measures
Wednesday, June 11, was the most-viewed day of the week among Total Viewers (2.164 million).

[06/27/25 - 10:31 AM]
"Jimmy Kimmel Live" Tops Late-Night in Adults 18-49 for Third Week in a Row
Winning three of five nights in Kimmel's final week before summer guest hosts, Thursday, June 19, was the show's strongest night among Adults 18-49 (0.35 rating).

[06/25/25 - 11:55 AM]
Prime Video Finishes Groundbreaking First Season of Exclusive NASCAR Coverage
According to Nielsen, NASCAR on Prime posted a season average of 2.16 million viewers (AMA P2+) across five events, and attracted droves of younger viewers to its live coverage.

[06/25/25 - 07:58 AM]
ABC News Primetime Special "Karen Read: The Verdict - A Special Edition of 20/20" Ranks #1 Across All of Broadcast and Cable in Adults 18-49
Plus: "Karen Read: The Verdict" placed No. 1 based on views among all titles on Hulu on Thursday (6/19), Friday (6/20) and Saturday (6/21).

[06/24/25 - 03:03 PM]
ABC News' "Nightline" Ranks No. 1 in All Key Target Demos 18-49 vs. CBS' "After Midnight" and NBC's "Late Night with Seth Meyers" for 2nd Consecutive Week, and Claims Top Spot in Total Viewers for the 5th Straight Week
On Monday (6/16/25), "Nightline" scored its most-watched telecast (1.112 million) in 5 months.

[06/24/25 - 12:01 PM]
Netflix Top 10 Week of June 16: "Tyler Perry's Straw" Leads Top 10 for Third Week, "The Waterfront" Swims to No. 1
Plus: "Ginny & Georgia" Season 3 racked up another 8.1 million views and felt peachy keen at No. 2, while Season 2 landed at No. 8 and Season 1 at No. 10, with an additional 2.7 million views each.

[06/24/25 - 08:42 AM]
Third Most-Watched WNBA Game Ever on ESPN: Indiana Fever vs Las Vegas Aces Averaged 1.7 Million Viewers, Up 52% from Last Year's ESPN Average
Said coverage peaked at 2.2 million viewers.

[06/23/25 - 12:09 PM]
Indiana Pacers vs. Oklahoma City Thunder Game 7 on ABC and ESPN+ Is Most-Watched NBA Finals Game in Six Years
The seven-game series averaged 10,266,000 viewers and delivered the seven most-watched broadcasts on all of television since the first week of May.

[06/18/25 - 09:01 AM]
Murder Mystery May Drives Acorn TV to the Most Successful Month In Its History
Total hours watched surpassed 20 million for the first time in Acorn TV history, with unique engaged subscribers also achieving an all-time high, up double digits from the streamer's average over the past 12 months.