One more press release post before I hit the road. There are a lot of them today, but two can stand alone. NBC says Sunday’s epic Wimbledon Gentlemen’s Final between Roger Federer and Andy Roddick was the most watched men’s final in a decade. Really!
WIMBLEDON GENTLEMEN’S FINAL ON NBC SPORTS MOST VIEWED IN 10 YEARS
Rating and Viewership For Federer’s Record 15th Grand Slam Title Surpasses Last Year’s Epic Final Against Nadal
NEW YORK – July 9, 2009 - NBC Sports' "Breakfast at Wimbledon" coverage of the five-set classic between Roger Federer and Andy Roddick (9 a.m.-3 p.m. ET) was the most-viewed Gentlemen's Final in 10 years. The average of 5.71 million viewers for Federer's record-setting 15th Grand Slam title was the highest since the Pete Sampras- Andre Agassi final in 1999 (5.85 million). Last year's final attracted an average of 5.17 million viewers.
The 3.8 national rating and 10 share was the best for the Gentlemen's Final since Sampras' seventh and final Wimbledon title in 2000 (Sampras-Patrick Rafter, 4.4/14) and surpassed last year's classic between Federer and Rafael Nadal (9 a.m.- 4:45 p.m. ET) by nine percent (3.5/10).
Sunday's rating peaked at a 6.0/16 from 1:15-1:30 p.m. ET.
Top metered markets for Sunday's coverage of the Gentlemen's Final:
1. West Palm Beach, 8.1/18
2. New York, 6.0/17
3. Richmond, 5.9/13
T4. Washington DC, 5.6/16
T4. Indianapolis, 5.6/14
T6. Milwaukee, 5.5/14
T6. Jacksonville, 5.5/12
T8. Cincinnati, 5.4/12
T8. Ft. Myers, 5.4/13
T8. Oklahoma City, 5.4/14
When people get compelling tennis they’ll watch. I don’t want to hear that tennis is boring or not interesting. Judging from the complaints I received last week about the tape delays, I think there’s a large audience for the sport.
