2019 Wimbledon Sees 30 Percent Viewership Increase

Gentlemen’s Championship Ranks as Second Most-Viewed Tennis Telecast in ESPN History

Multiple Events Experience Summer Ratings Spike

(espnpressroom.com) The 2019 Wimbledon Championships on ESPN averaged 877,000 viewers (P2+), an increase of 30% over last year (675,000), according to Nielsen. The two weeks of coverage included nearly 150 hours from London. Eleven of the 13 days experienced an increase in viewership.

The most-viewed two days came on Championship Weekend – 3,329,000 for the Gentlemen’s Championship and Ladies’ Doubles Championship on Sunday – ESPN’s second-most viewed tennis telecast in history, and an average of 1,197,000 for Saturday’s Ladies’ Championship and the Men’s Doubles Championship. Sunday’s Men’s Final telecast was the most-viewed since the Federer vs. Murray final in 2012 with 3,300,000 viewers, an increase of 211% from last year’s Men’s final telecast.

Additional Summer Event Increases

Additional ESPN summer events that have seen viewership growth:

  • Major League Baseball’s Home Run Derby which averaged 6,201,000 viewers (P2+), an increase of 4% over last year (5,971,000).
  • Formula 1—through ten live races this season— has averaged 677,000 viewers (P2+), an increase of 18% over last year (574,000).
  • NBA Summer League games averaged 601,000 viewers on ESPN, an increase of 35% from last year.
  • NBA Summer League matchup between New Orleans and New York averaged 1,641,000 viewers (P2+), making it the most-viewed NBA Summer League game ever across ESPN networks.
  • Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest which averaged 1,153,000 viewers (P2+), an increase of 4% from last year (1,114,000).

These increases come on the heels of a tremendous June.

Media Contact:

Belen Michelis
(860) 766-1425
belen.michelis@espn.com
@belen_espn

Chasing Roger Federer

Novak Djokovic ended his 2-year drought at Grand Slam tournaments on Sunday, winning his fourth Wimbledon title in convincing fashion. Having beaten world number 1 Rafael Nadal in an epic five-setter in the semifinals, Djokovic dismantled the tired South African serve specialist Kevin Anderson in a fairly one-sided final.

His fourth Wimbledon title brings Djokovic’s Grand Slam tally to 13, four short of Nadal’s 17 and seven behind Roger Federer’s record of 20 major titles.

As the following chart illustrates, Federer, Nadal and Djokovic currently play in a league of their own in terms of Grand Slam success. Since Federer won his first Wimbledon title in 2003, the three men won 50 out of 61 Grand Slam tournaments with Andy Murray and Stan Wawrinka the only other men to win multiple Slams during that 15-year period.