@ESPNTennis & US Open: Thru 3 Days TV Audience up 58%; ESPN3 Usage Soaring

Tennis

@ESPNTennis & US Open: Thru 3 Days TV Audience up 58%; ESPN3 Usage Soaring

Photo of Dave Nagle Dave Nagle Follow on Twitter September 3, 2015

After three days of the first all-ESPN US Open, ESPN’s TV audience is up 58% from a year ago, averaging 853,000 viewers (P2+), up from 540,000 in 2014.  The corresponding household rating is up 50%, from 0.4 to 0.6.

Younger viewers are leading the charge. The rating among viewers 18-34 and 18-49 – as well as among men 18-34 and men 18-49 – is double last year’s.  In addition, the rating among viewers 55+ is up 50%.

The audience following the US Open on WatchESPN – the linear TV presentation plus ESPN3’s offering of up to 11 courts and other content – has more than tripled.  After three days, 64.8 million live minutes have been viewed, an increase of 224 percent from 2014.  On the average day, 273,000 unique devices have watched the US Open (up 145 percent), averaging 78 minutes each (up 38 percent).

Wednesday ranks at the second best day for a tennis Major on WatchESPN/ESPN with 23.7 million minutes viewed, behind only the 2015 Wimbledon Gentlemen’s Championship.  The most-watched single feed so far was Wednesday’s play on Armstrong Stadium – 114,000 viewers accounting for 5.5 million live minutes.

On Friday, Sept. 4, ESPN will cover the action at the Billie Jean King USTA National Tennis Center starting at 1 p.m. ET, transitioning to ESPN2 at 6 p.m.  In addition, starting at 11 a.m. ESPN3 will offer up to 11 courts plus a Spanish feed and a feed with three boxes – action from Ashe, Armstrong and Grandstand – all day long to mobile devices and streaming on TVs.  ESPN’s extensive daily coverage will continue through the Women’s Championship on Saturday, Sept. 12, and the Men’s Championship on Sunday, Sept. 13, both on ESPN.

ESPN has televised the US Open since 2009. An 11-year agreement with the USTA for exclusivity was announced in May 2013.  A complete look at ESPN’s plans for the 2015 US Open including the daily schedule ( http://es.pn/1ECwZws ), a look at new technology in the production ( http://es.pn/1MzW0yM ) and a conference call on programming and production plans ( http://es.pn/1PoHn0D ).

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Photo of Dave Nagle Dave Nagle Follow on Twitter September 3, 2015
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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