Serena Williams‘ ultimately failed quest for the calendar year Grand Slam boosted the U.S. Open to its largest audience in four years.
Coverage of the 2015 U.S. Open averaged 1.3 million viewers across ESPN and ESPN2, up 20% from last year on CBS, ESPN and ESPN2 (1.1M) and the most-watched edition of the tournament since 2011 (1.4M). Excluding last year’s CBS windows, viewership increased 58% from 757,000 last year to 1.2 million.
The double-digit gains came despite the tournament airing exclusively on cable for the first time.
Williams’ run for the Grand Slam, which seemed like a virtual lock until her upset loss to Roberta Vinci in the semifinals, was the driving force behind ESPN’s success. Her quarterfinal match against Venus Williams was easily the highest rated and most-watched of the tournament, with a 3.7 rating and 6.0 million viewers — and the full five-hour window was ESPN’s second-most watched tennis telecast ever.
The interest in Williams’ early round matches more than made up for her absence from the final, which declined a whopping 64% in viewership from last year.
U.S. Open Viewership Compared to Last Year
| Day | Session | Net | 2015 | Net | 2014 | vs. ’14 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8/31 | Day | ESPN | 680K | ESPN | 426K | +60% |
| ESPN2 | 677K | ESPN2 | 309K | +119% | ||
| Night | ESPN2 | 962K | ESPN2 | 507K | +90% | |
| 9/1 | Day | ESPN | 651K | ESPN | 449K | +45% |
| Night | ESPN | 926K | ESPN | 918K | +1% | |
| 9/2 | Day | ESPN | 953K | ESPN | 478K | +99% |
| ESPN2 | 701K | ESPN2 | 571K | +23% | ||
| Night | ESPN2 | 1.07M | ESPN2 | 591K | +82% | |
| 9/3 | Day | ESPN | 744K | ESPN | 519K | +43% |
| ESPN2 | 736K | ESPN2 | 394K | +87% | ||
| Night | ESPN2 | 925K | ESPN2 | 834K | +11% | |
| 9/4 | Day | ESPN | 843K | ESPN | 573K | +47% |
| ESPN2 | 746K | ESPN2 | 647K | +15% | ||
| Night | ESPN2 | 1.38M | ESPN2 | 970K | +42% | |
| 9/5 | Day | ESPN2 | 1.02M | CBS | 1.27M | -19% |
| Night | ESPN2 | 1.02M | TTC | not rated | ||
| 9/6 | Day | ESPN2 | 1.45M | CBS | 1.66M | -13% |
| Night | ESPN2 | 1.17M | TTC | not rated | ||
| 9/7 | Day | ESPN2 | 1.49M | CBS | 1.93M | -23% |
| Night | ESPN2 | 2.24M | ESPN2 | 769K | +191% | |
| 9/8 | Day | ESPN | 990K | ESPN | 663K | +49% |
| Night | ESPN | 3.32M | ESPN | 1.39M | +139% | |
| 9/9 | Day | ESPN | 822K | ESPN | 711K | +16% |
| Night | ESPN2 | 1.31M | ESPN2 | 1.39M | -6% | |
| 9/10 | Night | ESPN | ppd | ESPN | 1.85M | none |
| 9/11 | W. Semi | ESPN | 1.38M | CBS | 1.64M | -16% |
| M. Semi | ESPN | 1.15M | CBS | 2.02M | -43% | |
| 9/12 | W. Final | ESPN | 1.60M | CBS | 4.50M | -64% |
| 9/13 | M. Final | ESPN | 3.15M | CBS | 2.19M | +44% |
(Tournament avg. from ESPN)
