- The classic Rafael Nadal/Roger Federer Wimbledon men’s final finished with a 3.5/10 rating and 5.2 million viewers on NBC last Sunday, up 30% and 37%, respectively, from last year’s match-up between the same two players. The 3.5 is the best for the men’s final at Wimbledon since 2000, when Pete Sampras‘ final victory at the event drew a 4.4/14. Saturday’s all-Williams Wimbledon women’s final drew a 2.5/8 final rating, up 14% from a 2.2 last year, but but down 14% from a 2.9 for the last meeting between the sisters in a Grand Slam final.
- Prime time coverage of the Olympic trials on USA Network averaged a 1.1 rating and 1.7 million viewers last week. As has been the trend so far, swimming coverage drew the best numbers, averaging 1.8 million viewers for four broadcasts, compared to 1.5 million viewers for three track & field broadcasts. The disparity can be explained by the fact swimming coverage aired live at 8 PM ET, while track and field was relegated to tape-delayed coverage at 11 PM.
- The Washington Nationals are far from a hit locally. The Washington Post reports Nationals games are averaging a 0.4 rating with 9,000 households on MASN, off 43% from last year, and well below the 3.1 average and 33,000 households for Baltimore Orioles games on the same network. The Nationals rank dead last among Major League Baseball teams in local television ratings, and are well behind other local competition — including the NBA Wizards (0.9), NHL Capitals (0.8) and even the MLS DC United (0.5).
