The men’s final at Wimbledon was the most viewed since 1999.
Roger Federer‘s five-set win over Andy Roddick — his record 15th Grand Slam title — drew a 3.8/10 final rating and 5.7 million viewers on NBC Sunday, up 9% in ratings and 10% in viewers from a 3.5/10 and 5.2 million for last year’s final between Federer and Rafael Nadal.
Federer/Roddick finishes as the highest rated Wimbledon men’s final since ’00 (4.4/14 for Sampras/Rafter) and the most-viewed since ’99 (5.9 million for Sampras/Agassi).
The 3.8 rating is the highest for any Grand Slam final since the men’s final of the ’06 U.S. Open, also between Federer and Roddick.
This marks the fourth straight year that ratings for the Wimbledon men’s final have increased.
To put the numbers in perspective, Federer/Roddick topped all but one game of the Stanley Cup Finals in ratings (and outdrew 5 of the 7 games in viewers), and also surpassed the ratings for last year’s British Open and PGA Championship. The match finished behind the Indianapolis 500 (4.0/11, 6.3 mil), and the combined 6.9 million viewers for the USA/Brazil Confederations Cup Final.
