With Serena Williams pursuing her record-tying 22nd Grand Slam title and Novak Djokovic going for his fourth in a row, French Open overnights still failed to rate on NBC.
French Open coverage featuring the Garbine Muguruza/Williams women’s final had a 1.3 overnight rating on NBC Saturday morning, down 32% from Williams/Lucie Safarova last year (1.9) and down 13% from Maria Sharapova/Simona Halep in 2014 (1.5).
The 1.3 overnight is the lowest for any French Open singles final since at least 1998.
According to Sports Business Daily, NBC’s telecast window ran from 9 AM to 2:30 PM ET — 90 minutes longer than in previous years. That could explain much of the rather sharp decline.
On Sunday, coverage featuring the Djokovic/Andy Murray men’s final had a 1.6 overnight — down 16% from Stanislas Wawrinka/Djokovic last year (1.9) and down 24% from Rafael Nadal/Djokovic in 2014 (2.1). The 1.6 is tied with Nadal/Robin Soderling in 2010 as the lowest for the men’s final since ’98.
Considering that both matches featured a world #1 seeking a historic achievement, the 18-year lows are notable.
(Wknd. numbers via Sports Business Daily)
