Serena Williams‘ record achievement was not enough to lift overnight ratings for the Wimbledon women’s final.
The Williams/Angelique Kerber Wimbledon women’s final earned a 2.0 overnight rating on ESPN Saturday morning, down 9% from Williams/Garbine Muguruza last year (2.2). Though the match itself declined, the full six-hour telecast window — which included Serena and her sister Venus Williams winning women’s doubles — increased a tick over last year (from 1.3 to 1.4).
With her victory Sunday, Williams tied the open era record for most Grand Slam singles titles (22). It was the third straight final in which she had a chance to tie the mark, with all three of those matches posting a decline in the metered markets. Her loss to Kerber in the Australian Open final dropped 25% in the overnights (0.8 to 0.6) and her loss to Muguruza at the French Open fell 32% on NBC for the full telecast window (1.9 to 1.3).
On Sunday, the Andy Murray/Milos Raonic men’s final had a 1.9 overnight — down 21% from Novak Djokovic/Roger Federer last year. The full 5 1/2-hour telecast window drew a 1.5, also down 21% from last year’s 1.9 and the lowest overnight for Wimbledon coverage featuring the men’s final since at least 1996.
The last men’s Grand Slam final that did not include Djokovic or Federer was the 2014 Marin Cilic/Kei Nishikori U.S. Open men’s final, which also posted a 1.9 overnight. That match aired on a broadcast network and took place on a Monday evening.
(Wknd. numbers from ESPN, Sports Business Daily)
