ESPN2’s broadcast of the JPMorgan Chase Open final between Lindsay Davenport and Serena Williams recorded a .7 rating and was the network’s most-viewed tennis telecast ever, excluding the Grand Slams.
In the men’s event, NBC Sports scored a rating of 1.3 for their coverage of the RCA Championships. It was their highest overnight ratings for the Championships in four years, up 18 per cent from last year.
ESPN’s broadcasts of the women’s event generated increases of 94 per cent for semi-final coverage and 71 per cent for the final. For the men’s final, which was broadcast regionally last year on Fox Sports Net, ESPN registered a .4 rating.
In addition to ratings increases, both the JPMorgan Chase Open and the RCA Championships saw record attendances at both tournaments.
The US Open Series is the six-week summer tennis season for 10 ATP and WTA Tour professional tournaments in North America leading up to and linked to the US Open.
