ESPN’s Fortnight of Wimbledon Viewership Climbs 26 Percent

Tennis

ESPN’s Fortnight of Wimbledon Viewership Climbs 26 Percent

Photo of Dave Nagle Dave Nagle Follow on Twitter July 13, 2022

Djokovic’s 21st Major Title Averages 2.2 Million Viewers, up 22 Percent 

ESPN’s viewership for the fortnight of exclusive daily live marathon linear TV coverage of The Championships, Wimbledon climbed 26 percent from 2021 to an average of 647,000 viewers (P2+) over its nearly 150 hours of English-language coverage.  The number of hours encompasses live match coverage across ESPN, ESPN2 and ABC.  In total, ESPN/ESPN2/ABC presented 157 hours from London when including the six Breakfast at Wimbledon programs and encores of the Ladies’ and Gentlemen’s Championships on ABC.

Sunday morning’s Gentlemen’s Championship – Novak Djokovic capturing his seventh Wimbledon crown, fourth straight at the All England Club, and 21st Major title overall 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, 7-6 (7-3) against Nick Kyrgios – averaged 2.2 million viewers.  That represents an increase of 22 percent from last year (Djokovic over Matteo Berrettini in four sets).  The audience peaked with 3.3 million people at noon ET as the top seed closed out the Australian challenger in the fourth set tie break.

The Ladies’ Championship on Saturday morning saw No. 17 Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan rally from one set down to defeat No. 3 Ons Jabeur of Tunisia 3-6, 6-2, 6-2.  It was the maiden Major final for both players. The match garnered an average of 1.2 million viewers, up nine percent from a year ago (Ashleigh Barty defeated Karolína Plíšková in three sets).

As always, both Championships were reaired later each day on ABC at 3 p.m.  Those broadcasts averaged 931,000 viewers, an increase of 13 percent. 

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Photo of Dave Nagle Dave Nagle Follow on Twitter July 13, 2022
Photo of Dave Nagle

Dave Nagle

As I write this on 11-11-21, it's now 35 years for me at ESPN, the only real job I’ve ever had. I joined merely to help with the upcoming America’s Cup in Australia. I was told it would be for three months at all of $5.50 per hour. I like to say I simply kept showing up. I’ve worked on almost every sport, plus answered viewer calls and letters (people used to write!), given tours, written the company newsletter and once drove NASCAR’s Jeff Gordon to the local airport. My travels have been varied…I’ve been to Martinsville, Darlington, Indy and Super Bowls; the America’s Cup (all 3) in San Diego and College GameDay in the sport’s meccas such as Eugene, Auburn, Lubbock, Stillwater and more; the NBA Finals, Wimbledon (16 times and counting) and the “other Bristol,” the one with a race track in Tennessee. These days, my main areas are tennis, UFC, boxing, network-wide ratings (by month/quarter/year), and corporate communications documents, including fact sheets, chronologies, lists and nearly 35 of the Year in Review press releases. UPDATE EXACTLY ONE YEAR LATER: Today, November 11, 2022, I am retiring from ESPN -- 36 years to the day I began. As I ride off into the sunset – top down and E Street Radio blaring – I do so with so many wonderful memories, proud of my contributions and a heart full of gratitude for the opportunity. 
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