The 2019 U.S. Open tennis championships ended on a high note on court and for U.S. rights-holder, ESPN. Rafael Nadal earned his fourth Open title and 19th major of his career by outlasting Daniil Medvedev in a five-set match that lasted nearly five hours. ESPN netted a 2.0 overnight during its five-hour, 15-minute telecast, with ratings peaking at a 3.1 mark in the 9p quarter hour, during the final moments of the epic clash. The Nadal-Medevdev overnight was up 33% from a 1.5 for Novak Djokovic’s three-set triumph over Juan Martin del Potro last year and marked ESPN’s best performance with the men’s final since its inaugural year of coverage: a 2.4 overnight for Djokovic over Roger Federer in four sets in 2015. All told, the worldwide leader averaged a 1.1 overnight across ESPN and ESPN 2 with its 2019 Open coverage, a 38% jump from last year, with the delivery equaling its top performance in 2015.
Related Stories
Whoopi Goldberg and cast mates will take The Stand on CBS All Access Dec. 17
The Stand, CBS All Access’ television adaptation of the storied 1978 Stephen King novel, will debut December 17. Starring Whoopi Goldberg, Alexander Skarsgard, James Marsden, Odessa Young, Jovan Adepo and Amber Heard, the limited series unfolds around King’s apocalyptic struggle between good and evil after a plague destroys most of the country. Ben Cavell serves […]
McKinnon lands unprecedented Exotic deal
Get ready cats and kittens. Joe Exotic (working title), UCP’s limited series starring and exec-produced by Kate McKinnon, scored a straight-to-series order by both the NBCU television and streaming divisions. In an unprecedented move, project will roll out across broadcast net NBC, streamer Peacock, and a basic cable net USA. Series is based on the […]
Cat’s meow: Quaid will star in his own animal rescue story
Dennis Quaid is the cat’s meow. He’s partnering with ITV America’s Leftfield Pictures for unscripted TV project Saving Dennis Quaid, which he’ll star in and exec produce. Project documents the animal lover’s recent headline-making pet rescue where he and partner Jimmy Jellinek set out on a mission to adopt a 6-year-old black cat from Lynchburg, […]
Turner Sports Shaq’s up
Big news at Turner Sports, as the company lands a multiyear extension of its partnership with Shaquille O’Neal. Shaq’s expanded role gains the Basketball Hall of Famer more airtime, including on TNT’s Inside the NBA and NBA on TNT, as well as contributions to NBA.com. He also will develop projects throughout the WarnerMedia portfolio including […]
The Tonys go digital
The 74th Annual Tony Awards ceremony will go on, presented digitally sometime in the fall. Date and platform are TBA. The event had originally been scheduled for June 7, but was replaced by plans for a streaming special on the same date due to COVID-19. That special was postponed amid unrest over the George Floyd […]
CynCity
Cynsiders
With MoonBall Media, Two Athletes Step Into New Careers
MoonBall Media, led by former World Series Champion Eric Hosmer and award-winning producer and former...Cognitiv Goes OOH to Showcase the Power of AI
Cognitiv went big with its first brand campaign, showing agencies and brands the power of...AI’s Role in Media Buying and Planning
What role can – and should – AI play in media buying and planning? Heather...