US Open Set First Week Attendance and Viewer Records

FLUSHING, N.Y., September 8, 2009 – The USTA today announced that the first week of the 2009 US Open saw record attendance and increased viewership on both network and broadcast television, as well as online on USOpen.org. 

Following a record Opening Day combined (day and night sessions) crowd of 60,066, the US Open finished the first week with three consecutive days of an attendance topping 61,000 – the first time the tournament has achieved multiple crowds in excess of 61,000.

ATTENDANCE

·         The tournament set the all-time first week attendance record of 423,427 – a figure greater than the total attendance of any US Open prior to 1991.

·         The tournament began with a record Opening Day attendance of 60,066, including a record Opening Day Session crowd of 36,170.

·         The tournament set the all-time daily gate record (day and night sessions combined) on Friday, August 29, with a total of 61,554

·         Total attendance on six of the first seven days exceeded 60,000 fans, including three straight days of more than 61,000 – the first time the tournament has ever had multiple crowds of more than 61,000 in a given year.

USOPEN.ORG

·         USOpen.org had a record 23,373,675 visits in the first week of the tournament (a 71 percent increase from last year’s record numbers) and 5,352,085 unique users (a 60 percent increase from 2008).

·         USOpen.org offered more live streaming of matches than ever before.  The result was 6.4 million activated streams with nearly 1.4 million media console launches that had an average viewing length of 3 hours and 10 minutes.

·         The new USOpen.org iPhone application was downloaded by 175,361 times.

·         The US Open Bracket Challenge, a new online game on USOpen.org, had 18,403 entries.

TELEVISION

CBS

·         The US Open’s network broadcast partner saw a 20 percent increase in the two-day average (Saturday and Sunday) in the overnight meter markets from last year (1.8/5 in 2009, up from 1.5/4 in 2008).

ESPN

·         Through the first four days of the 2009 US Open, ESPN2’s first-ever coverage of the event brought more viewers than last year.  The audience across the daily marathon 10-plus hours telecasts is 13 percent larger than last year, up from an average of 584,000 households to 658,000.

·         Audience growth is larger in prime time.  ESPN2 has averaged a 0.8 U.S. household rating, up 33 percent from 0.6 in 2008, with an average of 918,000 homes, up 35 percent from 680,000 in 2008.

·         Compared to ESPN2’s programming for the same week last year, the daytime (1-7 p.m. ET) audience has more than doubled – an increase of 125 percent.  In prime time (7-11 p.m.), the US Open has almost tripled the network’s audience with a rise of 175 percent.

TENNIS CHANNEL

·         Tennis Channel’s inaugural broadcast of the 2009 US Open on Saturday, Sept. 5, was the most highly viewed programming in the network’s history.

·         In the Top 35 metered markets, Tennis Channel ranked No. 4 among all ad-supported cable networks in the prime-time window of 8 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 5.

·         Also, for the full broadcast window (6 p.m. to 1 a.m.) on Saturday, Sept. 5, Tennis Channel ranked No. 10 in the Top 35 metered markets among all ad-supported cable networks.

The USTA is the national governing body for the sport of tennis in the U.S. and the leader in promoting and developing the growth of tennis at every level -- from local communities to the highest level of the professional game.  A not-for-profit organization with 730,000 members, it invests 100% of its proceeds in growing the game. It owns and operates the US Open, the highest attended annual sporting event in the world, and launched the Olympus US Open Series linking 10 summer tournaments to the US Open. In addition, it owns the 90-plus Pro Circuit events throughout the U.S., is a minority owner and promotional partner of World TeamTennis, and selects the teams for the Davis Cup, Fed Cup, Olympic and Paralympic Games. The USTA philanthropic entity, USTA Serves, provides grants and scholarships and through tennis, helps underserved youth and people with disabilities to improve academics, build character and strive for excellence. For more information on the USTA, log on to usta.com.