U.S. Open Tennis 30 Years Of U.S. TV Ratings

With Roger Federer gunning for his fifth U.S. Open title this year, the tournament promises to be better than ever.  But are the U.S. Open’s TV ratings also thriving?

Since 1992, CBS’s U.S. Open telecasts have drawn roughly 2 to 3 million U.S. viewers, on average, each year. 

Last year, CBS’s U.S. Open broadcasts drew an average of 1.96 million viewers per telecast — down from almost 2.2 million viewers in 2006, but up slightly from the smallest U.S. Open TV audience since 1977: 1.94 million in 2004.

The 1999 U.S. Open telecasts claimed the largest U.S. TV audiences in recent memory (almost 3.5 million viewers per telecast).  But in terms of household ratings, the early Eighties remain the true glory days of U.S. Open TV viewership.

The 1980 and 1981 tournaments claimed the highest household TV ratings to date, with 5.8% of all U.S. households tuning in per telecast.  In comparison, the 1999 U.S. Open telecasts drew just 3.5% of all U.S. households.  By 2007, the average rating had decreased to 1.7%.

Below are historic U.S. household ratings (AA%), share, and TV audience estimates (1992 – present) for CBS’s coverage of the U.S. Open tennis tournament since 1977.