CBS earned a 3.9 overnight Nielsen rating for Serena Williams' three-set defeat of Victoria Azarenka yesterday in the women’s final at the U.S. Open, down 7% from a 4.2 overnight for Sam Stosur's defeat of Williams last year. On Saturday, CBS earned a 1.3 overnight for Andy Murray’s semifinal win over Tomas Berdych from 12:00-4:30pm ET, down from a 1.9 rating for the comparable Novak Djokovic-Roger Federer semifinal last year. CBS earned a 1.4 overnight Djokovic’s semifinal against David Ferrer from 4:30-5:15pm before it was postponed due to inclement weather. The match finished yesterday on ESPN2 (Austin Karp, THE DAILY).
YOU'RE CUT OFF: USA TODAY's Chris Chase reported CBS did not allow Williams "to finish her victory speech" on air yesterday, “likely due to time constraints involving the network's lucrative Sunday night prime-time schedule.” Williams’ victory extended into the 7:00pm time slot occupied by "60 Minutes." CBS "appeared to rush through the trophy presentation" due to the overrun. The net aired a "brief interview” between Williams and CBS' Mary Carillo, then “showed Serena receiving her trophy and $1.9 million winner's check.” Williams asked Carillo, "Do I get to say anything else?” Carillo answered, "One second.” Williams was then “whisked away for a photo" with Azarenka and CBS "cut to commercial.” The coverage returned “only for a quick wrap-up and brief plug" for today's Djokovic-Andy Murray men's final and “ended without Serena getting to say what she wanted” (USATODAY.com, 9/9).
