The WTA announced new global TV and digital audience figures. The end-of-season report by SMG Insight reported a staggering year-on-year leap in '14 viewership, up 22.5% from '13, for the dedicated broadcast of 22 WTA premier tournaments. The most-watched tournament of the year was BNP Paribas WTA Finals, attracting 26.9 million viewers across seven days of tennis. The BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells provided the season's most-watched day of broadcast in '14. The semifinals were viewed by 4.6 million fans. The event also generated the largest growth in audience, a rise of 95.4%, almost doubling from 11.76 million viewers in '13 to 22.98 million in '14. The Miami Open delivered the largest online digital audience of the year; 9% of the season's total online digital viewers watched coverage of the tournament.
Top 5 tournaments in terms of largest cumulative TV and digital audiences in 2014:
- BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global: 26,928,804
- Miami Open: 23,065,116
- BNP Paribas Open (Indian Wells): 22,975,675
- Rogers Cup (Toronto): 20,271,499
- Mutua Madrid Open: 18,659,536 (WTA).
