French Open Ratings Remain Low Without Americans In Finals
No American has played in the French Open men's final since Andre Agassi in '99. Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer have played in the finals the last three years, and the rating has not cracked a 2.0. On the women’s side, the last American appearance was the Serena Williams-Venus Williams final in ’02, which earned a 2.8. With the ’08 French Open set to begin this weekend, the following presents a Nielsen ratings trend for NBC’s coverage of the French Open from recent years, along with ratings for the men’s and women’s finals (THE DAILY).
|
FRENCH OPEN RATINGS TREND ON NBC (TOTAL TELECASTS)
|
|
YEAR
|
TELECASTS
|
RATING
|
VIEWERS (000)
|
|
'08
|
5
|
1.2
|
1,596
|
|
'07
|
5
|
1.3
|
1,714
|
|
'06
|
5
|
1.4
|
1,846
|
|
'05
|
6
|
1.3
|
1,607
|
|
'04
|
4
|
1.5
|
1,827
|
|
'03
|
2
|
1.7
|
2,001
|
|
'02
|
5
|
1.6
|
1,992
|
|
'01
|
5
|
1.9
|
2,281
|
|
'00
|
5
|
1.6
|
1,893
|
|
'99
|
5
|
2.5
|
2,910
|
|
'98
|
5
|
1.9
|
2,200
|
|
FRENCH OPEN: MEN'S FINALS RATINGS TREND ON NBC
|
|
YEAR
|
WINNER-LOSER
|
RATING
|
|
'08
|
Nadal-Federer
|
1.5
|
|
'07
|
Nadal-Federer
|
1.8
|
|
'06
|
Nadal-Federer
|
1.8
|
|
'05
|
Nadal-Puerta
|
1.6
|
|
'04
|
Gaudio-Coria
|
1.5
|
|
'03
|
Ferrero-Verkerk
|
1.5
|
|
'02
|
Costa-Ferrero
|
1.3
|
|
'01
|
Kuerten-Corretja
|
1.7
|
|
'00
|
Kuerten-Norman
|
1.6
|
|
'99
|
Agassi-Medvedev
|
3.3
|
|
'98
|
Moya-Corretja
|
2.0
|
|
FRENCH OPEN: WOMEN'S FINALS RATINGS TREND ON NBC
|
|
YEAR
|
WINNER-LOSER
|
RATING
|
|
'08
|
Ivanovic-Safina
|
1.6
|
|
'07
|
Henin-Ivanovic
|
1.4
|
|
'06
|
Henin-Kuznetzova
|
1.5
|
|
'05
|
Henin-Pierce
|
1.5
|
|
'04
|
Myskina-Dementieva
|
1.6
|
|
'03
|
Henin-Clijsters
|
1.7
|
|
'02
|
S. Williams-V. Williams
|
2.8
|
|
'01
|
Capriati-Clijsters
|
3.0
|
|
'00
|
Pierce-Martinez
|
2.0
|
|
'99
|
Graf-Hingis
|
3.1
|
|
'98
|
Sanchez Vicario-Seles
|
2.3
|
NOTES: All men's final match telecasts began at 9:00am ET on NBC. Starting in '03, the women's final began at 9:00am ET. In '02, the final was at 11:00am ET, and before that, the event had an early afternoon start.
|
