Australian Open finals pull in massive ratings all over the world

Big-name matchups in the Australian Open men’s and women's finals helped the tournament get massive ratings in the United States. International broadcasters attracted tons of viewers, too.

The men's final between Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal got a 0.9 at 3 a.m. on ESPN, with the network saying that the broadcast "may be the most-watched" ESPN telecast ever in that time slot. It also got a 0.7 for its 9 a.m. rerun, with the two telecasts representing increases of 80 percent and 75 percent, respectively, from the Novak Djokovic-Andy Murray final a year ago.

The women's final between Serena and Venus Williams got a 0.7 for the 3 a.m. showing, up 17 percent from a year ago, and a 0.6 for the rerun.

Internationally, the men's final had as many as 4.4 million viewers in Australia, double that of a year ago. The women's final had a 1.7 million average, and the second week of the Australian Open was frequently the top broadcast of the day, turning around what had been lower than usual ratings during the first week.

Across Europe, it pulled as many as 11 million viewers on Eurosport and affiliated channels, including record figures for Spain, where it got as many as 1.3 million viewers. 800,000 watched in Britain, making it the second-most-watched Australian Open final in the country. The Spanish broadcast had as many as 1.3 million viewers, making it the second-most-watched Grand Slam final in the network’s history. National networks in Switzerland and France also had above a million on average for the five-set encounter.

The tournament also set an attendance record, as it drew 728,763 spectators to the grounds during the two weeks of the Grand Slam.