ESPN rode its coverage of the U.S. Open to a first place finish among all cable networks in primetime viewership last week, according to Nielsen.
ESPN averaged 2.5 million total viewers in primetime during the week of Sept. 3 to Sept. 9 to end Fox News’ 14-week run at the top of the chart, according to Nielsen. ESPN’s two-week U.S. Open coverage was viewed by more than 1 million viewers, up 9% from last year’s 949,000.
The network’s coverage of the Sept. 8 Naomi Osaka-Serena Williams women’s final drew 3.1 million viewers, the third all-time most watched U.S. Open match on ESPN, according to the network.
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Fox News finished second for the week with 2.3 million viewers, followed by MSNBC’s 2.0 million viewers, and USA and HGTV, which tied for fourth with 1.3 million watchers, according to network officials.
Fox News was the most watched network on a 24-hour basis for the 35th consecutive week, according to Nielsen. MSNBC (1.1 million viewers) ESPN (1 million viewers), Nickelodeon (833,000) and CNN (679,000) rounded out the top five in the category.
