Novak Djokovic and Elena Rybakina Help BBC Reach a Massive Viewership Feat at 2022 Wimbledon Championships

Wimbledon is rightly called the ‘Mecca of Tennis’. Having its roots back in the late 1800s, the tournament has had several contributors throughout its history. One of the major ones is its official broadcaster, the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC).

Every year, the BBC delivers the tennis action to its viewers around the globe. Despite the controversial state of the Championships this year, the BBC made sure to perform its duty with utmost loyalty. The result? Despite covering a tournament without ranking points, the BBC managed to set the online viewership record at this year’s Championships. A record, which had Novak Djokovic and Elena Rybakina as its major contributors.

The finals of the Wimbledon Championships 2022 help BBC set record viewership numbers

The Wimbledon Championships is arguably the most prestigious Grand Slam event. Walking hand in hand with the tournament is the BBC. Going back in time, the association of the two dates back to 1927. The 1927 Wimbledon had BBC broadcast its first radio commentary. Ever since then, the two have been synonymous with each other.

Also read- Wimbledon Champion Elena Rybakina Says Roger Federer Inspired Her to Achieve the Best

This year, BBC peaked its online viewership with a total viewership of 53.8 million. With the rapidly growing online viewership market, BBC managed to add 23.3 million online viewers to its last year tally of 30.5 million.

The blockbuster final of Novak Djokovic and Nick Kyrgios contributed 2.6 million viewership in the total tally. With 2.6 million, the clash became a major contributor by receiving a peak share of 43%. While Djokovic helped BBC secure the maximum viewership, not far behind was the majestic title win of Elena Rybakina over Ons Jabeur. The highly engaging women’s singles managed to secure a total viewership of 712,000.

Addressing the massive feat, Barbara Slater, the director of BBC Sports asserted, “It’s been another electrifying championship and we are delighted that we can offer audiences different ways to follow the action and to meet the ever-increasing appetite for on-demand viewing.”

BBC’s performance on television

BBC undoubtedly touched peaks on the online platform. However, what leads the race is its television broadcast. Having its first full-color broadcast of Wimbledon in 1967, the stats have been growing ever since then.

A common trend seen over the years is the increased viewership during the match of a British player. While Andy Murray took up the charge in the past, this year, Cameron Norrie led the way. Reaching his first ever Grand Slam semifinals at the 2022 Wimbledon Championships, the British star managed to secure a massive 25.5 million TV viewership during his clash with Novak Djokovic.

Watch this story- Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Serena Williams and Others In The Greatest Comebacks in Tennis

Being one of the most popular stars in the sport, Novak Djokovic further helped the BBC in increasing viewership. The men’s final between the Serb and Kyrgios was viewed a total of 7.5 million on television. Following the men’s finals was the women’s clash with a total viewership of 3.1 million.

Expressing her happiness over the majestic feats, Barbara Slater ended by saying, “We are enormously proud to bring extensive coverage of Wimbledon to our audiences, who this year have devoured every moment across all our platforms with these record-breaking figures.”