Andy Murray names Kyrgios and Federer as £300m Aus Open gamble fails

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Andy Murray has defended a huge 40 per cent drop-off in Aussie viewing figures for the Australian Open. It comes after Channel 9, the host broadcaster for the first Major of the year, extended its partnership with the tournament to 2030 in a £300 million deal. But Murray believes the tournament isn’t to blame for the drop-off following the absence of players like Roger Federer and Nick Kyrgios.

The Australian Open received a harsh reality check when viewership on their host broadcaster Channel 9 dropped off by 40 per cent this year, with the tournament seeing a smaller audience than rival station Channel 7’s showing of Home and Away on the first day. And the numbers continued to look bleak later in the tournament, with the women’s final receiving a fraction of the audience it did 12 months ago.

Saturday night’s broadcast of both the women’s singles final and the men’s doubles final, the ratings peaked at 1.437 million viewers according to News.com.au, a figure that may look good on its own but is nothing compared to 12 months ago when the women’s singles final and men’s doubles final peaked at 4.261 million viewers with Ash Barty ending Australia’s 44-year draught of a home singles champion while Nick Kyrgios and Thanasi Kokkinakis won an all-Aussie men’s doubles final.

Andy Murray has now weighed in, claiming that the absence of those big names is likely behind the drop-off in viewing figures as he tweeted: “Surely a drop off to be expected in Australia with no Federer, Barty or Kyrgios.” The five-time Aussie Open finalist also thought that the problem was only present in Australia while international audiences saw increased numbers.

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Sharing a screenshot of an article claiming that Warner Bros’ Discovery+ streaming service upped its audience over the fortnight with his own five-set win over Thanasi Kokkinakis being their most-watched match, he added: “Not sure that’s the case in every region though.”

As well as the absence of Federer and home hero Barty – who both retired last year – and Kyrgios, who pulled out on day one of the event with a knee injury, the Australian Open was also hit by another high-profile withdrawal in then-world No 1 Carlos Alcaraz. Last year’s US Open champion was forced to pull out after sustaining a fresh injury in practice ahead of the tournament.

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And it appears experts agree with Murray, as TV expert Colin Vickery told the Herald Sun that the Aussie Open’s focus on eventual-champion Novak Djokovic likely contributed to the drop-off in viewers following Channel 9’s £300m gamble on the tournament rights. “We know Djokovic really isn‘t a ratings drawcard in my mind so the fact of him being part of it this year, I think doesn’t make any difference,” Vickery said.

“The world of tennis is lacking TV ratings drawcards at the moment, it is in a transition phase. The drawcards who are reliable like Ash Barty, Federer, they have gone and there are very few coming through right at this moment.”

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