NBC's final-round coverage of Tiger Woods' 15-stroke
victory at the U.S. Open on Sunday, which earned an 8.8/21
Nielsen overnight rating, and the network's two-day 7.5/18
overnight, were the highest preliminary overnight U.S. Open
ratings since Nielsen Media started recording overnight
ratings in '75 (NBC). In DC, Leonard Shapiro writes that
NBC drew its Sunday rating "even though" Woods began the day
with a ten-stroke lead and his victory was "never in doubt."
Shapiro: "Viewers apparently were riveted to their
televisions." Shapiro notes that the early rounds of the
tournament "fared much better" than in '99, as second-round
coverage Friday produced a 3.4 overnight rating, up 21% from
last year (WASHINGTON POST, 6/20). Sunday's final round
earned a 13.7 in Orlando, a 12.3 in West Palm Beach, 11.4 in
S.F., 8.7 in L.A., 8.6 in Chicago, 7.6 in N.Y. and 7.9 in
Boston (BOSTON GLOBE, 6/20). ELECTRONIC MEDIA notes that
fueled by Woods' "drawing power," NBC's Open coverage
"outperformed CBS's perennially top-ranked '60 Minutes'" on
Sunday, which drew a 7.6/16, the first half-hour of ABC's
"Wonderful World of Disney," which drew a 3.8/8, and Fox'
"Futurama," which drew a 3.1/6. NBC also "turned in time
period-best" 5.0, 5.8 and 7.6 rating averages in the adult
18-49, adult 25-54 and men 24-54 demos, respectively. ABC
won the evening, however, with an 8.1/15, as "Who Wants To
Be A Millionaire" posted a 14.9/25 (ELECTRONIC MEDIA, 6/19).
WOODS BLOSSOMS IN CANADA: Canada's TSN drew an average
audience of 499,000 viewers for more than six hours of final
round coverage, surpassing '99's average audience of 315,000
(TSN). In Toronto, Chris Zelkovich writes that Sunday's
average peaked at 677,000 viewers at 5:00pm ET, up 58% from
the '99 average. The rating for TSN's 30-hour, four-day
coverage of the Open averaged 322,000 viewers per minute, up
63% from the '99 total of 197,000 (TORONTO STAR, 6/20).
PRETTY KITTY? In N.Y., Richard Sandomir writes that
Woods "was irresistible," as NBC cut to him "407 times."
Sandomir: "NBC knew other golfers were out there, competing
in a lesser universe, incapable of lifting its ratings. But
NBC had to show them, probably by contract, yet with
reluctance." Sandomir adds that NBC's "priorities were
nearly always correct," as the net placed Woods in the
background of camera shots even when he was not hitting.
During his four-hour round, "Tiger's Face Time totaled 93
minutes 23 seconds. That's 39 percent of the slot between
3:40 p.m. and 7:40 p.m." But Sandomir notes that NBC's U.S.
Open rating was "puny" compared with CBS' 15.8 overnight for
the final round of Woods' 12-stroke victory at The Masters
in '97, and notes, "Perhaps the only factor that could have
jazzed up NBC's Sunday rating was stiff competition through
the 18th hole against a marquee rival" (N.Y. TIMES, 6/20).
In Baltimore, Ken Rosenthal writes that "as was the case"
with Michael Jordan, "even casual sports fans are captivated
by Woods' excellence" (Baltimore SUN, 6/20). In Milwaukee,
Bob Wolfley wrote that Woods "can deliver a record audience
all by himself in a major golf tournament," as the ratings
"suggest" that viewers "were drawn to the set to see him
make history" (MILWAUKEE JOURNAL SENTINEL, 6/19). In
Atlanta, Prentis Rogers writes that "suspense about the
outcome is not a requirement for the viewers" when Woods is
"dominating" a major (ATLANTA CONSTITUTION, 6/20). In DC,
Tony Kornheiser writes, "Tiger is the only guy out there now
who I'd change dinner plans to watch" (WASHINGTON POST,
6/20). In N.Y., George Vecsey writes that Woods "has stolen
this spring from everybody else," including the NBA Finals
and NHL Stanley Cup Championship. Vecsey: "The camera just
adores him -- trim and young, as athletic as an Olympic
swimmer, as feral as a Tomba or a Hamm" (N.Y. TIMES, 6/20).
BBDO's Steve Grubbs: "Anytime Tiger is leading in a final
round, he'll pull in the non-traditional golf viewers. What
the sport really needs is for someone else to challenge
Tiger to develop a rivalry" (Rudy Martzke, USA TODAY, 6/20).
