Golf Channel, Versus Track Double-Digit Gains During Q2 Of '09

By Austin Karp, Assistant Managing Editor

Golf Channel tracked the biggest year-over-year gains among sports networks for total-day (+18%) and primetime (+27%) viewership during Q2 of '09. The net saw steady viewership increases for most programming during the three-month period, with original programming such as "The Golf Fix," "Golf Stakes" and "The Haney Project" contributing with increases in audience numbers. As part of a deal with CBS, Golf Channel also has shown live weekend coverage leading into select CBS' PGA Tour telecasts. The net had 12 such lead-ins during Q2, which averaged 545,000 viewers. Meanwhile, Versus also saw double-digit increases during Q2, riding strong NHL Playoffs viewership. ESPN saw a mixed bag during the second quarter, as the net set a Q2 record for total-day viewership, but saw primetime viewership drop 1% from the same period a year ago. The net saw increases in NBA Playoffs, College World Series and weekday morning "SportsCenter" viewership in the time frame. ESPN's 19 NBA Playoffs games saw a 14% jump in viewership for males 18-49 from '08, and a 76% increase from the '07 playoffs. TNT, led by the largest NBA Playoffs audience delivery in the net's 25-year history, saw an 8% gain in primetime viewers during Q2. For 43 NBA Playoffs telecasts on TNT, the net saw a 14% jump in viewership among males 18-34 from '08, and a 47% jump from '07. Fox Soccer Channel, which became a Nielsen-rated network last October, was up from Q1 of this year, when the net averaged 19,000 total-day viewers and 24,000 primetime viewers. The chart below lists total-day and primetime viewership for select cable sports nets during Q2 of '09 (March 30-June 28), compared to the same period last year (March 31-June 29).

SEVEN UP: Among the top 10 most-viewed telecasts on all of cable during Q2, NBA Playoffs telecasts occupied seven of those spots, according to live+same-day data from Nielsen. Golf Channel's most-viewed program during Q2 was its lead-in coverage of the final round of the PGA Tour Quail Hollow Championship on May 3 from 1:00-2:30pm ET, which averaged 1.289 million viewers. Versus' most-viewed program during the same period was the Penguins-Red Wings NHL Stanley Cup Finals Game Four on June 4, drawing 3.448 million viewers for the net's final NHL telecast of the season.