Golf Channel, Fuel TV See Record Viewership During Q3; Fox Soccer Down Sharply

Golf Channel saw its best Q3 in the net’s 17-year history, fueled by its most-viewed September and keeping the net on pace for another record-setting year. Q3 also marked Golf Channel’s fourth consecutive quarter of record viewership. The net averaged 103,000 total-day viewers in Q3, up 20% from last year. The net’s primetime Q3 average was 141,000 viewers, up 11%. Fuel TV in Q3 also had the net's best quarter. September marked the net’s best viewership in that period, and ninth straight month of growth. July marked the net’s biggest-ever monthly audience. The Olympics gave a daytime boost to NBC Sports Net during Q3 (+105%), but primetime viewership was down 8%. During the heart of the regular season, MLB Network saw declines for its Q3 audience. Primetime viewership for the net was down 14%. The addition of more regular-season games to the NFL Network slate paid dividends for the net’s Q3 average, with primetime viewership up 75%. ESPN and ESPN2 continued to lead all nets in viewership average, but both nets saw declines for total-day and primetime Q3 viewership. Fox Soccer saw the sharpest drop in Q3, down 31% in total-day audience and down 43% in primetime.