U.S. Open Up From Record-Low Four-Day Audience In '14, Below Prior West Coast Trips

Fox and FS1 combined to average 3.5 million viewers for four days of U.S. Open golf coverage, up big from last year’s record-low figures on NBC and ESPN, but still the fourth-least viewed U.S. Open since at least ’95. Coverage from Chambers Bay allowed Fox Sports to air four consecutive nights of coverage in primetime, and the 3.5 million viewers were up 40% from 2.5 million viewers last year on NBC and ESPN, when coverage from Pinehurst No. 2 aired primarily during the afternoon. Four-day coverage from Chambers Bay marks the least-viewed U.S. Open from a West Coast venue with scheduled primetime coverage (’12, ’10, ’08). It also was down 10% from 3.9 million viewers in ’13, when coverage from Merion Golf Club aired in daytime.

FOUR-DAY VIEWERSHIP AVERAGE FOR U.S. OPEN
YEAR	NETWORKS	COURSE	VIEWERS (000)
'15	Fox/FS1	Chambers Bay	3,500
'14	NBC/ESPN	Pinehurst No. 2	2,500
'13	NBC/ESPN	Merion	3,900
'12	NBC/ESPN	Olympic	4,800
'11	NBC/ESPN	Congressional	3,100
'10	NBC/ESPN	Pebble Beach	4,300
'09	NBC/ESPN	Bethpage	3,800
'08	NBC/ESPN	Torrey Pines	4,600

FINISHING MOVE: Fox concluded its coverage on Sunday with an average of 6.7 million viewers from 2:00-10:46pm ET, with peak coverage (11.2 million viewers) coming during the 10:00-10:30pm window as Jordan Spieth and Dustin Johnson played the 18th hole. The primetime portion of Fox’ telecast (7:00-10:46pm) averaged 8.7 million viewers, giving the net its best Sunday night since the Cowboys-Lions NFC Wild Card bled into primetime on Jan. 4. The 6.7 million viewers for Fox is up 46% from Martin Kaymer’s runaway victory last year on NBC (4.6 million viewers), but still the second-least watched final round for the U.S. Open since ’95. Compared to the most recent West Coast U.S. Opens, Chambers Bay final round viewership was down 30% from 9.6 million viewers in ’12 (Olympic) and down 28% from 9.3 million viewers in ’10 (Pebble Beach). Fox’ final coverage also was down 20% from 8.4 million viewers in ’13 (daytime coverage from Merion) (Austin Karp, Assistant Managing Editor).

U.S. OPEN FINAL ROUND AUDIENCE TREND
YEAR	COURSE	NET	VIEWERS (000)	WINNER	STROKES	TIGER
'15	Chambers Bay	Fox	6,700	Jordan Spieth	1	Cut
'14	Pinehurst No. 2	NBC	4,600	Martin Kaymer	8	DNP
'13	Merion	NBC	8,400	Justin Rose	2	T32
'12	Olympic	NBC	9,600	Webb Simpson	1	T21
'11	Congressional	NBC	7,369	Rory McIlroy	8	DNP
'10	Pebble Beach	NBC	9,266	Graeme McDowell	1	T4
'09	Bethpage	NBC	7,073	Lucas Glover	2	T6
'08	Torrey Pines	NBC	12,080	Tiger Woods	Playoff	1

MISSING THE GREEN: In N.Y., Richard Sandomir writes Fox had a "poor debut" as U.S. Open broadcaster, as there were "numerous unforced errors" during the net's coverage. Fox did not have a camera "focused on Spieth to get his immediate reaction to Johnson's missed putts on the 18th hole" that gave Spieth the victory. While he was "found by Fox soon after, ... the shot that best conveyed his shock was lost forever." There was a "wildly inconsistent use of graphics to show putting lengths," as well as a "lack of consistency in the way players' graphics immediately changed to reflect a change in score." The use of "tracer technology to chart the flight of a tee shot is interesting, but it appeared to serve as a surrogate for Fox's cameras trying to locate the ball in the air." As for Fox' on-air talent, Greg Norman "must push himself to speak more, to be more insightful, to invite debate and not disappear for lengthy periods during an eight-hour broadcast." He also needs to "use his personal experiences far more to enliven his commentary." Meanwhile, Curt Menefee was "far out of his element," showing "none of the confidence he brings to his role" on "Fox NFL Sunday" (N.Y. TIMES, 6/23). GOLF DIGEST's John Strege offered several things Fox could improve on, including moving Holly Sonders "to the role of moderator." She was "underutilized and in the wrong role" as a post-round interviewer. Menefee's "limited knowledge of golf became apparent early," and Sonders "would have been a better fit" there. Norman might be an "identifiable brand in the lead analyst's chair," but perhaps "less Norman and more Brad Faxon" would be better. Norman tended "not to lead the analysis, but to follow points made by other commentators." Meanwhile, Fox made "excellent use of its shot tracer, employing it frequently and all around the course." However, the net "would have benefitted from cutting away from it and showing the actual ball landing" (GOLFDIGEST.com, 6/22).

TOO MANY VOICES: In California, Larry Bohannan wrote it is "fair to say Fox struggled at times" during the tournament, but it "wasn't all bad." Norman "was fine," but a bigger concern was that there were "too many voices on the telecast which focused on too many panel discussions early in the broadcast." Sonders "could have been used for more live, pre-tournament interviews," and Juli Inkster was "barely a presence as an on-course correspondent." Inkster "seemed to be the person who suffered most from Fox's too-many voices." Fox wanted its coverage "to look different," but "cutting back to something more traditional might help." Keeping Joe Buck and Norman in the "lead positions," putting Faxon, Shane O'Donoghue and Steve Flesch on hole coverage and putting Inkster, Corey Pavin and Scott McCarron "on the course might well be enough voices, and might give those voices all something more to talk about" (DESERTSUN.com, 6/22). On Long Island, Neil Best writes Norman has the "personality and knowledge to become a strong analyst, but he will need some guidance." Best: "Shark, sir: It's OK to talk, or at least whisper, about strategy when a guy is lining up three consecutive putts on the 72nd hole" (NEWSDAY, 6/23).

WAITING FOR DAY BREAK: WFAN's Mike Francesa yesterday offered his opinions of Fox' coverage, saying the net on Sunday “had a rough day.” While saying he did not take issue with Buck, he noted the on-air talent "talked too much.” Francesa said, “They had a second set, which made no sense because the only thing you want to see is shots, you want to see golf. That kind of event you want to see action. We don’t want a lot of chatter, and you got way too much chatter." He added, "They fell in love with the (Jason) Day story to the point that they spent minutes following Day as he walked up and down stairs ... instead of showing golf shots. We didn’t need to have him chronicled every step of the way.” Fox stayed with Day “when he was already out of the tournament ... and no one cared at that point.” Francesa pointed out there was "high drama on the 18th green,” and Norman failed to discuss how the putts “were going to react.” Viewers at that point “were dying for Faldo or Johnny Miller,” as Norman did not “tell you one thing about those putts.” Francesa: “They need a lot of work. Their first go was a disaster” (“Francesa,” WFAN-AM, 6/22). Francesa's comments led FS1's Jay Onrait and Dan O'Toole last night to introduce a tongue-in-cheek "new segment" called "Mike Reviews Our Golf Coverage.” FS1’s Dan O’Toole noted Francesa “spent the weekend watching our U.S. Open golf coverage and gave us his assessment.” The broadcast then aired a brief clip where Francesa said, “They talk too much.” O’Toole added, “This has been ‘Mike Reviews Our Golf Coverage’” (“Fox Sports Live,” FS1, 6/23).

KEYS FOR IMPROVEMENT: SI.com's Richard Deitsch asked several media members what advice they would give Fox for next year. Newsday's Best wrote Fox most needs "experience and refinement," as golf is the "most difficult sport to cover on television." Best noted Fox should "keep all of the technical gizmos and gimmicks it rolled out," but with "some tweaks." Best: "Most or all of them worked, especially the enhanced on-course audio." Golfweek's David Dusek wrote he hopes Fox "keeps liberally using the tracers off the tee." But the net "needs to do a better job of providing the 'down and distance' that golf viewers need." SI Golf Plus' Dick Friedman noted Fox could use both a "TV golf historian" and "better casting." Friedman: "You need not only strong, distinctive views but also strong, distinctive voices. Most important: You need a foil for Greg Norman." The N.Y. Post's Michael Walker wrote Norman "was a disappointment" this year, but one way to improve his performance would be to get him "talking about himself." That is something CBS "embraces" with analyst Nick Faldo, as the net's broadcasters often set Faldo up "to talk about how he would have played certain shots, what he thought of certain courses, etc." Walker: "Next year, Buck needs to put Norman in a similar position and Norman needs to run with it" (SI.com, 6/22).