CBS finished with 5.29 million viewers for the final round of the PGA Championship last Sunday, which saw Jimmy Walker hold off Jason Day by one stroke. That figure is the lowest final round for the event since ’12 (4.9 million viewers), when Rory McIlroy won by eight strokes and the event aired up against the London Games. The final round this year is down from 6.69 million viewers last year, when Day beat Jordan Spieth by three strokes. The high mark for the PGA Championship over the last decade was 10.08 million viewers in ’09, when Y.E. Yang held off Tiger Woods.
|
PGA CHAMPIONSHIP FINAL ROUND AUDIENCE TREND ON CBS
|
|
YEAR
|
VIEWERS (000)
|
WINNER (STROKES)
|
RUNNER(S) UP
|
TIGER
|
|
'16
|
5,285
|
Jimmy Walker (1)
|
Jason Day
|
DNP
|
|
'15
|
6,682
|
Jason Day (3)
|
Jordan Spieth
|
Cut
|
|
'14
|
8,238
|
Rory McIlroy (1)
|
Phil Mickelson
|
Cut
|
|
'13
|
5,536
|
Jason Dufner (2)
|
Jim Furyk
|
T40
|
|
'12*
|
4,895
|
Rory McIlroy (8)
|
David Lynn
|
T11
|
|
'11
|
6,107
|
Keegan Bradley (playoff)
|
Jason Dufner
|
T11
|
|
'10
|
6,511
|
Martin Kaymer (playoff)
|
Bubba Watson
|
T28
|
|
'09
|
10,079
|
Y.E. Yang (3)
|
Tiger Woods
|
2
|
|
'08*
|
4,020
|
Padraig Harrington (2)
|
Sergio Garcia, Ben Curtis
|
DNP
|
|
'07
|
9,165
|
Tiger Woods (2)
|
Woody Austin
|
1
|
| |
|
|
|
|
STAR FALL: ESPN last Wednesday averaged 513,000 viewers for the MLS All-Star Game (vs. Arsenal), marking the event’s lowest figure since ’13, when ESPN2 drew 319,000 viewers for the game featuring AS Roma. ESPN’s telecast this year was down slightly from 548,000 viewers on FS1 last year when the MLS All-Stars played Tottenham Hotspur.
|
MLS ALL-STAR GAME AUDIENCE TREND
|
|
YEAR
|
NET
|
OPPONENT
|
VIEWERS (000)
|
|
'16
|
ESPN
|
Arsenal
|
513
|
|
'15
|
FS1
|
Tottenham Hotspur
|
548
|
|
'14
|
ESPN2
|
Bayern Munich
|
862
|
|
'13
|
ESPN2
|
AS Roma
|
319
|
|
'12
|
ESPN2
|
Chelsea
|
530
|
|
|
|
|
|
MAJOR STEP: Golf Channel had its best July audience on record, averaging 136,000 viewers on a total-day basis. That figure was fueled by the net’s first-ever live coverage of a major (British Open), and marks the net’s second-best monthly audience this year to date. Also in July, PGA Tour viewership was up 9%, while European Tour coverage was up 25%.
BILL BOARD: HBO on Wednesday averaged 247,000 viewers for the premiere of the the seventh episode of "Any Given Wednesday," which featured Bill Simmons interviewing Caitlyn Jenner. That figure is up from 163,000 viewers for the premiere of last week's episode, and the best premiere since July 3. Through seven premieres, the HBO show is averaging 236,000 viewers.
The chart below lists final audience figures from recent sports telecasts.
| TELECAST |
DATE
|
NET
|
TIME (ET)
|
RAT.
|
VIEWERS
(000)
|
| PGA Championship: Third, Final Rounds* |
7/31
|
CBS
|
2:00-7:40pm
|
3.4
|
5,285
|
| MLB: Mariners-Cubs |
7/31
|
ESPN
|
8:00pm-12:29am
|
n/a
|
1,786
|
| PGA Championship: Third Round* |
7/30
|
CBS
|
2:00-7:00pm
|
1.3
|
1,780
|
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series:
Pennsylvania 400 (rain delay) |
7/31
|
NBCSN
|
12:42-2:53pm
|
n/a
|
1,728
|
| PGA Championship: Third Round |
7/30
|
TNT
|
11:00am-2:00pm
|
n/a
|
1,383
|
| PGA Championship: Third, Final Rounds* |
7/31
|
TNT
|
9:00am-2:00pm
|
n/a
|
1,363
|
| PGA Championship: Second Round |
7/29
|
TNT
|
1:00-7:30pm
|
n/a
|
1,320
|
| Liga MX: Club America-Tigres UANL |
7/30
|
Univision
|
9:59pm-12:04am
|
0.6
|
1,207
|
Breeders' Cup Challenger Series:
Haskell Invitational |
7/31
|
NBC
|
5:00-6:00pm
|
0.8
|
1,071
|
NASCAR Xfinity Series:
U.S. Cellular 250 (Iowa) |
7/30
|
NBCSN
|
8:20-10:24pm
|
n/a
|
1,053
|
| NHRA: Toyota Sonoma Nationals |
7/31
|
Fox
|
4:00-7:00pm
|
0.7
|
998
|
| Liga MX: Monterrey-Cruz Azul |
7/30
|
Univision
|
7:55-9:59pm
|
0.5
|
994
|
| PGA Championship: First Round |
7/28
|
TNT
|
1:00-7:00pm
|
n/a
|
977
|
| MLB: Tigers-Red Sox |
7/25
|
ESPN
|
7:00-10:42pm
|
n/a
|
864
|
| Ricoh Women's British Open: Final Round |
7/31
|
NBC
|
11:00am-2:00pm
|
0.6
|
858
|
Verizon IndyCar Series:
Honda Indy 200 (Mid-Ohio)** |
7/31
|
NBCSN
|
2:53-4:46pm
|
n/a
|
811
|
NASCAR Camping World Truck Series:
Pocono Mountains 150 |
7/30
|
FS1
|
12:58-2:51pm
|
n/a
|
775
|
| "30 for 30": "Little Big Men" |
7/30
|
ABC
|
4:00-5:00pm
|
0.4
|
623
|
| Ricoh Women's British Open: Third Round |
7/30
|
NBC
|
11:00am-2:00pm
|
0.5
|
608
|
| Dew Tour: Long Beach (taped) |
7/30
|
NBC
|
5:00-6:00pm
|
0.4
|
587
|
| "E:60 Pictures: Love Is Stronger" |
7/30
|
ABC
|
3:30-4:00pm
|
0.4
|
525
|
| "Kerri Walsh Jennings: Gold Within" |
7/31
|
NBC
|
4:00-5:00pm
|
0.4
|
520
|
| "World of X Games: Real Wake" |
7/30
|
ABC
|
2:30-3:30pm
|
0.3
|
475
|
| "PGA Special: Faldo Series" |
7/30
|
CBS
|
1:30-2:00pm
|
0.3
|
426
|
| Dew Tour: Long Beach (taped) |
7/31
|
NBC
|
2:00-4:00pm
|
0.3
|
408
|
| MLS: Sporting KC-Timbers |
7/31
|
Fox
|
1:45-4:00pm
|
0.2
|
349
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
NOTES: * = Rain shortened play on Saturday. ** = Race moved from CNBC to NBCSN after NASCAR race rained out. The race was simulcast on CNBC as well, drawing 202,000 viewers.
