CBS finished with 11.05 million viewers for the final round of The Masters on Sunday, which saw Sergio Garcia defeat Justin Rose in a sudden death playoff. That figure is the lowest for the final round of the event since '14, when Bubba Watson won by three strokes (10.97 million viewers). Sunday's final round also was down 11% from last year, when Danny Willett won by three strokes. Hurting Sunday's final round numbers was a 9% drop in the numbers of U.S. homes using TVs (HUT levels), which has been largely attributed to nice weather on the East Coast. Meanwhile, Saturday's third round, which saw HUT levels down 10%, drew 6.47 million viewers, down 19% from last year (Austin Karp, Assistant Managing Editor).
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THE MASTERS: FINAL ROUND AUDIENCE TREND ON CBS
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YEAR
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WINNER
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VIEWERS (000)
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TIGER WOODS
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'17*
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Sergio Garcia
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11,051
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DNP
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'16
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Danny Willett
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12,398
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DNP
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'15
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Jordan Spieth
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14,000
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17t
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'14
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Bubba Watson
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10,970
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DNP
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'13*
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Adam Scott
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14,700
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4t
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'12*^
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Bubba Watson
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13,500
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40t
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'11
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Charl Schwartzel
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15,257
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4t
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'10
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Phil Mickelson
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16,676
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4t
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'09*^
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Angel Cabrera
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14,303
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6t
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'08
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Trevor Immelman
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13,148
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2
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CHART NOTES: * = Ended in playoff. ^ = Aired on Easter Sunday.
REASONS FOR THE DROP: Pilson Communications President Neal Pilson, the former president of CBS Sports, said weather "can be an important factor" in impacting TV ratings and viewership. Pilson: "Extraordinarily good weather in parts of the country can bring numbers down." GOLF DIGEST's Joel Beall noted this was "especially true in the Northeast and the South, the two biggest areas for golf viewership." Pilson: "It was a gorgeous day in the Northeast, where 20 percent of America's households are located. I had to struggle to stay inside myself." Pilson also said of Garcia and Rose, "All due respect to two guys who are very good, they're not names that leap in front of the casual viewer. ... No [Jordan] Spieth, no Rory McIlroy or Jason Day. Dustin Johnson was not even in the tournament. They are the hottest golfers right now, and were absent on Sunday afternoon" (GOLFDIGEST.com, 4/11). ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne said with the Garcia-Rose playoff, she “can’t even believe” how much the audience dropped, but Garcia “was never really embraced by the American public.” The Colorado Springs Gazette’s Woody Paige said of having two Europeans contending for the title, "Whether we want to admit it or not, I think that made a difference in the viewership" ("Around The Horn," ESPN, 4/10).
