Open TV Viewing Figures Plunge By 75% In First Year Of Sky Sports Coverage

The peak TV audience for the final round of the Open Championship "suffered a drop of around 75% on last year in the first broadcasting by Sky Sports of the oldest major," according to Ewan Murray of the London GUARDIAN. The top viewing figure for the epic Royal Troon shootout between Henrik Stenson and Phil Mickelson, "combined between Sky Sports 1 and Sky Sports 4," was 1.1 million. Last year, "when the Open concluded on Monday because of severe weather disruption," that peak figure on the BBC reached 4.7 million. Notably BBC’s two-hour highlights show on Sunday evening "reached a higher peak" -- 1.5 million -- than Sky’s live coverage. Such statistics "will cast inevitable doubt on golf’s ability to grow using a non-terrestrial platform." Sky decided "not to offer comment on Sunday’s viewing figures." The satellite broadcaster "is believed to be citing a reach" of 8 million over four days of the Open (GUARDIAN, 7/18).