Of the PGA Tour's 20 weekend rounds broadcast through the Honda Classic's final round March 14 this year, 13 saw a decline in the Nielsen ratings. The FBR Open, formerly the Phoenix Open, experienced the greatest uptick with a 56.3% third-round increase from '03 and up 15.4% in the fourth round. The Chrysler Classic of Tucson, played the same weekend of the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship, is omitted.
TIGER: To date, Tiger Woods has played in four events — the Mercedes Championship, Buick Invitational, Nissan Open and WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship. Despite Tiger's repeat win at the Accenture, the event's Sunday ratings fell 5.9% from '03. Three of the four events he has participated in are off on both weekend telecasts as compared from '03. Last year at the same point, Woods had played the Buick Invitational and the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship, winning both, as well as the Nissan Open, where he placed fifth (THE DAILY).
| '04 PGA TOUR WEEKEND NIELSEN RATINGS THROUGH MARCH 14 |
| | ———THIRD——— | ——FOURTH—— |
| TOURNAMENT | NET | '04 | '03 | %+/- | '04 | '03 | % +/- |
| Mercedes Champ. | ESPN | 0.72 | 0.55 | 30.9% | 1.30 | 1.15 | 13.0% |
| Sony Open | ESPN | 0.95 | 0.96 | -1.0% | 0.97 | 0.96 | 1.0% |
| Bob Hope Classic | ABC^ | 2.0/5 | 2.2/5 | -9.1% | 3.8/8 | 3.5/8 | 8.6% |
| FBR Open | ABC^ | 2.5/6 | 1.6/4 | 56.3% | 3.0/6 | 2.6/5 | 15.4% |
| Pebble Beach | CBS | 2.5/6 | 2.6/7 | -3.8% | 3.4/7 | 3.5/8 | -2.9% |
| Buick Invt'l | CBS | 3.1/8 | 4.2/10 | -26.2% | 4.4/9 | 6.1/12 | -27.9% |
| Nissan Open | ABC | 2.8/7 | 3.1/8 | -9.7% | 3.9/9 | 4.6/10 | -15.2% |
| WGC-Accenture | ABC | 3.5/9 | 3.8/9 | -7.9% | 4.8/12 | 5.1/11 | -5.9% |
| Ford Championship | NBC | 2.1/6 | 2.0/6 | 5.0% | 2.8/7 | 3.3/8 | -15.2% |
| The Honda Classic | NBC | 1.8/5 | 2.0/6 | -10.0% | 2.6/6 | 2.8/7 | -7.1% |
NOTES: ^ = CBS provided coverage in '03.
