Ratings Roundup: PGA Championship Hits Multi-Year Low; Shapovalov Drives Most-Watched Tennis Match Ever on Sportsnet

Ratings roundup is a rundown of ratings news from the past week and is derived from press releases and reports around the industry. In this week’s edition, the PGA Championship final round hits a multi-year ratings and viewership low without, Turner sees big increases for its Thursday PGA Championship coverage, Canadian phenom Denis Shapovalov serves up Sportnet’s highest rated tennis match ever in Canada, and NBC’s weekend coverage of the RICOH Women’s British Open delivered the most-watched and highest-rated women’s golf telecasts of the year. 

Final round coverage of the PGA Championship earned a 3.2 rating and 4.905 million viewers on CBS Sunday afternoon, down 6% in ratings and 7% in viewership from last year (3.4, 5.3M) and down 27% in both measures from 2015 (4.4, 6.7M), according to SportsMediaWatch. Sunday marked the worst rating for final round coverage of the tournament since 2008 (2.8) and least-watched final round since 2012 (4.88M), both years in which the tournament aired opposite the Olympics. For context, the British Open on NBC drew a 3.1 rating and 4.910 million viewers, while the U.S. Open on FOX had 5.1 million viewers.

Third round action on Saturday pulled a 2.2 and 3.2 million, down 21% and 24% respectively from 2015 (2.8, 4.2M). Last year’s third round was rained out, earning a 1.3 and 1.8 million. Excluding rainouts, it was the lowest rated and least-watched third round since 2012 (2.0, 2.8M).

Lead-in coverage on TNT had a 0.9 (-10%) and 1.3 million (-8%) on Saturday an a 0.9 (flat) and 1.4 million (flat) on Sunday. Second round action on Friday had 1.2 million, down 13% from last year (1.3M) and down 39% from 2015 (1.9M). (SMW)

Turner Sports Sees Thursday Increases at PGA Championship
While weekend coverage struggled, Turner Sports’ multi-platform coverage of the 2017 PGA Championship generated audience increases across television, digital and social platforms.  TNT’s exclusive first round telecast – Thursday, from 1-7 p.m. ET – averaged a 0.8 U.S. HH rating and 1.1 million total viewers, increases of 14% and 9% over last year’s comparable coverage. TNT’s opening round telecast peaked with an average of 1.3 million viewers and a 0.9 HH rating from 5:30-5:45 p.m. ET, based on Nielsen Fast Nationals. Top rated local markets for Thursday’s telecast include Orlando, Oklahoma City and Fort Myers, all tied with a 1.9 HH rating.

Thursday’s first round coverage also scored for PGA.com, managed by Turner Sports, with a 64% increase in live video views and 29% growth in time spent watching live video over last year. PGA.com’s social accounts netted gains across the board with social video views across Twitter, Facebook and Instagram up 130% vs. 2016. Consumption across PGA.com’s Facebook LIVE and Periscope accounts were up nearly 200% when compared with last year…

Shapovalov Drives Most-Watched Tennis Match Ever on Sportsnet
Canada’s breakthrough tennis star, Denis Shapovalov delivered record viewership in Canada for Sportsnet last week. The 18-year-old’s semifinal match against eventual champion Alexander Zverev was the most-watched tennis match ever broadcast on Sportsnet with an average minute audience of 488,200 across Sportsnet and Sportsnet 360 on Saturday night. The audience number peaked at 741,600 people at 9:53 p.m. ET and the match reached 1.46 million viewers across Canada. In addition, the men’s quarter-final matches on Friday night, which included Shapovalov’s match against Adrian Mannarino, was the most-watched tennis broadcast ever on Sportsnet ONE with an average minute audience of 201,000 viewers

NBC Delivers Most Watched Women’s British Open Weekend Coverage in 10 Years
NBC’s weekend coverage of the RICOH Women’s British Open delivered the most-watched and highest-rated women’s golf telecasts year-to-date in 2017, the first time in history despite its morning/early afternoon telecast window. Sunday’s final round, which saw I.K. Kim win her first major championship, posted a .78 U.S. HH rating and 1.1 million viewers (11:30 a.m.-2:33 p.m. ET), +28% vs. 2016,  making it the highest-rated and most-watched final round telecast for women’s golf in 2017 and on NBC since the 2014 U.S. Women’s Open (2.035 million viewers). Final round coverage also was the most-watched final round at this event in more than 10 years (2006 on ABC, 1.592 million). The comparable three hours of broadcast coverage on NBC was +26% vs. the final three hours of the 2017 U.S. Women’s Open on FOX (3:30-6:41 p.m., 874K viewers) and +31% vs. the 2017 KPMG Women’s PGA Championship on NBC (3-6:04 p.m., 840K viewers).

The comparable five hours of RICOH Women’s British Open final round coverage across Golf Channel and NBC delivered a .58 U.S. HH rating and 824,000 viewers (9:30 a.m.-2:33 p.m. ET), also making it the most-watched women’s major 5-hour telecast in 2017 (+4% vs. 2017 U.S. Women’s Open on FOX, 790K viewers).

Saturday’s coverage of the RICOH Women’s British Open (11 a.m.-2 p.m. ET) delivered a .61 U.S. HH rating and 809K viewers, +33% vs. 2016, the most-watched third round women’s golf telecast this year and since the 2014 U.S. Women’s Open on NBC (1.455 million viewers). Saturday’s coverage also was the most-watched third round at this event in 10 years (2007 on ABC, 846K viewers). The comparable three hours of broadcast coverage was +19% vs. the 2017 U.S. Women’s Open on FOX (681K viewers) and +10% vs. the 2017 KPMG Women’s PGA Championship on NBC (736K viewers).