Some unexpected drama kept the U.S. Open from setting a final round record low, but it was another lost weekend for the USGA’s crown event.
Final round coverage of the U.S. Open earned a 3.8 overnight rating on FOX Sunday afternoon, down 21% from last year’s West Coast tournament, which bled further into primetime (4.8) but up 15% from 2014 on NBC (3.3). The 3.8 overnight is the second-lowest on record for Sunday coverage of the event (dates back to 1988), ahead of only 2014.
In two years on FOX, the U.S. Open has delivered two of its four lowest final round overnights. Including the record-low of 2014, the past three years join only 1988 as the lowest rated on record in the metered markets.
It was not clear what impact, if any, the USGA’s delayed decision to penalize eventual winner Dustin Johnson had on the ratings. The USGA did not announce until after the final round that it would penalize Johnson for an earlier infraction, leaving open the possibility that he could win the tournament and then have his victory wiped away. He ended up winning by a large enough margin that the penalty was moot, but the drama and controversy surrounding the indecision may have lured some otherwise uninterested observers.
Saturday’s third round coverage posted a 2.5 overnight on FOX, down 27% from last year, when coverage went later into primetime (3.4), and down a tick from 2014 on NBC (2.6). The 2.5 is the lowest on record for third round coverage, falling below the previous mark set in 2014.
In other action, Friday’s second round delivered a 1.5 rating and 2.2 million viewers on FOX, per Nielsen fast-nationals — down 21% in ratings and 24% in viewership from last year’s primetime coverage (1.9, 2.9M) but up a tick and 23%, respectively, from NBC’s afternoon window in 2014 (1.4, 1.8M). Ratings and viewership were the third-lowest for second round coverage on broadcast, ahead of only 2014 and 2011 (1.4, 1.8M).
(Wknd. numbers via ShowBuzz Daily)
