Ratings and viewership dropped by over a third for last week’s PBA Tournament of Champions, the first bowling telecast on broadcast television in over a decade.
The PBA Tournament of Champions earned a 0.8 final rating and 1.1 million viewers on ABC last Saturday, down 39% in ratings and 38% in viewership from last year (1.3, 1.765 mil, ESPN).
The substantial decline comes despite a move from cable network ESPN to broadcast network ABC.
Last year’s Tournament of Champions was won by Kelly Kulick, the first woman ever to win a PBA Tour event. In addition, the telecast had the benefit of a lead-in from ESPN’s Sunday NFL Countdown (2.2, 3.166 mil).
Though down from last year’s tournament, Sunday’s telecast topped the averages for the PBA on ESPN over the previous five seasons.
