Tour de France viewership has increased by nearly a third. In other news, the final round of the John Deere Classic had a double-digit rise in ratings, and the latest USA Basketball exhibition dipped below one million viewers.
- Tour De France Viewership Up Nearly a Third: Coverage of the Tour de France has averaged 409,000 viewers on NBC and NBC Sports Network, according to Sports Business Daily, up 29% from coverage on Versus last year (317K). (Sports Business Daily)
- Final Round John Deere Classic Up Double-Digits: Final round coverage of the PGA John Deere Classic drew a 2.2 final rating on CBS last Sunday, up 38% from last year (1.6), and up 83% from 2010 (1.2). According to Sports Business Daily, this marks the highest rating for the final round of the event since 1999 (2.5). On Saturday, third round coverage drew a 1.2 final rating — up a tick from last year (1.1), and up 20% from 2010 (1.0). (Sports Business Daily)
- 900K For Latest USA Exhibition: The United States/Great Britain men’s basketball exhibition game drew 900,000 viewers on ESPN2 Wednesday afternoon, the smallest audience of the exhibition schedule. Previous games aired in primetime. Despite the lower numbers, Wednesday’s telecast drew a better rating among adults 18-49 (0.4) than coverage of the British Open on ESPN (0.3). (TV By the Numbers)
