2012 was a red hot year for professional golf, at least compared to the last two seasons.
Of the 70 PGA Tour telecasts on CBS, NBC and ESPN, a whopping 50* had increases in ratings compared to the previous edition of the tournament. Furthermore, 42 telecasts were up double-digits, and 23 increased by at least 50%.
Fifteen telecasts attracted at least 3% of U.S. television households, matching the combined total of the previous two years.
The top golf telecast of the year was, unsurprisingly, the final round of The Masters (8.0, 13.487M). With that said, all four major telecasts on CBS (third and final round coverage of The Masters and the PGA Championship) had double-digit declines.
On the flip side, the lowest rated telecast of the year was the third round of the RBC Canadian Open, which earned a 0.6 opposite the first full day of the Olympics.
The year ended on a strong note, as nine of the final ten telecasts (the FedEx Cup tournaments and the Ryder Cup) had increases of over 50% compared to last year. The only exception was still up by more than 40%.
Ratings For Every Weekend PGA Tour Telecast This Season
| Date | Event | Round | Net | 2012 | 2011 | vs. ’11 | 2010 | vs. ’10 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sat., 1/28/12 | Farmers Insurance Open | Third | CBS |
1.0
|
2.0
|
-50%
|
1.5
|
-33%
|
| Sun., 1/29/12 | Final | CBS |
1.8
|
3.5
|
-49%
|
2.2
|
-18%
|
|
| Sat., 2/4/12 | Phoenix Open | Third | CBS |
1.3
|
1.7
|
-24%
|
N/A
|
|
| Sun., 2/5/12 | Final | CBS |
2.0
|
1.8
|
+11%
|
N/A
|
||
| Sat., 2/11/12 | Pebble Beach National Pro-Am | Third | CBS |
2.6
|
1.6
|
+63%
|
1.2
|
+117%
|
| Sun., 2/12/12 | Final | CBS |
4.9
|
2.3
|
+113%
|
1.6
|
+206%
|
|
| Sat., 2/18/12 | Northern Trust Open | Third | CBS |
2.1
|
N/A
|
1.4
|
+50%
|
|
| Sun., 2/19/12 | Final | CBS |
4.2
|
2.3
|
+83%
|
1.7
|
+147%
|
|
| Sat., 2/25/12 | Accenture Match Play Championship | Third | NBC |
1.3
|
1.7
|
-24%
|
0.8
|
+63%
|
| Sun., 2/26/12 | Final | NBC |
2.3
|
1.7
|
+35%
|
2.1
|
+10%
|
|
| Sat., 3/3/12 | Honda Classic | Third | NBC |
1.7
|
1.5
|
+13%
|
1.2
|
+42%
|
| Sun., 3/4/12 | Final | NBC |
2.8
|
1.7
|
+65%
|
1.6
|
+75%
|
|
| Sat., 3/10/12 | Cadillac Championship | Third | NBC |
2.0
|
1.4
|
+43%
|
1.3
|
+54%
|
| Sun., 3/11/12 | Final | NBC |
2.8
|
2.3
|
+22%
|
1.9
|
+47%
|
|
| Sat., 3/17/12 | Transitions Championship | Third | NBC |
1.1
|
1.0
|
+10%
|
1.0
|
+10%
|
| Sun., 3/18/12 | Final | NBC |
1.8
|
1.4
|
+29%
|
1.7
|
+6%
|
|
| Sat., 3/24/12 | Arnold Palmer Invitational | Third | NBC |
2.7
|
1.8
|
+50%
|
1.3
|
+108%
|
| Sun., 3/25/12 | Final | NBC |
4.3
|
1.9
|
+126%
|
1.5
|
+187%
|
|
| Sat., 3/31/12 | Shell Houston Open | Third | NBC |
1.9
|
1.5
|
+27%
|
1.2
|
+58%
|
| Sun., 4/1/12 | Final | NBC |
2.4
|
2.4
|
even
|
2.0
|
+20%
|
|
| Sat., 4/7/12 | The Masters | Third | CBS |
5.0
|
6.5
|
-23%
|
6.7
|
-25%
|
| Sun., 4/8/12 | Final | CBS |
8.0
|
9.5
|
-16%
|
10.7
|
-25%
|
|
| Sat., 4/14/12 | RBC Heritage | Third | CBS |
1.2
|
1.1
|
+9%
|
1.0
|
+20%
|
| Sun., 4/15/12 | Final | CBS |
1.6
|
1.9
|
-16%
|
1.9
|
-16%
|
|
| Sat., 4/21/12 | Texas Open | Third | CBS |
1.0
|
0.9
|
+11%
|
0.8
|
+25%
|
| Sun., 4/22/12 | Final | CBS |
1.4
|
1.2
|
+17%
|
1.3
|
+8%
|
|
| Sat., 4/28/12 | Zurich Classic of New Orleans | Third | CBS |
1.2
|
1.1
|
+9%
|
1.1
|
+9%
|
| Sun., 4/29/12 | Final | CBS |
2.0
|
1.9
|
+5%
|
1.3
|
+54%
|
|
| Sat., 5/5/12 | Quail Hollow Championship | Third | CBS |
1.3
|
1.2
|
+8%
|
1.3
|
even
|
| Sun., 5/6/12 | Final | CBS |
2.3
|
1.8
|
+28%
|
2.2
|
+5%
|
|
| Sat., 5/12/12 | The Players Championship | Third | NBC |
2.3
|
1.4
|
+64%
|
2.3
|
even
|
| Sun., 5/13/12 | Final | NBC |
3.2
|
3.1
|
+3%
|
3.0
|
+7%
|
|
| Sat., 5/19/12 | Byron Nelson Invitational | Third | CBS |
1.1
|
1.1
|
even
|
0.9
|
+22%
|
| Sun., 5/20/12 | Final | CBS |
1.9
|
1.4
|
+36%
|
1.5
|
+27%
|
|
| Sat., 5/26/12 | Crowne Plaza Invitational | Third | CBS |
1.2
|
1.1
|
+9%
|
0.8
|
+50%
|
| Sun., 5/27/12 | Final | CBS |
1.7
|
1.9
|
-11%
|
0.9
|
+89%
|
|
| Sat., 6/2/12 | The Memorial | Third | CBS |
2.4
|
1.4
|
+71%
|
1.6
|
+50%
|
| Sun., 6/3/12 | Final | CBS |
3.5
|
1.3
|
+169%
|
2.8
|
+25%
|
|
| Sat., 6/9/12 | St. Jude Classic | Third | CBS |
1.2
|
1.0
|
+20%
|
1.0
|
+20%
|
| Sun., 6/10/12 | Final | CBS |
1.7
|
1.8
|
-6%
|
1.7
|
even
|
|
| Sat., 6/16/12 | U.S. Open | Third | NBC |
5.0
|
3.1
|
+61%
|
3.7
|
+35%
|
| Sun., 6/17/12 | Final | NBC |
6.0
|
4.5
|
+33%
|
5.8
|
+3%
|
|
| Sat., 6/23/12 | Travelers Championship | Third | CBS |
1.1
|
1.1
|
even
|
0.8
|
+38%
|
| Sun., 6/24/12 | Final | CBS |
1.6
|
1.3
|
+23%
|
1.7
|
-6%
|
|
| Sat., 6/30/12 | AT&T National | Third | CBS |
2.2
|
1.1
|
+100%
|
1.3
|
+69%
|
| Sun., 7/1/12 | Final | CBS |
4.4
|
1.5
|
+193%
|
1.8
|
+144%
|
|
| Sat., 7/7/12 | The Greenbrier Classic | Third | CBS |
1.4
|
0.9
|
+56%
|
1.0
|
+40%
|
| Sun., 7/8/12 | Final | CBS |
2.2
|
1.3
|
+69%
|
1.2
|
+83%
|
|
| Sat., 7/14/12 | John Deere Classic | Third | CBS |
1.2
|
1.1
|
+9%
|
1.0
|
+20%
|
| Sun., 7/15/12 | Final | CBS |
2.2
|
1.6
|
+38%
|
1.2
|
+83%
|
|
| Sat., 7/21/12 | British Open | Third | ESPN |
2.6
|
1.8
|
+44%
|
2.3
|
+13%
|
| Sun., 7/22/12 | Final | ESPN |
3.1
|
2.3
|
+35%
|
2.1
|
+48%
|
|
| Sat., 7/28/12 | RBC Canadian Open | Third | CBS |
0.6
|
1.0
|
-40%
|
0.8
|
-25%
|
| Sun., 7/29/12 | Final | CBS |
0.8
|
1.8
|
-56%
|
1.2
|
-33%
|
|
| Sat., 8/4/12 | Bridgestone Invitational | Third | CBS |
0.9
|
1.9
|
-53%
|
1.4
|
-36%
|
| Sun., 8/5/12 | Final | CBS |
1.3
|
2.6
|
-50%
|
2.1
|
-38%
|
|
| Sat., 8/11/12 | PGA Championship | Third | CBS |
2.0
|
2.3
|
-13%
|
2.8
|
-29%
|
| Sun., 8/12/12 | Final | CBS |
3.4
|
4.1
|
-17%
|
4.3
|
-21%
|
|
| Sat., 8/18/12 | Wyndham Championship | Third | CBS |
1.2
|
1.1
|
+9%
|
1.0
|
+20%
|
| Sun.., 8/19/12 | Final | CBS |
1.1
|
1.6
|
-31%
|
1.4
|
-21%
|
|
| Fed Ex Cup | ||||||||
| Sat., 8/25/12 | The Barclays | Third | CBS |
1.9
|
1.1
|
+73%
|
1.7
|
+12%
|
| Sun., 8/26/12 | Final | CBS |
2.5
|
0.7
|
+257%
|
2.1
|
+19%
|
|
| Sun., 9/2/12 | Deutsche Bank Championship | Third | NBC |
2.4
|
1.4
|
+71%
|
1.5
|
+60%
|
| Mon., 9/3/12 | Final | NBC |
3.3
|
1.8
|
+83%
|
1.9
|
+74%
|
|
| Sat., 9/8/12 | BMW Championship | Third | NBC |
1.6
|
0.7
|
+129%
|
1.1
|
+45%
|
| Sun., 9/9/12 | Final | NBC |
2.5
|
0.9
|
+178%
|
1.3
|
+92%
|
|
| Sat., 9/22/12 | Tour Championship | Third | NBC |
2.0
|
1.0
|
+100%
|
0.9
|
+122%
|
| Sun., 9/23/12 | Final | NBC |
2.0
|
1.4
|
+43%
|
1.0
|
+100%
|
|
| Ryder Cup | ||||||||
| Sat., 9/29/12 | Ryder Cup | Third | NBC |
3.0
|
N/A
|
1.8
|
+67%
|
|
| Sun., 9/30/12 | Final | NBC |
3.8
|
N/A
|
2.1
|
+81%
|
||
* Excludes the third round of the Northern Trust Open, as no comparison was available to the most recent edition of the tournament.
