The final round of the Honda Classic was the most-viewed PGA Tour telecast of the season-to-date. In other news, ABC had another rough outing for NBA coverage, and Syracuse again attracted a strong audience on ESPN.
Honda Classic Hits Season-High
- Final round coverage of the PGA Tour Honda Classic earned a 2.6 final rating and 3.9 million viewers on NBC last Sunday, up 30% in ratings and 38% in viewership from last year (2.0, 2.8M), but down 7% and 6%, respectively, from 2012 (2.8, 4.1M). According to Sports Business Daily, the final round earned the largest audience of the season for any PGA Tour event [SBD, 3/7]. On Saturday, third round action earned a 1.5 and 2.1 million — down a tick in ratings and 4% in viewership from last year (1.6, 2.2M), and down 12% and 11%, respectively, from 2012 (1.7, 2.3M).
Knicks/Bulls Hits Season-Low
- Last Sunday’s Knicks/Bulls NBA regular season game earned a 1.6 final rating and 2.6 million viewers on ABC, down 43% in ratings and 36% in viewership from Heat/Knicks last year (2.8, 4.1M), and down 52% and 48%, respectively, from Knicks/Celtics in 2012 (3.3, 5.0M). The 1.6 rating is the lowest for any NBA telecast on ABC since April 2011. ABC has wisely replaced the April 13 Bulls/Knicks rematch with Thunder/Pacers. (ESPN)
ACC Continues to Generate Strong Numbers on ESPN
- The Syracuse/Virginia men’s college basketball game, won by Virginia to clinch the ACC regular season title, drew a 1.5 U.S. rating and 2.5 million viewers on ESPN last Saturday [SBD, 3/7]. The game earned the seventh-largest audience of the season on ESPN. Three of the seven most-viewed games have involved Syracuse, and five of the seven have involved at least one ACC team.
