Overnight ratings for the PGA St. Jude Classic were either up or down, depending on the source.
Final round coverage of the PGA Tour St. Jude Classic earned a 1.7 overnight rating on CBS Sunday afternoon, according to ShowBuzz Daily, and a 1.4 according to Sports Business Daily. The 1.7 would represent an uptick from last year’s 1.6, while the 1.4 would mark a 13% decline. Considering the various extenuating circumstances, any year-over-year comparison should come with a caveat.
Sunday’s final round was delayed due to rain and had not concluded by the time CBS left the air. The tournament finished on CNBC, as usual overflow outlet Golf Channel was televising an LPGA major.
Beyond that, it was far from a typical Sunday in television, to say nothing of the nation at large. The broadcast networks aired breaking news coverage until mid-afternoon, as did all of the major cable news outlets. Even with rain delaying play, CBS left its newscast on time to air PGA coverage in full. NBC shortened its Formula 1 coverage, while ABC has no weekend sports to preempt.
On Saturday, third round coverage had a 1.5 overnight — up 36% from last year (1.1) and up 15% from 2014 (1.3).
(Sun. numbers via ShowBuzz Daily, Sports Business Daily)
