In the ratings department, it was a long, bad summer for the PGA Tour.
Final round coverage of The Barclays, the first leg of the PGA Tour FedEx Cup, earned a 1.8 final rating and 2.6 million viewers on CBS last Sunday — down 22% in ratings and 23% in viewership from last year (2.3, 3.4M), down a tick and 4%, respectively, from 2014 (1.9, 2.7M).
The 1.8 rating is the lowest for final round coverage of The Barclays since 2008, when the tournament took place during the Olympics (1.7), and the fourth-lowest in the past 20 seasons — ahead of only 2008, 2005 (1.3) and 2002 (1.7). Keep in mind that excludes 2011, when the final round was canceled to avoid Hurricane Irene.
The multi-year low continued a summer-long slump in PGA Tour ratings. Since the start of June, 10 of 12 final round windows on broadcast have posted declines in both ratings and viewership. Nine of those 10 have declined by double-digits, including a three-week stretch opposite the Olympics in which ratings and viewership sank by more than 50%.
Notably, The Barclays was the sixth of 12 tournaments this summer to hit a multi-year low for final round coverage — joining the Bridgestone Invitational, Canadian Open, PGA Championship, John Deere Classic, and Wyndham Championship.
Third round coverage on Saturday had a 1.3 and 1.8 million viewers, down 24% in ratings and 25% in viewership from last year (1.7, 2.4M) and down 7% and 4%, respectively, from 2014 (1.4, 1.9M). The 1.3 rating is the lowest for third round coverage since 2008 (0.9), again excluding 2011, when play concluded before CBS came on air.
| FINAL ROUND PGA TOUR RATINGS June through August Asterisk (*) indicates Olympic competition |
|||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tournament | Net | Rtg. | +/- | Vwrs. | +/- |
| Memorial | CBS | 2.1 | -9% | 3.16M | -6% |
| St. Jude | CBS | 1.5 | +7% | 2.26M | +13% |
| U.S. Open | FOX | 3.4 | -19% | 5.10M | -24% |
| National | CBS | 1.8 | -14% | 2.72M | -14% |
| Bridgestone | CBS | 1.9 | -21% | 2.82M | -18% |
| British Open | NBC | 3.3 | +57% | 4.90M | +72% |
| Canadian | CBS | 1.4 | -18% | 2.14M | -14% |
| PGA Champ. | CBS | 3.4 | -23% | 5.29M | -21% |
| Hartford* | CBS | 0.9 | -55% | 1.42M | -52% |
| John Deere* | CBS | 0.7 | -68% | 1.11M | -67% |
| Wyndham* | CBS | 1.0 | -70% | 1.40M | -72% |
| Barclays | CBS | 1.8 | -22% | 2.63M | -23% |
(Wknd. numbers via ShowBuzz Daily)
