In the first PGA Tour season completely absent Tiger Woods, ratings mostly declined from last year.
Of the 64 PGA Tour windows on a broadcast network this season (CBS, NBC or FOX), 40 posted a decline in ratings and/or viewership. That excludes six rainouts and two telecasts for which year-over-year comparisons were unavailable. That includes declines for six of eight major telecasts and seven of eight FedEx Cup windows.
Most of the declines took place during the summer. From the U.S. Open in mid-June through the BMW Championship in mid-September, 22 of 24 telecasts declined in one or both measures.
The season ended on a better note, as the final round of The Tour Championship held steady in ratings and eked out a 5% increase in viewership. Ryder Cup ratings also increased, though largely because the most recent edition took place in Europe and aired primarily in the early morning hours.
| 2016 PGA TOUR RATINGS/VIEWERSHIP ON BROADCAST Prior year comparisons provided when available Rainouts in yellow; events that aired opposite the Olympics marked by asterisk |
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Event | Net | Round | Rtg. | Vwrs. | vs. 2015 | vs. 2014 | ||
| Rtg. | Vwrs. | Rtg. | Vwrs. | |||||
| Torrey Pines | CBS | Third | 1.0 | 1.40M | -9% | -11% | -38% | n/a |
| Final | 1.5 | 2.28M | -32% | -29% | -35% | n/a | ||
| Phoenix Open | CBS | Third | 1.4 | 2.08M | n/a | -1% | -30% | -24% |
| Final | 2.1 | 3.33M | n/a | -6% | -9% | -7% | ||
| Pebble Beach | CBS | Third | 1.6 | 2.41M | +7% | +11% | +60% | +58% |
| Final | 3.2 | 4.86M | +39% | +35% | +78% | +80% | ||
| Riviera Open | CBS | Third | 1.3 | 1.92M | -13% | -11% | +30% | +28% |
| Final | 2.3 | 3.61M | -8% | -3% | +44% | +51% | ||
| Honda Classic | NBC | Third | 1.4 | 2.11M | n/a | n/a | -7% | +1% |
| Final | 2.1 | 3.19M | +24% | +21% | -19% | -18% | ||
| WGC-Doral | NBC | Third | 1.8 | 2.55M | +20% | +27% | -5% | -2% |
| Final | 2.6 | 4.02M | +18% | +22% | -7% | -4% | ||
| Tampa Bay Championship | NBC | Third | 1.2 | 1.79M | flat | +5% | +9% | +13% |
| Final | 2.0 | 2.95M | -5% | -5% | +33% | +28% | ||
| Arnold Palmer | NBC | Third | 1.1 | 1.65M | +10% | +18% | +10% | +23% |
| Final | 1.9 | 2.88M | +6% | +11% | +36% | +48% | ||
| WGC-Match Play | NBC | Third | 1.5 | 2.18M | -12% | -14% | +15% | +24% |
| Final | 2.0 | 3.22M | +33% | +53% | +11% | +28% | ||
| Houston Open | NBC | Third | 1.5 | 2.12M | -17% | -18% | +7% | +13% |
| Final | 2.4 | 3.62M | -4% | -7% | +26% | +32% | ||
| The Masters | CBS | Third | 5.1 | 7.95M | -12% | -11% | +28% | +35% |
| Final | 7.7 | 12.40M | -13% | -13% | +12% | +12% | ||
| Heritage | CBS | Third | 1.1 | 1.67M | -21% | -17% | -15% | -6% |
| Final | 1.6 | 2.47M | -30% | -29% | +23% | +26% | ||
| Texas Open | CBS | Third | 1.1 | 1.51M | -15% | -21% | -8% | -11% |
| Final | 1.5 | 2.22M | +7% | +11% | -6% | flat | ||
| New Orleans Classic | CBS | Third | 0.7 | 970K | no relevant comparison | |||
| Final | 0.7 | 1.03M | ||||||
| Quail Hollow Championship | CBS | Third | 1.1 | 1.64M | -21% | n/a | flat | n/a |
| Final | 1.9 | 2.93M | -10% | n/a | +6% | n/a | ||
| Players Championship | NBC | Third | 2.2 | 3.19M | +13% | +19% | +29% | +28% |
| Final | 2.8 | 4.23M | -15% | -15% | +33% | +41% | ||
| Byron Nelson | CBS | Third | 1.6 | 2.25M | +23% | +22% | +45% | +46% |
| Final | 2.3 | 3.42M | +44% | +41% | +53% | +56% | ||
| Colonial | CBS | Third | 1.3 | 1.82M | +18% | +18% | +86% | +77% |
| Final | 1.9 | 2.93M | flat | +5% | +46% | +59% | ||
| The Memorial | CBS | Third | 1.5 | 2.13M | +25% | +26% | +15% | +20% |
| Final | 2.1 | 3.16M | -9% | -6% | +5% | +9% | ||
| St. Jude | CBS | Third | 1.4 | 2.00M | +40% | +39% | +56% | +57% |
| Final | 1.5 | 2.26M | +7% | +13% | flat | +4% | ||
| U.S. Open | FOX | First | 0.7 | 966K | no relevant comparison | |||
| Second | 1.5 | 2.15M | -21% | -26% | +7% | +20% | ||
| Third | 2.2 | 3.33M | -21% | -21% | -4% | +6% | ||
| Final | 3.4 | 5.10M | -19% | -24% | +13% | +10% | ||
| The National | CBS | Third | 1.2 | 1.73M | -29% | -31% | +9% | +13% |
| Final | 1.8 | 2.72M | -14% | -14% | +13% | +20% | ||
| Bridgestone Invitational | CBS | Third | 1.3 | 1.86M | -24% | -19% | -19% | -15% |
| Final | 1.9 | 2.82M | -21% | -18% | -24% | -23% | ||
| Greenbrier (cancelled) | CBS | Third | 0.5 | 634K | no relevant comparison | |||
| Final | 0.6 | 856K | ||||||
| British Open | NBC | Third | 2.4 | 3.31M | flat | -2% | +100% | +113% |
| Final | 3.3 | 4.90M | +38% | +46% | +43% | +49% | ||
| Canadian Open | CBS | Third | 1.1 | 1.54M | flat | +6% | +22% | +12% |
| Final | 1.4 | 2.14M | -18% | -14% | -13% | -7% | ||
| PGA Championship | CBS | Third | 1.3 | 1.78M | no relevant comparison | |||
| Final | 3.4 | 5.29M | -23% | -21% | -36% | -36% | ||
| Hartford Open* | CBS | Third | 0.7 | 950K | n/a | n/a | flat | -5% |
| Final | 0.9 | 1.42M | -55% | -52% | flat | +7% | ||
| John Deere Classic* | CBS | Third | 0.5 | 738K | -58% | -57% | -44% | -41% |
| Final | 0.7 | 1.11M | -68% | -67% | -36% | -27% | ||
| Wyndham Championship* | CBS | Third | 0.7 | 971K | -76% | -77% | -30% | -29% |
| Final | 1.0 | 1.40M | -70% | -72% | -23% | -25% | ||
| The Barclays | CBS | Third | 1.3 | 1.83M | -24% | -25% | -7% | -4% |
| Final | 1.8 | 2.63M | -22% | -23% | -5% | -4% | ||
| TPC Boston | NBC | Third | 1.3 | 1.98M | -28% | -25% | -13% | -10% |
| Final | 1.5 | 2.30M | -25% | -22% | -12% | -8% | ||
| BMW Championship | NBC | Third | 0.9 | 1.17M | -10% | -16% | -31% | -38% |
| Final | 1.0 | 1.52M | -17% | -14% | -17% | -11% | ||
| The Tour Championship | NBC | Third | 0.9 | 1.31M | -18% | -17% | -40% | -38% |
| Final | 1.6 | 2.54M | flat | +5% | +14% | +27% | ||
| Ryder Cup | NBC | Third | 2.1 | 3.31M | +50% | +74% | -30% | -21% |
| Final | 2.7 | 4.27M | +69% | +94% | -29% | -22% | ||
