The Masters tied its lowest final round rating in nearly 40 years.
The final round of The Masters earned a 6.8 final rating and 11.1 million viewers on CBS Sunday afternoon, down 12% in ratings and 11% in viewership from last year (7.7, 12.4M) and down 23% and 22% respectively from 2015 (8.8, 14.2M).
The 6.8 rating is tied as the lowest for final round coverage of The Masters since 1980 (6.7), matching 1993. Since Nielsen began measuring Masters ratings 60 years ago, only three final rounds have posted a lower rating — 1980, 1961 (6.1) and 1957 (3.0).
Since Tiger Woods‘ Masters debut in 1995, three of the four lowest rated final rounds have come in years when he missed the event — this year, last year and 2014 (6.9). The only exception was 2004, when Phil Mickelson‘s win had a 7.3. Woods finished 22nd that year.
At best, Sunday’s telecast was the second-least watched final round since at least 1995. Coverage in 2014 also had 11.1 million viewers, but exact figures were not available. This year’s 11.05 million may have been slightly higher — or slightly lower.
Third round action last Saturday pulled a 4.3 rating and 6.5 million viewers, down 16% in ratings and 19% in viewership from last year (5.1, 8.0M) and down 26% and 27% respectively from 2015 (5.8, 8.9M). The 4.3 rating is the second-lowest for any Masters telecast since 1957, ahead of only third round coverage in 2014 (4.0).
Including the opening rounds on ESPN, all four rounds of The Masters hit multi-year lows in ratings and viewership. Only one of the four rounds — Saturday — managed to post a higher rating than in 2014.
The Masters continued a months-long downward trend for the PGA Tour. The past ten final round windows on broadcast television have posted a decline in ratings and viewership. Including third round coverage, 15 of the past 17 windows have declined.
Despite the lower numbers, The Masters remains by far the highest rated and most-watched event in golf. Saturday’s third round coverage earned a higher rating and more viewers than the final rounds of last year’s PGA Championship (3.4, 5.3M), U.S. Open (3.4, 5.1M) and British Open (3.3, 4.9M).
(Wknd. numbers via ShowBuzz Daily 4.11)
