For the 11th straight week, Sunday PGA Tour ratings declined from last year.
Final round coverage of the PGA Tour Heritage tournament earned a 1.4 final rating and 2.3 million viewers on CBS, down 13% in ratings and 8% in viewership from last year (1.6, 2.5M) and down 39% and 34% respectively from the Jordan Spieth-fueled highs of 2015 (2.3, 3.5M).
It was the lowest rated and least-watched final round of the event since 2014, the last time it took place on Easter weekend (1.3, 2.0M).
Ratings and viewership have now declined for 11 straight final round windows on broadcast, with seven of those hitting multi-year lows in one or both measures. There have been some caveats — the Easter weekend, rain at the Houston and L.A. tournaments — but those alone cannot explain nearly three straight months of erosion.
Third round action on Saturday pulled a 1.1 and 1.5 million, flat in ratings and down 7% in viewership from last year (1.1, 1.7M) and down 21% and 23% respectively from ’15 (1.4, 2.0M). Overall, 17 straight PGA Tour windows on broadcast — and 19 of the past 21 — have declined.
Lead-in coverage on Golf Channel had a 0.3 (-25%) and 467,000 (-7%) on Saturday and a 0.3 (-25%) and 498,000 on Sunday (-20%).
(Wknd. numbers via ShowBuzz Daily 4.18)
