With rain wreaking havoc on the schedule, last week’s PGA Tour stop at New Orleans did about as well as one might expect. In other news, viewership slipped for Game 4 of the Senators-Rangers NHL playoff, and both Formula 1 and the NHRA posted double-digit increases last Sunday.
1.6M For Rainy PGA at New Orleans
- Rain delayed final round coverage of the PGA Tour New Orleans Classic earned a 1.1 final rating and 1.6 million viewers on CBS last Sunday, up 57% in both measures from last year, when coverage was rained out altogether (0.7, 1.0M). CBS did not air live play until 5:30 PM ET and stayed on-air through 7 PM before sending the rest of Sunday’s action to Golf Channel. Golf Channel then averaged a 0.5 and 771,000 for split coverage of the tournament and LPGA event. The last time the tournament ran as scheduled, 2015, final round coverage had a 1.6 and 2.4 million. On Saturday, third round action had a 1.1 and 1.5 million — up 22% and 17% respectively from 2015 (0.9, 1.3M).
Slight Dip For Sens-Rangers Game 4
- Thursday’s Senators-Rangers Stanley Cup Playoffs Game 4 earned a 0.7 final rating and 1.1 million viewers on NBCSN, flat in ratings and down 3% in viewership from Stars-Blues last year but up 40% and 43% respectively from Canadiens-Lightning in 2015 (0.5, 751K). It was the fifth-most watched game of the playoffs on cable, with Eastern Conference series taking up the top five and six of the top seven.
F1, NHRA, Both Up Last Sunday
- Last Sunday’s Formula 1 Russian Grand Prix earned 521,000 viewers on NBCSN, up 76% from last year on CNBC (296K) and up 47% from 2015, when the race aired on NBCSN in October (354K). It was the most-watched edition of the race since it returned to the schedule in 2014, and the top F1 race of the season. Later in the day, taped NHRA eliminations from Charlotte had 530,000 viewers on Fox Sports 1 — up 12% from last year (475K) but down 3% from 2015 on ESPN2 (544K).
