For the first time in nearly six months, the PGA Tour posted an increase in Sunday viewership.
Final round coverage of the PGA Tour St. Jude Classic earned a 1.5 final rating and 2.31 million viewers on CBS Sunday afternoon, flat in ratings and up 2% in viewership from last year, when play was delayed due to rain and some coverage preempted by breaking news (1.5, 2.26M) and up a tick and 16% respectively from 2015 (1.4, 2.0M).
It was the most-watched final round of the tournament since at least 2013, figures for which were unavailable.
Daniel Berger‘s win marked the first time since Torrey Pines in January that final round viewership has increased on CBS or NBC, a nearly six-month span that included 16 straight declines (not including the final rounds at New Orleans or Houston, which were affected by rain).
Regardless of round, it was the PGA’s first increase on a broadcast network since Riviera in February. Viewership had declined for 29 straight windows entering Sunday.
The final of those 29 was Saturday’s third round coverage, which pulled a 1.1 and 1.6 million — down 21% in ratings and 19% in viewership from last year (1.4, 2.0M) but up 10% and 12% respectively from 2015 (1.0, 1.4M).
Lead-in coverage on Golf Channel delivered a 0.35 (-26%) and 477,000 (-26%) on Saturday and a 0.49 (+29%) and 734,000 (+34%) on Sunday.
[Wknd. numbers via ShowBuzz Daily 6.13]
