Tiger Woods boosted the WGC Match Play to its highest overnight in seven years. Also: NASCAR Texas overnights jumped with a move from FS1 to FOX, and the NHL posted a steep decline on NBC.
Tiger boosts Saturday’s Match Play overnights
Saturday’s coverage of the PGA Tour/WGC Match Play Championships, which saw Tiger Woods lose in the quarterfinal round, earned a 2.4 overnight rating on NBC — up 41% from last year (1.7), up 60% from 2017 (1.5), and the highest overnight for any day of the event since 2012, when Sunday coverage had a 2.5.
Sans Woods, and facing the Elite Eight, Sunday’s coverage had a 1.6 overnight — down 11% from both last year and 2017 (1.8). The 1.6 is the lowest for Sunday coverage of the tournament since 2010 (1.3).
NASCAR Texas overnights rise in move from FS1 to FOX
The NASCAR Cup Series from Texas scored a 2.3 overnight rating on FOX Sunday afternoon, up 35% from last year on FS1 (1.7), but down 8% from 2017, when it previously aired on FOX (2.5). It was the fifth of seven races this season to increase over last year, though it was the first of those to move up from cable to broadcast.
Excluding rainouts, the 2.3 is the second-lowest on record for the race.
Big drop for NHL on NBC
Rangers-Flyers earned a 0.6 overnight rating on the NHL on NBC Sunday, down 45% from last year, when coverage did not face NCAA Tournament competition (Bruins-Flyers: 1.1). The 0.6 is tied as the lowest of the season for the NHL on NBC, matching Flyers-Capitals a week earlier. Both New York and Philadelphia are out of playoff contention.
[Numbers from Nielsen via Sports Business Daily 4.1]
