PGA Championship ratings avoided a multi-year low, but still approached historic depths, on CBS.
Sunday’s final round of the PGA Championship earned a 3.3 rating and 5.01 million viewers on CBS, down 39% in ratings and 41% in viewership from last year (5.4, 8.47M), but up a tick and 2% respectively from 2017 (3.2, 4.91M). Prior to this year, the tournament took place in August.
Last year, Tiger Woods finished a close second to Brooks Kopeka. This year, Woods missed the cut and Koepka mostly dominated the field.
The 3.3 rating is the third-lowest for final round coverage of the event since at least 1981. The only lower ratings came in 2017 and 2008 (2.8).
The TV audience was the third-smallest since at least 2001, ahead of only 2017, 2012 (4.88M) and 2008 (4.02M). It should be noted that the 2008 and 2012 tournaments aired opposite the Olympic Games.
Excluding the Masters, Sunday’s final round ranks seventh among PGA Tour telecasts dating back to the start of last season. The final rounds of last year’s PGA Championship, Tour Championship (3.7, 5.89M), British Open (4.3, 6.48M), Tampa Bay Championship (4.4, 6.91M), Players Championship (3.6, 5.77M) and U.S. Open (5.08M) each had a higher rating and/or viewership.
Third round action on Saturday pulled a 2.3 and 3.36 million, down 28% in ratings and 30% in viewership from last year (3.2, 4.78M), but up 5% in both measures from 2017 (2.2, 3.21M). The 2.3 rating is tied as the third-lowest since at least 1991 (excluding rainouts).
Lead-in coverage on TNT pulled a 0.8 rating (-30%) and 1.18 million viewers (-34%) on Saturday and a 0.8 (-35%) and 1.22 million (-36%) on Sunday.
In a rare bright spot for this year’s tournament, Friday’s second round action scored a 1.05 rating and 1.46 million viewers (+6%) on TNT — marking the largest second round audience in four years (2015: 1.89M). Friday saw Woods miss the cut by one stroke. As previously noted, last Thursday’s opening round also increased.
In its new May date, the PGA Championship lost to both NBA conference final games over the weekend. Warriors-Rockets had a 4.2 and 7.25 million on Saturday and Raptors-Bucks a 3.7 and 6.16 million on Sunday. It also lost to horse racing’s Preakness Stakes (3.4, 5.41M), though it beat the Preakness in adults 18-49 (0.77 to 0.65).
[Numbers from Nielsen via ShowBuzz Daily 5.21]
