Recent sports TV ratings news, including a four-year viewership high for the opening round of the British Open. Also: a rare decline for F1 and the latest numbers from the BIG3.
Four-year high for round one of British Open
Thursday’s opening round of the British Open averaged 864,000 viewers on Golf Channel, up 2% from last year (851K) and up 25% from 2017 (693K). It was the tournament’s largest first round audience since 2015, the last year it aired on ESPN (1.2M). Viewership excludes the overnight hours.
As one would expect given the early timeslot, viewership trailed the opening rounds of the Masters on ESPN (2.97M), US Open on FOX/FS1 (1.99M) and PGA Championship on TNT (990K).
Rare decline for F1
Last Sunday’s Formula 1 British Grand Prix averaged a 0.40 rating and 591,000 viewers on ESPN2, down 5% in ratings and 6% in viewership from last year on ESPN (0.42, 629K), but up 48% and 31% respectively from 2017 on CNBC (0.27, 452K). The race, which aired opposite the Wimbledon men’s final on ESPN, was just the third F1 race this season to decline.
Later in the day, IndyCar racing from Toronto scored a 0.33 (+14%) and 502,000 on NBCSN (+10%). Last Friday’s NASCAR Xfinity Series race from Kansas had a 0.38 (-21%) and 572,000 (-25%); every Xfinity Series race this season has declined.
BIG3 on CBS cruises past last year on FS1
Coverage of the BIG3 basketball league averaged a 0.50 rating and 725,000 on CBS last Sunday and a 0.47 and 670,000 last Saturday. In week four of last season, coverage on FS1 had 112,000.
