The PGA Tour returned to play with the largest opening round audience at Colonial in 17 years. Plus: Top Rank Boxing sank even lower in its second card since its return; the MLB Draft finished on a quiet note.
PGA Tour returns strong on Golf Channel
Thursday’s opening round of the PGA Tour Colonial tournament, the first event since the season was halted in mid-March, averaged 672,000 viewers on Golf Channel — the tournament’s largest first round audience since 2003, when Annika Sorenstam was part of the field. The telecast averaged 683,000 with streaming included, up 160% from last year (263K).
Viewership edged the previous PGA Tour telecast, the opening round of the ultimately-abandoned Players Championship in March (649K). Outside of last year’s Presidents Cup, the PGA Tour has not averaged a larger Thursday audience since the 2019 Players Championship (907K).
Leading into the telecast, featured groups coverage averaged 447,000.
Top Rank sinks even lower in second outing since return
The latest edition of Top Rank Boxing averaged 311,000 viewers on ESPN, down 22% from Tuesday’s card (397K) and down 64% from the last pre-pandemic card in February (862K). Per Boxing Scene, viewership peaked at 392,000 — down 36% from Tuesday’s peak of 609,000.
Conclusion of MLB Draft weak, as one would expect
Thursday’s final rounds of the Major League Baseball draft averaged 129,000 viewers on ESPN2, unsurprisingly down 70% from Wednesday’s opening round on ESPN (432K). Unlike night one, which delivered ESPN’s largest weekday audience in three weeks, Thursday’s telecast was only the most-watched on ESPN2 in 48 hours. A Tuesday edition of Around the Horn averaged 136,000 (albeit over 20 minutes, compared to six hours for the MLB Draft).
Figures for Thursday’s MLB Network coverage were not immediately available. Prior to this year, the second night of the draft traditionally had not been telecast.
[Nielsen estimates from ShowBuzz Daily 6.12, Boxing Scene 6.12]
