Ratings roundup — the PGA Tour Canadian Open scored its largest audience since 2000 for a second-straight year. Plus, The Belmont Stakes hit a new low in its FOX debut; the UEFA Champions League final was no match for a year ago; the French Open finals finished in line with last year.
Canadian Open most-watched since 2000 for second-straight year
Sunday’s final round of the PGA Tour Canadian Open averaged a 1.95 rating and 3.30 million viewers on CBS, marking the largest audience for the tournament since Tiger Woods won it in 2000 (3.73M). The previous high was set just last year, when Rory McIlroy’s win averaged 2.78 million.
Canadian Nick Taylor’s playoff win, which peaked with 6.77 million viewers, delivered the fifth-largest audience of the season outside of the majors — trailing only the final rounds the Heritage (4.15M), Players Championship (3.80M), Phoenix Open (3.67M) and Riviera (3.42M).
The Canadian Open was the first PGA Tour event since the announcement that the organization plans to merge with the rival LIV Tour, but it was not clear whether that had any impact on the numbers.
Third round action the previous day, which aired in a later-than-usual window to accommodate the UEFA Champions League final, drew a 0.8 and 1.35 million — down 34% and 31% respectively from last year (1.3, 1.96M) and the lowest for any round of the tournament on broadcast in more than a decade.
Belmont Stakes hits low in FOX debut
In its FOX debut, the race portion of horse racing’s Belmont Stakes averaged a 1.9 rating and 3.52 million viewers Saturday evening — the smallest audience for the race in at least 30 years, not counting the 2020 edition that led off a delayed, elongated Triple Crown season (3.33M).
Ratings declined 28% and viewership 25% from last year on NBC (2.7, 4.72M), with the viewership decline growing to 27% compared to NBC’s “TAD” of 4.8 million (Unlike FOX, NBC’s streaming viewership is not included in its linear Nielsen figures).
UCL final down sharply, but season up, for CBS
Saturday’s UEFA Champions League Final (Manchester City-Inter Milan) averaged a 1.0 rating and 2.18 million viewers on CBS, down a tick in ratings and 21% in viewership from last year (Liverpool-Real Madrid). Despite the double-digit decline, CBS finished the Champions League season averaging 967,000 viewers — a record for the event on English-language television.
The CBS broadcast was the day’s top television program in adults 18-49 (0.80) and 18-34 (0.73), surpassing the Stanley Cup Final on TBS, TNT and TruTV (0.75; 0.63).
Univision chipped in a 0.52 and 1.24 million for its Spanish-language coverage of the match (including the pre-match window). Last year’s final averaged 2.6 million across the Univision networks (match window only).
French Open finals in line with last season
French Open coverage featuring the Novak Djokovic-Casper Ruud men’s final averaged a 0.9 rating and 1.56 million viewers on NBC, down 3% in ratings but up 5% in viewership from Rafael Nadal against Ruud last year (0.95, 1.49M).
Coverage featuring the Iga Świątek-Karolína Muchová women’s final averaged a 0.6 and 1.04 million, down just 6% and 1% respectively from Świątek’s win over American star Coco Gauff a year ago (0.7, 1.05M).
NBC’s coverage of the semifinals — which was taped in most markets and competed with live coverage on Peacock and Tennis Channel — averaged a 0.38 (-30%) and 591,000 (-27%) on Thursday and a 0.46 (-8%) and 719,000 (-7%) on Friday.
(Nielsen estimates from ShowBuzz Daily 6.13, network PR)
