Ratings roundup — the PGA Tour snapped a streak of declines at the Memorial; NASCAR and F1 both declined last weekend; Yankees-Dodgers gave MLB a lift; and more.
PGA Tour snaps streak of declines at Memorial
Last Sunday’s final round of the PGA Tour Memorial tournament averaged a 1.9 rating and 3.12 million viewers on CBS, marking the highest rated and most-watched final round of the tournament since 2020, when it was one of the first events after hiatus (2.1, 3.23M). Ratings increased 35% and viewership 34% from last year (1.4, 2.32M).
Third round action the previous day drew a 1.3 and 2.04 million, up 10% and 15% respectively from last year (1.1, 1.78M) and also a three-year high.
Prior to the weekend, viewership had declined for eight straight PGA Tour windows on broadcast television — and 11 of the past 12.
In other golf action, final round coverage of newcomer Rose Zhang’s win in the inaugural LPGA Tour Americas Open averaged a 0.17 and 279,000 on Golf Channel — the largest women’s golf audience on cable since the Augusta National Women’s Amateur in April (433K).
NASCAR, F1, down last weekend
NASCAR Cup Series racing from Gateway Motorsports Park (St. Louis) averaged a 1.3 rating and 2.16 million viewers on FS1 last Sunday, down 14% in both measures from last year (1.5, 2.50M) and the first points race to decline since Bristol in April (excluding makeup races). Perhaps not coincidentally, it was the first race since Bristol in which Chase Elliott did not participate.
Earlier in the day, the Formula 1 Spanish Grand Prix averaged a 0.58 and 1.04 million on ESPN — down a tick in ratings and 9% in viewership from last year on ESPN2 (0.59, 1.15M). While NASCAR averaged twice as many viewers overall, Max Verstappen’s win edged the Cup Series race in adults 18-49 (0.35 to 0.32) and dominated in 18-34 (0.30 to 0.17).
Rounding out the weekend racing action, IndyCar from Detroit drew a 0.65 and 1.05 million on NBC — down slightly from 2019, the last time the network aired a full race from the venue (1.09M). NBC’s IndyCar viewership this season is up 2% to 1.84 million (including additional streaming viewership not tracked by Nielsen).
Yankees-Dodgers lifts weekend MLB
Regional Major League Baseball action featuring Yankees-Dodgers averaged a 1.2 rating and 2.17 million viewers on FOX last weekend, up a tick in ratings and 20% in viewership from last year (1.1, 1.81M). The same matchup drew a 0.9 and 1.61 million on ESPN’s Sunday Night Baseball the following night, up 19% and 24% respectively from Cardinals-Cubs a year ago (0.7, 1.29M).
Entering last weekend, ESPN was averaging 1.45 million for Sunday night games this season, per Sports Business Journal — its lowest at this point of the season since 2019 (not counting the late-starting season three years ago). Fox was averaging 1.74 million.
Plus: Walton doc, UFC, PLL
- The premiere episodes of the ESPN 30 For 30 Bill Walton documentary “The Luckiest Guy in the World” averaged 494,000 and 491,000 viewers Tuesday night, up more than a quarter from “American Gladiators” in the same window the prior week (389K).
- Last Saturday’s UFC Fight Night on ESPN averaged a 0.47 rating and 845,000 viewers, down from the network’s previous main event in April (0.65, 1.22M).
- The opening match of the Premier Lacrosse League season (Redwoods-Atlas) averaged a 0.31 rating and 543,000 viewers on ABC last weekend, marking the largest professional lacrosse audience since 2005.
For additional ratings reporting, see the following links:
- NBA Finals Game 2 viewership same as last year
- Viewership up for college softball, baseball, tournaments
- First two games of Cup Final down big, but hit cable highs
(Nielsen estimates from ShowBuzz Daily 6.6, network PR)
