As was the case in the overnights, final numbers for The Players’ Championship were the lowest in years.
Final round coverage of The Players Championship earned a 2.1 final rating and 3.0 million viewers on NBC last Sunday afternoon, down 58% in ratings and 61% in viewership from Tiger Woods‘ win last year (5.0, 7.6M), and down 34% and 38%, respectively, from 2012 (3.2, 4.8M). Keep in mind this year’s final round coverage included a 90-minute rain delay.
The 2.1 rating is the lowest for final round coverage of the event since at least 1996 (ratings prior to 1997 were not available). The previous low was set in 2005, when the final round drew a 2.2 rating on a Monday (Sunday coverage, which featured the second and third rounds, also drew a 2.2).
Viewership for the final round was the lowest since that 2005 tournament, when the Monday finish earned 2.9 million.
Shifting to last Saturday’s action, third round coverage declined by 35% in ratings (2.6 to 1.7) and 32% in viewership (3.7M to 2.5M). It was the lowest rated third round since rainout coverage in 2011 drew a 1.4.
(This year’s rating/viewership from Sports Business Daily)
