The waterlogged U.S. Open saw a big drop in ratings on Sunday.
Third and final round coverage of the 2009 U.S. Open drew a 5.1 overnight rating from 1:30-8:15 PM on NBC Sunday, down 40% from a 8.5 for final round coverage from 3-9 PM last year, and down 27% from a 7.0 for final round coverage from 1-7:15 PM in ’07.
“Bonus coverage” from 11 AM-1:30 PM averaged a 2.9 overnight.
A major factor in the steep decline in overnight ratings is the fact that most of Sunday’s coverage featured third round action. Even so, the 5.1 overnight for Sunday coverage was off 4% from third round coverage last year, which aired on a Saturday.
Coverage of the second and third rounds averaged a 3.7 overnight from 2-8 PM on Saturday, down 30% from last year’s third round coverage and down 20% from ’07. Coverage from 10 AM-2 PM averaged a 2.9.
Excluding bonus coverage, NBC averaged a 4.4 overnight for its coverage of the U.S. Open over the weekend, down 36% from a 6.9 last year, down 24% from a 5.8 in ’07, but up 5% from a 4.2 in ’06.
