After tying a 12-year high last year, PGA Hartford overnights fell to at least a 16-year low opposite the Olympics.
Final round coverage of the PGA Tour Hartford Open had a 1.1 overnight rating on CBS Sunday afternoon, down 52% from last year (2.3) and up a tick from 2014 (1.2). The 1.1 is tied as the lowest for final round coverage of the event since at least 2000, matching 2006. Last year’s final round, by contrast, tied the highest overnight since 2003.
An obvious factor in the steep decline was direct competition from the Olympic Games, which earned an 8.5 overnight on NBC alone Sunday afternoon.
Keeping that caveat in mind, overnights have now declined for six of the past seven final round PGA Tour telecasts and 12 of the past 17 overall. Eleven of those 12 declines have been by double-digits.
Saturday’s third round action had a 0.7 overnight, down 50% from last year (1.4), down 22% from 2014, and the lowest for any round of the tournament since at least 2000. Excluding rainouts, the 0.7 is also the lowest for any PGA Tour window on a broadcast network this year.
(Wknd. numbers via Sports Business Daily)
