No matter the tournament, PGA Tour ratings just keep dropping.
Final round coverage of the PGA Tour Players Championship earned a 2.3 final rating and 3.7 million viewers on NBC Sunday afternoon, down 18% in ratings and 13% in viewership from last year (2.8, 4.2M) and down 30% and 26% respectively from 2015 (3.3, 5.0M).
It was the lowest rated and least-watched final round of the tournament since 2014 (2.1, 3.0M). Going back further, the 2.3 rating is the second-lowest for final round coverage in at least 21 years.
As recently as four years ago, final round coverage pulled a 5.0 rating and 7.6 million viewers. Tiger Woods won that day, his final victory at the event. The 2013 telecast blew out competing coverage of a Spurs-Warriors NBA playoff game on ABC (5.0 to 3.4). This year, the same Spurs-Warriors matchup doubled The Players (4.6 to 2.3).
Tiger’s absence has become a fact of life for the PGA, but Sunday’s leaderboard was missing the consolation prizes the tour and its TV partners have come to depend on — Jordan Spieth, Phil Mickelson, Rory McIlroy and Jason Day either failed to make the cut or finished well out of contention.
Ratings and viewership have now declined for 13 straight final round windows on broadcast, a figure that does not include rainout coverage at New Orleans or tape-delayed coverage of the Houston Open. 11 of those windows have hit a multi-year low in one or both measures.
Saturday’s third round coverage had a 1.9 and 2.8 million, down 14% in ratings and 12% in viewership from last year (2.2, 3.2M). Compared to 2015, ratings fell a tick (from 2.0) but viewership actually increased 5% (from 2.7M).
Including third round telecasts, a whopping 22 straight rounds on broadcast television have been flat or down compared to last year (again excluding the New Orleans and Houston telecasts).
(Wknd. numbers via ShowBuzz Daily 5.16)
