Women’s British Open ratings could not measure up to last year, but the tournament still did well.
The Women’s British Open averaged a 0.36 rating and 484,000 viewers on NBC and Golf Channel last week, down 12% in ratings and 15% in viewership from last year (0.41, 568K) but up 6% in both measures from 2016 (0.34, 458K).
This year’s tournament trailed only last year as the most-watched Women’s British Open since 2009 on ESPN/ABC (592K).
Final round coverage last Sunday had a 0.7 rating and 964,000 viewers, down a tick in ratings and 12% in viewership from last year (0.8, 1.1M) but up a tick and 12% respectively from 2016 (0.6, 858K). It was the tournament’s second-largest final round audience since 2009 on ABC (997K) behind only last year.
Third round action last Saturday pulled a 0.6 (-7%) and 740,000 (-9%).
For the season, Sunday’s final round ranks as the most-watched women’s golf telecast on any network. The previous high was 878,000 for the final round of the U.S. Women’s Open on FOX in June. This is the second straight year the Women’s British Open has pulled a larger final round audience than its USGA counterpart.
The U.S. Women’s Open did finish with a higher four-day average, with that tournament averaging 513,000 across FOX and FS1. That is a reversal from last year, when the Women’s British Open came out ahead (568K to 459K).
Women’s British Open Average Viewership
[Numbers from Nielsen, ShowBuzz Daily 8.9]
