Valspar Ratings Up 30%; Peak During NCAA Selection Show

I was beginning to wonder if the networks had forgotten to include me on their ratings press releases!

But great news for the PGA Tour as the exciting Valspar Championship won by Spieth in a playoff over Reed and O'Hair was up 30% and peaked at a healthy 3.6 as CBS unveiled the 2015 NCAA Tournament selections and the playoff ensued.

The playoff drew nearly as many viewers as the selection show (3.6 to 3.9).

From the release:

A three-man playoff between America’s young guns Jordan Spieth and Patrick Reed, along with a re-emerging Sean O’Hair, in Sunday’s final round on NBC posted a 2.41 overnight rating – up 31 percent from last year’s broadcast (1.84).  Ratings peaked at 3.6 between 6-7 p.m., which was opposite selection shows on various networks for the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament.  This followed an 11 percent year-over-year increase for Saturday’s third round coverage (1.47), which was the best since 2008.

Golf Channel’s live, lead-in coverage on the weekend also saw ratings increases, with Saturday’s third round (0.45) up 32 percent over the same round in 2014 (0.34), and the final round up seven percent (0.64 vs. 0.60). These are the best lead-in overnight ratings for this event since Golf Channel began lead-in coverage in 2011.

SBJ's Austin Karp reports that the selection show saw its worst rating in ten years, no doubt impacted by the golf and NASCAR  running long.

CBS drew a 3.9 overnight rating for the NCAA men’s basketball tournament Selection Show yesterday from 6:00-7:00pm ET, marking the lowest figure for the show in at least a decade.