Tape Delay Or Playoff Fatigue? Deutsche Bank Ratings Down 27%

Sports Media Watch analyzes the drop in Deutsche Bank Championship final round ratings and essentially includes that the tape delay final round, prompted by Tropical Storm Hermine, caused the 27% final round drop (1.6 overnight vs. 2.2 in 2015).

Paulsen writes:

There were only 45 minutes of live play during NBC’s 4 1/2 hour window, with the network coming on air at 1:30 PM and Rory McIlroy claiming victory at around 2:15.

With PGA Tour ratings mired in a recent slump, it is likely that ratings would have declined even if the event aired live. Sunday’s telecast was the 11th of the past 13 final round PGA windows to decline from last year, with each of the past seven hitting a multi-year low.

The answer may lie in Sunday's live numbers, which mirrored the decline.

On Sunday, live third round coverage had a 1.5 overnight — down 25% from last year (2.0) and down 17% from 2014 (1.8). It was the sixth straight third round window to decline from last year and the fifth to hit a multi-year low.

And as the window approaches for the PGA Tour to opt out of its network deals with CBS and NBC, the numbers are not coming at an opportune time.