Even Tiger Couldn't Give Ryder Cup A Big Ratings Bump

Even with a resurgent Tiger Woods, the combination of time of year, early morning airings and maybe too much of an old-school approach to the Ryder Cup led to fairly normal (and so-so) ratings for the 2018 Ryder Cup, reports Paulsen at Sports Media Watch.

Coming off an all-time low from Gleneagles 2014, the numbers at least bounced back to traditional Ryder Cup ratings, with a 1.8 and 2.67 million viewers for a 13% increase over the last European-hosted Cup. Still…

Though up from 2014, ratings and viewership were the second-lowest for the final day of the Ryder Cup since at least 1997.

Viewership peaked at 4.03 million from 10:15-10:30 PM ET. Europe clinched victory at 11 AM, 90 minutes before the end of NBC’s telecast window.

For Immediate Release:

NBC SPORTS’ RYDER CUP FINAL DAY COVERAGE

FROM PARIS UP 23% VS. 2014 FROM SCOTLAND 

NBC Sports’ Final Day Streaming Up 697% vs. 2014, Up 58% vs. 2016

PARIS, (Oct 1, 2018) – NBC Sports’ coverage of the Ryder Cup from Le Golf National outside Paris was up all three days vs. 2014 in Scotland, the last year the Ryder Cup was staged in Europe. NBC’s final day coverage on Sunday posted a Total Audience Delivery (TAD) of 2.71 million average viewers across a 5.5-hour telecast (7 a.m.-12:30 pm ET), up 23% vs. 2014 (2.21m, Gleneagles, Scotland). Streaming of the Ryder Cup Final Day garnered 11.1 million minutes streamed, up 697% from 2014 (1.4m) and 58% vs. 2016 (8.1m, Hazeltine National Golf Club, Minneapolis). Europe won the Ryder Cup for the seventh time in ten events and continued their streak of winning in Europe dating back to 1993.

“The crowds in Paris were not the only passionate fans of the Ryder Cup with viewership in the U.S. posting gains everyday compared to four years ago in Scotland,” said Mike McCarley, president, Golf, NBC Sports. “Despite the overnight and morning hours, both TV and streaming coverage saw significant gains versus 2014, which was the first year Golf Channel covered the Ryder Cup as part of NBC Sports.” 

Additional Final Day highlights include:

·        Television viewership garnered 2.67 million average viewers, up 21% vs. 2014 (2.20m), and posted a 1.83 U.S. household rating.

·        Television viewership peaked at 4.03 million average viewers from 10:15-10:30 a.m. ET. Team Europe clinched the Ryder Cup at approximately 11 a.m. ET.

NBC SPORTS’ DAY TWO COVERAGE:

NBC Sports’ Day Two coverage of the Ryder Cup on Saturday (7 a.m. – 12:24 p.m. ET) posted a TAD of 2.31 million average viewers across a nearly 5.5-hour telecast, up 21% vs. 2014 (1.91m). NBC’s average viewership posted 2.27 million average viewers, up 19% vs. 2014 (1.91m). Streaming garnered 15.7 million minutes, up 552% vs. 2014 (2.4m)

Additional Day Two highlights include:

·        Television viewership garnered 2.27 million average viewers, up 19% vs. 2014 (1.91m), and posted a 1.57 U.S. household rating.

·        Television viewership peaked at 2.99 million average viewers from 11:30-11:45 a.m. ET.

GOLF CHANNEL’S DAY ONE COVERAGE:

Golf Channel’s Day One coverage of the Ryder Cup on Friday (2:00 a.m. – 12:19 p.m. ET) posted a TAD of 765k average viewers across a 10+ hour telecast, up 12% vs. 2014 (685k). Golf Channel’s average viewership posted 732k persons 2+, up 9% vs. 2014 (673k). Streaming garnered 20.6 million minutes, up 160% vs. 2014 (7.9m). 

Additional Day One highlights include:

·        Viewership peaked with 1.06 million average viewers from 9:15-9:30 a.m. ET.

·        From 2-6 a.m. ET, Golf Channel posted its best average viewership ever in this time period (489k avg. viewers).