Ratings: 2021 Farmers With Reed Controversy Off Slightly On CBS, Golf Channel Ratings Take Hit Without Tiger

Not much year-to-year change for CBS at the season-opening (for them) Farmers Insurance Open according to ShowBuzzDaily. The PGA Tour moving to CBS and the NFL taking the week off meant golf won the sports week.

The 2021 final round on CBS dropped slightly from a 2.14 averaging 3.24 million in 2020 to a 1.95/3.1 million in 2021. Coverage last year include Tiger Woods within striking range and coverage impacted by news of Kobe Bryant’s death.

Embedded in the numbers are some signs of the Woods effect and Golf Channel’s ratings rough patch.

Weekend lead-in coverage numbers were down significantly from 2020 when Woods was in contention. Friday afternoon’s coverage essentially cut in half without the legend around.