Golf Channel Sees Record Viewership For WGC-Cadillac Championship

The good golf ratings continue as fans are finding Golf Channel for the PGA Tour. Thursday’s 1st round of the PGA Tour Stop at the TPC Blue Monster at Doral garnered more than a million viewers. And on Friday, another million people watched the 2nd round giving the Doral event the best 2 day cable viewership since 2002 when USA carried the PGA Tour. In addition, NBC’s viewership for the final round coverage was up 16% from last year.

Let’s take a look at the NBC Sports Group press release.

GOLF CHANNEL SETS VIEWERSHIP RECORD FOR WGC-CADILLAC CHAMPIONSHIP

Golf Channel’s 1^st Round Coverage on Thursday is Best in 23-Year TV History of Doral Event
Two-Day Average Viewership on Golf Channel Best in Nearly a Decade
WGC-Cadillac Continues Golf Channel’s 2011 Streak
Golf Channel on NBC” Final Round Viewership Up 16%

NEW YORK – March 15, 2011 – NBC Sports Group set viewership records for its coverage of the WGC-Cadillac Championship, with Thursday’s coverage on Golf Channel the most-watched first-round in the history of the Doral event, and the two-day (Thursday-Friday) average viewership the best since 2002. Additionally, the final-round viewership on Sunday for “Golf Channel on NBC” rose 16 percent from last year, according to official national data released by The Nielsen Company.

Golf Channel drew 1.14 million viewers for Thursday’s first round, the most in Doral’s 23-year television history (2007-2011 on Golf Channel, 1989-2006 on USA). This also marked a 115-percent jump from last year’s first round and an increase of 25 percent over 2009.

Golf Channel averaged 1.07 million viewers for Thursday and Friday combined marking the best two-day viewership average for the Doral event since 2002 on USA (1.09 million).

36 FOR 36: The WGC-Cadillac Championship continued Golf Channel’s streak of delivering higher ratings for every PGA TOUR round this year (36 for 36) versus comparable rounds in 2010.

“GOLF CHANNEL ON NBC” VIEWERSHIP: The final-round coverage on NBC (3:09-7 p.m. Sunday), which has been rebranded as “Golf Channel on NBC,” averaged 3.32 million viewers, a gain of 14 percent from last year’s 2.86 million viewers. Viewership for Saturday’s third round on NBC will be available on Thursday.