NBC got very good ratings for the PGA Tour’s Chevron World Challenge, what essentially is the last official golf tournament of the year before golf’s Silly Season starts. If you’re not aware of the Silly Season, it’s where golf players can make money on unofficial tournaments and rake in the cash. You’ll start to see stuff like the 3 Tour Challenge, the Skins Game, etc.
Anyway, with Tiger Woods in contention in his own tournament, the Chevron World Challenge, the ratings went up significantly. And while Woods lost in a playoff, the fact that he had a chance to win brought in the viewers. In addition, some NFL markets showed up in the overnights too. Here’s what we have from NBC Sports.
FINAL-ROUND COVERAGE OF CHEVRON WORLD CHALLENGE IS BEST IN EIGHT YEARS; OVERNIGHT RATING UP 170 PERCENT VS. 2009Coverage of 2010 U.S. Open Champion Graeme McDowell’s Playoff Win over Tiger Woods Earns 2.7 Overnight RatingNEW YORK – December 6, 2010 – NBC Sports’ coverage of the final-round of the Chevron World Challenge, which saw 2010 U.S. Open champion Graeme McDowell duel and eventually defeat Tiger Woods in a playoff, generated the best Sunday overnight rating in eight years and a 170-percent increase from last year’s final-day broadcast.Sunday’s coverage earned a 2.7 overnight rating, up 170 percent from a 1.0 rating for 2009’s final-round and the highest Sunday overnight for the event since 2002 (3.1/6), which Padraig Harrington won by two strokes over Tiger Woods. Saturday’s third-round coverage generated a 1.6 overnight rating, up 167 percent over a 0.6 last year and the highest for a Saturday since 2007 (2.2/5).TOP 10 MARKETS FOR FINAL-ROUND COVERAGE1. West Palm Beach 6.7/112. Fort Myers 6.0/103. Greensboro 5.5/94. Orlando 4.3/85. Tampa 4.1/86. Greenville/Spartanburg 4.1/77. Louisville 4.0/78. Knoxville 3.9/69. Pittsburgh 3/9/7T10. Cleveland 3.6/6T10. Detroit 3.6/7
I’ll be busy with work, but I’ll be doing what I can for press releases, breaking news and linkage later.