CARNOUSTIE, Scotland, (July 24, 2018) – Sunday’s Final Round of The 147TH Open on NBC delivered 6.48 million average viewers (9a-2:07p ET; P2+), which saw Francesco Molinari become the Champion Golfer of the Year with a two-shot victory at Carnoustie Golf Links over a star-studded leaderboard of world-class golfers. This makes The 147TH Open the most-watched Open Championship Final Round in 18 years, since Tiger Woods completed the Career Grand Slam with his win in 2000 at the Old Course in St Andrews (8.56 million average viewers, ABC). The Open becomes the most-watched Final Round for any major championship since 2015 (excluding the Masters) when Jason Day won the PGA Championship at Whistling Straits (6.68m) and marks the first year ever that The Open has exceeded the U.S. Open in average viewership for the Final Round.
“In 2016, we made a commitment to our partners at The R&A to help elevate The Open, golf’s original championship, with U.S. sports fans,” said Mike McCarley, president, Golf, NBC Sports Group. “Therefore, we’re thrilled with this Sunday’s tremendous display of drama from the greatest golfers in the world. This was a great day for golf and congratulations to Francesco Molinari, the Champion Golfer of the Year.”
ADDITIONAL VIEWERSHIP HIGHLIGHTS INCLUDE:
- Sunday’s Final Round on NBC posted a 4.3 U.S. Household Rating, making it the highest-rated Open Championship in 12 years, since Tiger Woods’ win in 2006 at Royal Liverpool (4.6 U.S. HH Rating, ABC)
- NBC Sports’ Final Round linear coverage peaked at a 6.0 U.S. Household Rating and 9.36 million average viewers (1:30P-1:45P), the highest Final Round peak at The Open since 2006 (1P-1:15P, 11.1m, ABC).
- NBC Sports’ Final Round linear coverage delivered 2.20 million average viewers within Person’s 25-54 demo, up 48% vs. 2017 (1.49 million viewers P25-54).
- NBC Sports’ Total Audience Delivery was 6.57 million average viewers across linear and streaming, the second highest TAD for NBC Sports’ golf coverage since the combined metric’s inception in 2014 (8.8 million, 2016 Olympics, men’s golf 90 min. simulcast). The Open’s 2018 TAD was up 32% vs. 2017, Jordan Spieth’s win at Royal Birkdale.
- Across four days of coverage, 125 million total minutes streamed (+24% vs. 2017); making The 147TH Open the most-streamed golf event ever for NBC Sports Digital platforms.
- Sunday’s Final Round saw 33.9 million minutes streamed, +67% vs. 2017, and Streaming Average Minute Audience (90,600) was up 53% vs. 2017.
- Coverage from Carnoustie last week also saw NBC Sports post three of its four most-streamed days of a golf event ever: No. 1: Round 1 (Thursday, 37.2 million minutes), No. 3: Final Round (Sunday, 33.9 million) and No. 4: Round 2 (Friday, 31.7 million).
ADDITIONAL DIGITAL HIGHLIGHTS INCLUDE:
- Golf Channel Digital: The full week of The Open (Mon-Mon) totaled 6.2 million short-form VOD starts across Golf Channel’s digital platforms, up 187% vs. 2017 and making it the best week ever for short-form VOD starts.
- Golf Channel Social Media: The Best Open Championship Week Ever with Engagement up 36% and social-native video views up 137%. Innovations like the partnership with Conor Moore, comedian impressionist, as well as other content premiered across social platforms first helped drive these increases.
NBC SPORTS’ PLAYING THROUGH COMMERCIAL BREAK MODEL:
https://twitter.com/GolfChannelPR/status/1021099782469799936
Enhancing both the viewership and commercial experience, NBC Sports’ popular “Playing Through” split-screen commercial format returned for The Open, ensuring viewers don’t miss key stretches of the action during commercial breaks. During NBC Sports’ coverage of The 147TH Open at Carnoustie Golf Links, an additional 181 shots of live golf were shown via “Playing Through.”
NBC SPORTS COVERS ALL 156 GOLFERS FOR THIRD YEAR IN A ROW:
https://twitter.com/GolfChannelPR/status/1020379254226333696
NBC Sports showed all 156 golfers at The 147th Open on Golf Channel, fulfilling the mantra: “If you’re good enough to qualify for The Open, you deserve to be seen on TV.” By the end of the second round, NBC Sports showed at least one golf shot from the entire field at The Open , marking 3 consecutive years.
Source: Linear Television: Nielsen Live+Same Day U.S. HH Rtg; P2+ Avg 000’s; P25-54 000’s. Details available. Digital: Adobe Analytics.
