by Mark Hopkinson

The Tiger Effect was in full swing at The British Open which was terrific for the golf and country club TV spots we ran for clients during coverage of the PGA Tour.

British Open ratings surged to multi-year highs. Television coverage of the final round of the British Open posted an overnight rating of 5.0. That number ties Woods’ 2006 win at Royal Liverpool for the highest British Open final round rating since he completed his career Grand Slam at St. Andrews in 2000.

This was the highest-rated final round since the 2015 PGA Championship. It was also the most-streamed golf event ever for NBC Sports digital platforms.

Saturday’s third round of the British Open earned a 2.6 rating and 3.72 million viewers, per Nielsen fast-nationals — up 24% in ratings and 21% in viewership from last year (2.1, 3.07M) and up 8% and 12% respectively from 2016 (2.4, 3.31M).

Ratings and viewership were the highest for the third round of The Open since 2013 on ESPN (2.7, 3.78M), reeling in a 3.0 in Nielsen overnight numbers and up 25% over 2017.

The telecast, which peaked with 4.3 million from Noon-12:15 PM ET, had a streaming audience of 49,000 on NBC Sports’ digital platforms (+23%). Across TV and streaming, it had 3.77 million — still the highest since 2013.

On Friday, second round coverage had 1.1 million on Golf Channel, including streaming viewership and excluding the early morning hours. It was the most-watched weekday round of The Open since ESPN last aired the event in 2015.

The Tiger Effect on golf ratings and our Client Commercials

Tiger Woods healthy and playing well again is a huge win for the sport in general, the ratings, and ultimately, the viewing audience for our clients’ TV spots.

The Open Championship proved once again that Woods drives ratings as many media outlets have noted including Joel Beall at Golf Digest.