CBS’s PGA Tour Coverage Scores Top Viewership Billing: The Week in Sports Ratings
NFL preseason games make up nearly half of the 10 top-rated events
CBS’s PGA Golf coverage swung its way to the top of last week’s live sports ratings chart that was otherwise dominated by preseason National Football League games.
CBS’s August 13 coverage of the PGA FedEx St. Jude Championship averaged 3.20 million viewers to top the chart for the week of August 7 to August 13, per Nielsen numbers published by Sports Media Watch. CBS’s pre-event telecast also finished in the top 10 most-watched events for the week with 1.89 million watchers.
NBC’s August 13 NASCAR Cup Series Race finished second for the week with 2.83 million, followed by Fox’s August 12 Saturday baseball coverage with 2.30 million viewers.
NFL Network placed four preseason game telecasts in the top 10, led by the August 13 San Francisco 49ers-Las Vegas Raiders game with 2.22 million viewers.
Fox’s coverage of the August 10 Spain-Netherlands FIFA Women’s World Cup quarterfinal match was the eighth-most-watched event for the week with 1.77 million viewers.
Falling short of the top 10 was ABC’s August 13 coverage of the Little League Softball World Series Championship Game, which drew 861,000 viewers, placing it behind only the 2002 championship game historically, according to ESPN.
Date | Event | Network | Viewership |
August 13 | PGA St. Jude Tournament | CBS | 3.20 million |
August 13 | NASCAR Cup Series Race | NBC | 2.83 million |
August 12 | Fox Saturday Baseball | Fox | 2.30 million |
August 13 | NFL Pre-season game (49'ers-Raiders) | NFL Network | 2.22 million |
August 13 | NFL Pre-season game (Chiefs-Saints) | NFL Network | 2.12 million |
August 13 | NASCAR Cup Series Race (pre-show) | NBC | 2.03 million |
August 12 | PGA St. Jude Tournament | CBS | 1.89 million |
August 10 | FIFA Women's World Cup (Spain-Netherlands) | Fox | 1.77 million |
August 12 | NFL Pre-season (Eagles-Ravens) | NFL Network | 1.74 million |
August 10 | NFL Pre-season (Texans-Patriots) | NFL Network | 1.68 million |
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R. Thomas Umstead serves as senior content producer, programming for Multichannel News, Broadcasting + Cable and Next TV. During his more than 30-year career as a print and online journalist, Umstead has written articles on a variety of subjects ranging from TV technology, marketing and sports production to content distribution and development. He has provided expert commentary on television issues and trends for such TV, print, radio and streaming outlets as Fox News, CNBC, the Today show, USA Today, The New York Times and National Public Radio. Umstead has also filmed, produced and edited more than 100 original video interviews, profiles and news reports featuring key cable television executives as well as entertainers and celebrity personalities.