Ratings Roundup: Early US Open Audience Up 58% on ESPN; CBS Golf Hits Six-Year Ratings High

Through three days of the first all-ESPN US Open, ESPN's TV audience was up 58% from a year ago, averaging 853,000 viewers (P2 ), up from 540,000 in 2014. The corresponding household rating is up 50%, from 0.4 to 0.6. Younger viewers are leading the charge. The rating among viewers 18-34 and 18-49 - as well as among men 18-34 and men 18-49 - is double last year's. In addition, the rating among viewers 55 is up 50%.

The audience following the US Open on WatchESPN - the linear TV presentation plus ESPN3's offering of up to 11 courts and other content - has more than tripled. After three days, 64.8 million live minutes have been viewed, an increase of 224 percent from 2014. On the average day, 273,000 unique devices have watched the US Open (up 145 percent), averaging 78 minutes each (up 38 percent). Wednesday ranks at the second best day for a tennis Major on WatchESPN/ESPN with 23.7 million minutes viewed, behind only the 2015 Wimbledon Gentlemen's Championship. The most-watched single feed so far was Wednesday's play on Armstrong Stadium - 114,000 viewers accounting for 5.5 million live minutes

CBS saw a big boost in its golf audience this year, as its 21 events combined to register the best ratings in six years. Including 19 PGA Tour events as well as The Masters and the PGA Championship, CBS averaged a 2.3 rating with a 6 share. That's up 21% from last year when it averaged a 1.9/5 for 22 events. Those are the best numbers for CBS for golf dating back to 2009 when it garnered a 2.5/6 for 21 events. As for the viewership, CBS averaged an audience of 3.5 million per event. That's a 25% increase from last year when the Tiffany Network averaged 2.8 million viewers. That's the highest average audience for golf on CBS since 2009 which saw 3.7 million viewers. (Awful Announcing)

ESPN's Thursday night, college football season opening doubleheader featuring North Carolina at South Carolina (6 p.m. ET) followed by No. 2 TCU at Minnesota (9 p.m. ET) earned a 40% and 27% overnight rating increase compared to ESPN's 2014 Thursday night college football opener featuring Boise State vs. Ole Miss (Aug. 28, 2014). South Carolina's 17-13 victory earned a 2.1 overnight rating, while No. 2 TCU's 23-17 victory garnered a 1.9 overnight rating, both representing a significant jump from the 1.5 overnight rating received during Ole Miss' 35-13 victory last season. Historically, North Carolina at South Carolina's 2.1 overnight rating is tied as the fifth best ESPN Thursday night opener of all time

MLB Network saw a hot August, which ranked as the channel's most watched August and third most-watched month ever in total day viewership. The period saw MLB Network's total day viewership average 123,000 viewers, rising 40% over August 2014. Programs that got a spike included: MLB Central, 106%; High Heat with Christopher Russo, 56%;The Rundown, 66%; MLB Now, 73%; Intentional Talk, 55%; MLB Tonight, 31%, and Quick Pitch, 36% (versus August 2014). (Cynopsis Sports)

NBCSN's presentation of the 2015 Verizon IndyCar Series averaged 507,000 viewers, making it the most-watched IndyCar season on NBCSN since IndyCar rights were acquired in 2009. NBCSN's 2015 IndyCar coverage (11 races) was up 34% from the network's average viewership for the 2014 season (378,000, 12 races), and up 26% vs. the previous record (402,000 in 2011), according to data provided by The Nielsen Company. NBCSN's record IndyCar viewership was highlighted by significant gains in the second half of the season, capped by Sunday's season finale at Sonoma. The race (5:00-7:25 p.m. ET) averaged 841,000 viewers to become the most-watched IndyCar race on NBCSN since rights were acquired in 2009, and the most-watched IndyCar race on cable in seven years (ESPN, 2008 at Richmond). Viewership of Sunday's race peaked in final full quarter hour (7:00-7:15 p.m. ET), as more than 1 million viewers (1.048 million) watched the thrilling conclusion to the 2015 campaign.

NBCSN's 2015 IndyCar coverage reached 6.409 million unique viewers, the highest total audience on the network since IndyCar rights were acquired in 2009, up 47% from the total audience in 2014 (4.350 million viewers), and up 34% vs. the previous record (4.789 million in 2011). The final six races of the season on NBCSN eclipsed 500,000 viewers, more than the past six seasons on NBCSN combined (five). The final three races of the season on NBCSN (Mid-Ohio, Pocono and Sonoma) eclipsed 600,000 viewers. These are the only races on NBCSN other than the Edmonton race in 2011 (642,000) to surpass 600,000 average viewers. In addition to delivering the highest average viewership in the network's history, IndyCar on NBCSN saw increases across key demographics - up 32% among Adults 18-49, and up 24% among Adults 25-54 vs. 2014.Over 11 races on NBCSN, the 2015 IndyCar season produced a 0.34 HH rating, up 36% vs. last year's rating (0.25, 12 races). Sunday's finale at Sonoma produced a 0.53 HH rating, up 104% vs. the 2014 race (0.26)

.Bostered by the red-hot Toronto Blue Jays, Sportsnet delivered a network record 6.8 audience share and an average minute audience of 266,000 - 113% higher than its closest competitor. Sportsnet was also Canada's highest-ranked specialty channel in August and the third most-watched of all Canadian networks (conventional or specialty)

A day after the Dodgers set a SportsNet LA viewership record, they topped it again Wednesday night. The teams 2-1 win over San Francisco had 144,000 total viewers, with a 1.85 household rating. Tuesday night's 2-1 victory had been the most-watched to date - 140,700-plus viewers and a 1.70 rating. The Monday-Wednesday Dodgers-Giants series averaged a 1.64 rating, the greatest ever on SportsNet LA. That was up 26 percent

LINK:	http://sportsvideo.org/main/blog/2015/09/ratings-roundup-early-us-open...
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