The PGA Tour’s viewership rebound has persisted into the early part of the season; however, the comparison against the 2023 season reveals some concerning trends. Despite the Tour’s last nine events (six on NBC and three on CBS) experiencing year-over-year increases in final round viewership, this positive trend dissipates when evaluated against the previous year’s data.
On Wednesday, NBC Sports shared an encouraging perspective on PGA Tour viewership by highlighting comparisons to last year. According to them, NBC Sports’ @PGATOUR coverage has achieved six consecutive weekends of viewership gains across NBC, Peacock, and NBC Sports Digital properties. Notably, five of the six Sunday final rounds recorded double-digit percentage increases, averaging 2.7 million viewers for those broadcasts. pic.twitter.com/PsUoDPrgRu
Five of six Sunday final rounds posted double-digit percentage viewership gains, averaging 2.7 million viewers for those Sunday broadcasts. pic.twitter.com/PsUoDPrgRu
— Golf Channel PR (@GolfChannelPR) April 2, 2025
Throughout the past six weeks, five tournaments have reported double-digit viewership increases compared to 2024, as per NBC Sports’ total audience delivery metric. It’s important to note that NBC’s figures encompass both traditional TV viewing and Peacock’s streaming audience. While data for this year has shown to be largely positive for the Tour, this improvement is partly attributed to the weak viewership experienced early in the prior season. The start of the 2024 PGA Tour season faced challenges due to weather-impacted rounds, which negatively affected viewership, thereby making this season’s data appear more favorable.
However, when analyzing data from the 2023 season, the PGA Tour still has substantial ground to cover. Overall, 10 out of the 13 final round broadcasts thus far this season have experienced a decrease in viewership compared to 2023, with only one event (The Genesis) remaining essentially flat. The two instances of growth include last week’s Houston Open and Rory McIlroy’s victory at Pebble Beach in February. While this situation is not necessarily alarming for the Tour, it does provide context for this year’s ratings recovery. There is a positive trajectory in viewership, but it has yet to surpass the baseline established just two years ago.
In summary, while this year’s ratings story has been encouraging for the Tour and its broadcasting partners, it’s advisable to moderate expectations regarding the extent of its success.
