CBS Sports, ESPN see ratings bump for Xander Schauffele's PGA Championship win
The PGA Championship produced thrilling drama, which led to an increase of television ratings across the board.
Like Xander Schauffele, CBS Sports and ESPN scored significant victories at the PGA Championship this past week.
During Sunday’s final round, which saw Schauffele fend off a furious charge from Bryson DeChambeau, CBS averaged 4.958 million viewers—a 10% increase from last year, when Brooks Koepka prevailed at Oak Hill.
Coverage peaked at 8.421 million viewers, which coincided with Schauffele playing the par-5 18th. He arrived at the final hole tied with DeChambeau at 20-under-par but made a thrilling birdie to win the Wanamaker Trophy by a stroke. His 21-under-par total set a new major championship scoring record.
Over the final hour, from 6:15 p.m. to 7:15 p.m. ET, CBS drew an average of 7.764 million viewers. That timeframe featured plenty of drama, including DeChambeau knocking his drive off a tree and getting a lucky break on 16, which led to a birdie. DeChambeau then birded the 18th hole, producing a thrilling celebration that drew comparisons to Phil Mickelson’s PGA Championship win three years prior.
The final hour also saw Viktor Hovland, one of the fan favorites on the PGA Tour, vie for the title but fall short in the end with a closing bogey.
Furthermore, Paramount+, CBS Sports’ streaming service, saw double-digit year-over-year growth in households, minutes, and the average minute audience.
All of this came on the same day as a pair of NBA Game 7s. The Indiana Pacers defeated the New York Knicks on Sunday afternoon on ABC, which drew 6.45 million—down 24% from the same window a year ago, per Sports Media Watch. The game was never close, which surely helped the PGA Championship’s numbers. The Timberwolves went on to defeat the defending champion Denver Nuggets later that evening.
But on top of all that, in the wake of Scottie Scheffler’s arrest, ESPN averaged 1.6 million viewers on Friday—an 18% increase compared to the second round in 2023. Last year, Koepka shot up the leaderboard on Friday, DeChambeau lurked, and Scheffler and Hovland held a piece of the 36-hole lead with Corey Conners. Still, 2023’s second round drew 231,000 fewer viewers than this year’s eventful—and bizarre—day two.
Friday’s ESPN telecast, which drew rave reviews for its coverage of Scheffler and the golf itself, peaked with two million viewers during the 6 to 6:15 p.m. ET quarter-hour.
All in all, these increases are not only a win for the networks but for men’s professional golf, too. Television ratings have struggled throughout 2024, including at The Masters, but the thrilling drama and the mind-blowing events surrounding the championship led to an increased interest, and rightfully so.
Perhaps this trend will continue at next month’s U.S. Open, where NBC Sports will broadcast the third major of the year from Pinehurst No. 2.
Jack Milko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. Be sure to check out @_PlayingThrough for more golf coverage. You can follow him on Twitter @jack_milko as well.