January 25, 2023
Fore! Masters Wins Sunday For CBS
- by Wayne Friedman , April 13, 2009
From 7 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., "The Masters" earned a big Nielsen preliminary 4.1 rating/15 share among 18-49 viewers -- reaching some 17.1 million viewers, it was the best-rated show of the evening. The golf event was helped by a three-way tie that went into a sudden-death playoff.
"The Masters" helped to lift all boats that followed: "The Masters"/ "60 Minutes" combination during the 7:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. period rose to a 2.6/9, climbing to a 3.1/9 for "60 Minutes" from 8 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. "Amazing Race" moved to a 3.0/8 after that for the 9 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. time period.
CBS earned a 2.9/8 for the night, leading all networks. ABC and NBC tied for second place with a 2.3/7.
ABC was in repeats in the beginning and the end of the evening, with "America's Funniest Home Videos" and "Desperate Housewives." It got the most bang for its buck from "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition," which took a 3.3/9, winning the 9 p.m. hour over CBS' "Amazing Race"/"Cold Case" (2.8/8) and NBC's "Celebrity Apprentice" (2.6/7).
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NBC did better overall this week -- at a 2.3/7 versus a 2.0/5 a week ago. Much of this came from "Kings" leaving the Sunday lineup, replaced by a two-hour "Dateline NBC," which earned a 1.6/5 this week. "Kings" took a 1.1/3 a week ago, and an improved "Celebrity Apprentice" earned a 3.0/9 from a 2.8/7 the week before.
Fox was next with a 1.9/5. Although it ran all repeats of its animated comedies, it still was the best option for those looking for young audiences. It posted a 2.2/7 among 18-34 viewers, which led the way. For example, "Family Guy" -- in a rerun -- pulled in a 3.0/9 among 18-34 viewers, continuing its strong result as the best-rated young-targeted show of the night.
Univision was next with a 1.1/3 among 18-49 viewers, followed by the CW with a 0.3/1 in 18-49 viewers and a 0.2/1 among 18-34 viewers.
Wow. The author of this one doesn't know much about gold evidently and the TV ratings generated by Tiger Woods.
If Woods had not been climbing the leaderboard, I don't think you'd have seen the ratings at even 75% of what they were with the 3-way tie and playoff. After hole 16, Woods was 2 off the lead. If he had birdied 17 and 18 instead of bogeying both holes, he would have been in that playoff.
THAT'S what had people tuned in. He and Phil Mickelson created a lot of excitement during their round with Phil's birdies on 6 of the first 8 holes and Tiger's grinding away to catch up... almost.
Tiger Woods is responsible for the TV ratings for the USGA. Without him being competitive, those audience levels drop precipitously. In my view, whatever audience there was late Sunday came primarily as a 'hangover' from Woods' round.