Ah, what might have been for NBC and the U.S. Open. Imagine the rating if Tiger Woods actually had resembled Tiger Woods Sunday. Instead, his brutal start had him on the missing person’s report during the meat of the coverage.
As a result, we got a heavy dose of the plodding Jim Furyk and a U.S. Open where par was indeed a good score. It didn’t necessarily add up to compelling golf, but thanks to the primetime window, people still tuned in.
The numbers from NBC:
Sunday’s 6.5-hour (4-10:30 p.m. ET) final-round coverage of the U.S. Open on NBC delivered an 6.6 rating and 13 share, up 29% vs. last year (5.1/12).
The combined Saturday-Sunday overnight was a 6.1/13, up 39 % vs. last year (4.4/11) and the best since 2008 (6.8/15).
Despite competition from the NBA Finals, the rating increased every half hour from 8:30 p.m. ET on, peaking at an 8.1 from 10-10:30 p.m. ET. From 7 p.m. ET on, the rating never dipped below a 6.9.
Yes, there was a finals game last night. Another big number for game 3 on ABC.
From ESPN:
Through three games, the 2012 NBA Finals on ABC – Miami Heat vs. Oklahoma City Thunder – is the highest-rated series since 2004 and the second highest-rated ever on ABC based on overnight ratings, according to Nielsen. The Finals is averaging an 11.3 overnight rating, up 5 percent from a 10.8 last year (Dallas Mavericks vs. Miami Heat).
NBA Finals Game 3 – Miami defeated Oklahoma City 91-85 – generated a 10.4 overnight rating, peaking with a 14.7 rating from 10:30 to 10:45 p.m. ET. The game generated a 41.9 rating in Oklahoma City and a 29.6 rating in Miami.
There’s a fundamental problem when you anoint a new era in a sport before the finals is played. Your new era guy might lose out to the old era guy.