Fox Boasts Best U.S. Open Ratings Since 2013
Rob Schumacher/USA Today Sports
Fox Sports reported their final round TV ratings were a U.S. Open best since 2013. It did have a lot going for it like prime time viewing, a prime venue, a close back-nine with Brooks Koepka trying to make history and even Tiger Woods playing a final round (although he was miles behind the leaders).
Gary Woodland’s dramatic victory in the U.S. Open at Pebble Beach drew an average of 7.31 million viewers to coverage on Fox and peaked at 10.16 million viewers from 9:15 to 9:30 p.m. ET Sunday, making it the best final round performance since 2013, the network said Monday.
Fox said Sunday’s coverage was up 44% over last year, when Brooks Koepka won his second consecutive U.S. Open, beating Tommy Fleetwood by one.
It was also the first time a final round of the U.S. Open featured Tiger Woods since 2013.
The network said it averaged 3.67 million viewers over four rounds across Fox and FS1, an increase of 28% over last year.
Here were the top markets for Sunday’s final round. Koepka’s hometown of West Palm Beach and Kansas City (Woodland is from Topeka, Kansas) made the list.
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- West Palm (8.4/15)
- Tampa (8.3/17)
- Fort Myers (8.1/16)
- Pittsburgh (7.8/17)
- Kansas City (7.8/18)
I thought Fox’s coverage has improved every year and the added drone shots were worthy to showcase such an iconic venue.
