With Tiger Woods briefly taking the lead in the final round of the British Open on Sunday, NBC’s ratings swelled to their highest for the tournament in 18 years.
NBC drew a 5 rating in the Nielsen overnights from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. ET, the biggest number since Woods completed the career Grand Slam by winning the open in 2000. The rating was up 38% from last year’s final round.
Coverage peaked from 1 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. at a 6.74 rating, the second-highest peak half hour for golf this year, trailing only the Masters.
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The golf tournament, won by Francesco Molinari of Italy as drew online viewing. NBC says 33.9 million minute were streamed, up 67% from last year, making it the most streamed golf event ever for NBC Sports.
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During the tournament, NBC Sports used its Playing Through split screen commercial format. At some points, viewers were able to watch Woods’ shots live while the network was in the middle of a commercial break.
