First Round: ESPN Has Strongest Masters Opening Since '10

Still well below Tiger's return in 2010 but a strong rating for the opening round.

For Immediate Release, and note the WatchESPN numbers at the end...

ESPN’s live telecast of the first round of the 2015 Masters Tournament on Thursday, April 9, attracted the largest audience and highest rating for the first round since the record-setting 2010 telecast, according to Nielsen Media fast national data.
 

The telecast earned a 2.2 rating and averaged 3.218 million viewers, easily surpassing last year’s 1.5 rating and average audience of 2.006 million. The 2010 Masters first-round telecast on ESPN earned a 3.4 rating and averaged 4.936 million viewers, the second-largest golf audience ever on cable.
 

Among local markets, Columbus, Ohio, and West Palm Beach, Fla., led the nation’s metered markets with a 4.2 rating for the telecast, with Greenville, S.C., third at 4.0 and Jacksonville, Fla., and Oklahoma City tied for fourth at 3.9.
 
Rounding out the top 10 were Greensboro, N.C., at 3.6 and Atlanta, Charlotte, N.C., Las Vegas and Norfolk, Va., at 3.5.
 

Thursday coverage of the Masters on WatchESPN across platforms reached 234,000 unique viewers that spent 10.5 million minutes watching live, up 263 percent and 175 percent compared to the previous year and a record high for the Masters on WatchESPN. 

Across all ESPN digital platforms, Masters content drew an average minute audience of 18,000 on Thursday alone, up 79 percent.
 
While ESPN’s live Masters coverage ends Friday, SportsCenter and ESPN.com will continue to report from the Masters throughout the weekend.

Update on Saturday, April 11, 2015 at 04:44 AM by Geoff

**Golf Channel scored nice numbers Thursday as well.

Week to date, Golf Channel’s Masters Week coverage, including Golf Central’s Live From the Masters and Morning Drive, is 163,000 viewers per minute, +33% YOY . This makes it the 2nd Most-Watched Masters Week on record for Golf Channel, only -3% vs 2013

Golf Channel was the Most-Watched Sports Network from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. ET on Thursday with Golf Central Live From the Masters coverage (508,000 average viewers across 7 hours of coverage, +38% YOY)

Golf Channel was the Most-Watched Sports Network from 2-3 p.m. ET on Wednesday with Golf Central Live From the Masters coverage, leading into the Par 3 Contest at Augusta National

Comments

[DJ Watts]

I'll admit it. I tuned in to watch Jordan Spieth play, and he did not disappoint. Not a fan of the swing, but the kid can get the ball in the hole. Can't wait for the weekend.

[CRS]

Where is Feherty? Kostis is announcing on the 15th.

[meefer]

I wonder how one player can eclipse so many others, and I always end up with the putter.

[jgw]

Sport is so screwed once Tiger is actually done.