ESPN's Ryder Cup Telecast Sets Cable Ratings, Viewership Records

ESPN's telecast of the first-day matches in the 39th Ryder Cup on Friday, September 28, set records as cable's highest-rated and most-viewed telecast of the event on record.

With the telecast airing 11.5 hours from 8 a.m. - 7:30 p.m. ET, ESPN earned an average household coverage rating of 1.7 (1.5 U.S. rating) and an average of 1,679,359 viewers, according to the Nielsen Company. The rating peaked at a 2.5 in the 6-7 p.m. range.

The highest previous Ryder Cup first-day average cable rating on record was a 1.6 on the USA Network for the 2004 event. That telecast averaged 1,394,064 viewers.

The Ryder Cup was held at Medinah Country Club in Chicago. The every-other-year event was staged in Wales in 2010 and the first-day matches aired earlier in the day due to the time difference, averaging a 0.7 household coverage rating. ESPN first telecast the Ryder Cup in 2008.

REVISION: Please note that while ESPN's Ryder Cup telecast on Friday was the most-viewed Ryder Cup telecast ever on cable, we later recognized that this was not the highest-rated as we originally reported yesterday. The release below has been corrected. We apologize for the error and the inconvenience.

ESPN's Ryder Cup Telecast Sets Cable Viewership Record

With more than 3.2 million people watching at the peak, ESPN's telecast of the first-day matches in the 39th Ryder Cup on Friday, September 28, was cable's most-viewed Ryder Cup telecast on record.

ESPN earned an average of 1,984,853 viewers and an average household coverage rating of 1.7 (1.5 U.S. rating) during the 11.5-hour telecast, according to the Nielsen Company. Viewership and ratings peaked at 7 p.m. ET with 3,289,047 watching and a 2.6 rating. ESPN's telecast aired from 8 a.m. - 7:30 p.m.

The highest previous Ryder Cup first-day average cable viewership on record was 1,735,295 on the USA Network in 1999.

The Ryder Cup was held at Medinah Country Club in Chicago. The every-other-year event was staged in Wales in 2010 and the first-day matches aired earlier in the day due to the time difference, averaging a 0.7 household coverage rating. ESPN first telecast the Ryder Cup in 2008.