or


[04/07/18 - 07:37 AM]
Second Round Masters Ratings on ESPN Up 55 Percent Over 2017
ESPN spins the numbers for Friday, April 6.
[via press release from ESPN]

Second Round Masters Ratings on ESPN Up 55 Percent Over 2017

ESPN's live telecast of the second round of the Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club on Friday, April 6, earned a 2.9 overnight rating, an increase of 55 percent over the Friday rating in 2017 and up 27 percent over the 2016 Friday rating.

The rating was ESPN's best on Friday since a 3.3 in 2013 and tied for the third-best Friday rating since ESPN began airing the Masters in 2008. The Friday telecast in 2017 earned a 1.8 overnight rating while the 2016 Friday telecast earned a 2.3 overnight rating.

Friday's telecast, which aired from 3 p.m. until 7:45 p.m., peaked between 6:15-6:30 p.m. with a 3.3 rating as Tiger Woods was playing the closing holes of his round.

The top 10 metered markets:

Greenville, S.C. 5.4
Ft. Myers, Fla. 5.1
Orlando, Fla. 4.8
Louisville, Ky. 4.8
Tampa-St. Petersburg, Fla. 4.5
Greensboro, N.C. 4.5
Charlotte, N.C. 4.2
Buffalo, N.Y. 3.8
Jacksonville, Fla. 3.8
Indianapolis. Ind. 3.8

Also yesterday, SportsCenter at the Masters, which aired from 10 a.m. until 3 p.m. with expanded quick-turnaround highlights and analysis of in-progress play, earned a 0.6 metered market average, up 200 percent over the 0.2 rating from the same time last year.

ESPN's live Masters coverage ended Friday but SportsCenter and ESPN.com will continue to report from the Masters throughout the weekend.

ESPN's Friday Masters Telecast Draws 3.9 Million Viewers, Up 50 Percent from 2017

An average of 3.9 million people watched ESPN's telecast of the second round of the Masters Tournament on Friday, the most-viewed Friday at the Masters since 2013 and an increase of 50 percent over last year's audience of 2.6 million, according to Nielsen Fast National data.

The second round, which aired from 3 p.m. until 7:45 p.m. ET, ranks as the third most-viewed Friday since ESPN began airing the Masters in 2008.

In addition to being up 50 percent over 2017's Friday audience, the telecast also was up 28 percent over the audience of 3.1 million for the second round in 2016.

For its two days of Masters coverage, ESPN averaged 3.5 million viewers, up 46 percent from 2017 (2.4 million) and the highest two-day average since 2013 (also 3.5 million).

The Masters also helped draw audiences to SportsCenter, with the edition airing following the completion of Friday's play earning an overnight rating of 1.3, an increase of 117 percent from the 0.6 rating for the same timeslot last year.

Also yesterday, SportsCenter at the Masters, which aired from 10 a.m. until 3 p.m. with expanded quick-turnaround highlights and analysis of in-progress play, earned a 0.6 metered market average, up 200 percent over the 0.2 rating from the same time last year.

ESPN's digital platforms also continued to see year-over-year growth on Friday. The Men's Golf section of the ESPN App saw an increase of 140 percent in total minutes spent on Friday vs. Friday of last year (28,487,437 in 2018 vs. 11,867,590 in 2017) and visits were up 60 percent (5,402,758 in 2018 vs. 3,375,901 last year).

The golf section of ESPN.com was also up 67 percent in visits vs. Friday of last year (3,338,179 vs. 1,999,784 in 2017).

ESPN's live Masters coverage ended Friday but SportsCenter and ESPN.com will continue to report from the Masters throughout the weekend.





  [april 2018]  
S
M
T
W
T
F
S


· SHOWATCH
(series past and present)
· DEVWATCH
(series in development)
· MOVIEWATCH
(tv movies and mini-series)




most recent ratings | view all posts
[05/20/26 - 07:36 AM]
After Record-Setting 2025 Season, "Sunday Night Football" Finishes Fall-Spring TV Season as Primetime's No. 1 Show for Unprecedented 15th Consecutive Year
The series averaged 23.5 million viewers in 2025, marking the show's best-ever viewership - up nearly 1 million viewers from the prior record for the series set a decade ago (22.6 million in 2015 season) and an increase of 9% over the '24 season (21.6 million).
[05/19/26 - 02:52 PM]
Subway Series Delivers Second Most-Watched FOX Saturday Baseball Telecast of the Season
2,500,000 viewers tuned-in to the two-game slate highlighted by the Mets' 6-3 victory over the Yankees in most of the country.
[05/19/26 - 02:01 PM]
Netflix Viewership Peaks with Nearly 17 Million Global Viewers for MVP MMA's Rousey vs. Carano, Averaging 12.4 Million Viewers Across the Triple Main Event
In the US, the triple-main card averaged 9.3 million viewers, peaking at 11.6 million viewers during Rousey vs. Carano.
[05/19/26 - 12:01 PM]
Netflix Top 10: Week of May 11 - "The Roast of Kevin Hart" Heats Up to No. 1 in This Week's Top 10
True crime audiences also streamed the second season of "Worst Ex Ever," which rose to the No. 2 spot on the English TV list with 8.1 million views.
[05/19/26 - 07:07 AM]
TNT Sports Posts Its Most-Watched NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs Second Round Ever
Thursday's Game 5 of the Montreal/Buffalo series averaged 1.9 million viewers, making it the most-watched, Second Round, Game 5 on cable ever featuring a Canadian team.
[05/18/26 - 04:03 PM]
"The Rookie" Season 8 Finale Surges to Over 9 Million Total Viewers
Setting new records with its exceptional momentum this season, "The Rookie" finale earned an all-time streaming high for the series based on views over seven days on Hulu and Hulu on Disney+.

[05/15/26 - 02:03 PM]
ABC News Is #1 in Total Viewers on Sunday Morning, in Late-Night and on Friday Night
"20/20" saw week-to-week increases in Adults 25-54 and Adults 18-49, hitting 4-week highs in both measures.
[05/14/26 - 10:07 AM]
"Rooster" Capped Off a Standout First Season, Becoming HBO's Most-Watched Comedy Debut in Over 15 Years
The series is averaging 6.5 million U.S. viewers per episode, with the finale reaching 2.2 million viewers in its first three days.
[05/14/26 - 10:01 AM]
Home Run! ESPN Scores Most-Consumed College Softball Regular Season on Record
The 2026 campaign featured four of ESPN's eight most-watched regular season games of all-time and delivered a record-high 10 games with more than 500,000 viewers.

[05/13/26 - 10:30 AM]
Viewership for 2026 NBA Draft Lottery Presentation on ABC Up 23 Percent Year Over Year
ESPN's presentation of the 2026 NBA Draft Lottery on Sunday, May 10, on ABC averaged 2.3 million viewers.
[05/13/26 - 07:56 AM]
ESPN Networks Delivered Second Most-Watched WNBA Regular-Season Game Ever with Dallas Wings vs Indiana Fever on May 9
ESPN today announced that the Dallas Wings vs. Indiana Fever matchup on May 9 at 1 p.m. ET on ABC averaged 2.5 million viewers, making it the second most-watched WNBA regular-season game across ESPN networks ever.
[05/12/26 - 12:01 PM]
Netflix Top 10: Week of May 4 - The Critters of "Swapped" Soar to No. 1 in This Week's Top 10
The pursuit of justice is action-packed in "Man on Fire," which set the English TV list ablaze at No. 1 with 12.6 million views.
[05/08/26 - 09:18 AM]
TNT Sports Delivers Its Most-Watched MLB Regular Season Start Since 2015
The Yankees/Mariners season opener on March 31 delivered 562,000 viewers and peaked at 735,000, making it the most watched opener on TBS since 2012.

[05/06/26 - 10:01 AM]
Strong Month of Sports Propels ESPN Studio Shows to Record Viewership for April
The entire lineup of ESPN studio shows was up 21% overall in viewership over April of 2025 and up 10% year-over-year (YOY) in the coveted Persons ages 18-49 demographic.

[05/05/26 - 03:52 PM]
ESPN Networks Aired Its Most Viewed First Round of the Current Rights Deal of the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs
ESPN also delivered three of the top five matchups in the First Round including the Philadelphia Flyers-Pittsburgh Penguins Game 1 (2.1 million viewers).