or


[10/01/12 - 03:17 PM]
ESPN's Ryder Cup Telecast Sets Cable Ratings, Viewership Records
ESPN spins the numbers for Friday, September 28.

[via press release from ESPN]

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.





  [october 2012]  
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
[10/24/25 - 02:02 PM]
"20/20" Is Friday's Most-Watched Newsmagazine Across the Board
In addition, "20/20" posted its best Adults 25-54 in more than four months.

[10/24/25 - 02:01 PM]
ABC News' "Nightline" Ranks No. 1 Across the Board, Leading NBC in All Key Demos for the 4th Straight Week
"Nightline" grew year to year across the board: Total Viewers, Adults 25-54, and Adults 18-49.

[10/24/25 - 01:05 PM]
"Dancing with the Stars" Makes Television History - Rising for Fifth Straight Week
The October 21 episode scored 6.63 million Total Viewers and a 1.38 rating among Adults 18-49, hitting new season highs in both demographics.

[10/23/25 - 02:33 PM]
Largest Audience for "NBA Tip-Off" Doubleheader Since 2010 as NBA Returned to NBC and Debuted on Peacock
Tuesday night's audience across NBC and Peacock peaked at 7.1 million viewers from 10:45-11 p.m. ET as Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder to a one-point win over the Houston Rockets in double overtime.

[10/23/25 - 11:28 AM]
"High Potential" Rises to Season High as Show Nears Fall Finale
ABC's popular drama rose to a multiplatform season high in Total Viewers (12.50 million) and Adults 18-49 (2.31 rating) after seven days of viewing on ABC, Hulu, Hulu on Disney+ and digital platforms.

[10/22/25 - 03:06 PM]
FOX Sports Delivers Most-Watched ALCS Game Since 2017
9,028,000 viewers tuned in across FOX, FS1, FOX Deportes & FOX Sports streaming services for the Toronto Blue Jays' ALCS Game 7 victory over the Seattle Mariners.

[10/22/25 - 08:07 AM]
ESPN College Football on ABC Delivers Top Three Games Across All Networks for Saturday, Oct. 18 - Off to Best Start Since '09
Coverage of Ole Miss at Georgia averaged 9.8 million viewers.

[10/22/25 - 08:03 AM]
FOX NFL's America's Game of the Week Delivers 25,630,000 Average Viewers for Commanders-Cowboys
Season-to-date, the NFL on FOX is off to its best start to the season since 2014, averaging 19,646,000 viewers and up +4% over last year's season-to-date average.

[10/22/25 - 07:44 AM]
"9-1-1: Nashville" Debuts with Over 12 Million Total Audience to Date
The star-studded, high-octane first-responder drama delivered 7.80 million Total Viewers and 1.51 rating among Adults 18-49, excluding encores.

[10/22/25 - 06:21 AM]
ABC's Telecast of Formula 1 U.S. Grand Prix Draws Event's Largest TV Audience on Record
Viewership peaked at 1.6 million between 4:15-4:30 p.m. as Max Verstappen drove to victory, further tightening up the battle for the F1 driver's championship with only five races left in the season.

[10/21/25 - 12:01 PM]
Netflix Top 10 Week of October 13: "The Woman in Cabin 10" Sails Smoothly to No. 1 in This Week's Top 10
In the final stretch to Halloween, those lured in by the story of the OG horror villain put "Monster: The Ed Gein Story" at No. 1 on the English TV list with 9.5 million views.

[10/17/25 - 01:16 PM]
"Live with Kelly and Mark" Hits Season Highs with Best Audience Performance Since July
"Live" has now ranked as the No. 1 talk show in syndication for 139 consecutive weeks across all key measures.

[10/17/25 - 10:38 AM]
"Dancing with the Stars" Continues Historic Hot Streak - Rising for Fourth Straight Week Since Premiere with 6 Million Total Viewers
Plus: "High Potential" dominated the 10 p.m. hour with 4.15 million Total Viewers and a 0.33 rating among Adults 18-49.

[10/16/25 - 06:01 AM]
ESPN's Monumental 2025 WNBA Season Sets New Viewership Records
Across all networks, the 2025 WNBA Postseason was the most-viewed since 1999.

[10/15/25 - 04:02 PM]
"20/20" Is Friday's No. 1 Program on Broadcast TV
"20/20" increased its lead week to week over "Dateline" in Total Viewers to post its largest of the season.