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
[10/03/25 - 02:17 PM]
ESPN's Record-Setting '25 MLB Wild Card Series
Across eight games, the MLB Wild Card Series is averaging 4.4 million viewers, up 65% from last year.
[10/03/25 - 12:07 PM]
"Dancing with the Stars" Continues to Shatter Records - Growing Two Weeks in a Row Since Season Premiere for First Time Since 2005
Plus: "High Potential" hit a season high in Total Viewers (4.24 million), growing by double digits over the show's comparable third episode from last fall.
[10/02/25 - 04:09 PM]
ESPN Delivers the Most-Watched WNBA Semifinals Ever
Game 5 between the Indiana Fever and the Las Vegas Aces averaged 1.8 million viewers, peaking at 2.1 million.
[10/02/25 - 02:51 PM]
ESPN's Record-Setting Day One of MLB Wild Card Series
Coverage of Red Sox versus Yankees averaged 6.5 million viewers, peaking at 9.9 million.
[10/02/25 - 11:00 AM]
"Survivor" and "The Amazing Race" Season Premieres Hit Their Largest 3-Day Streaming Viewerships Ever
The "Survivor" season 49 premiere grew to 6.83 million viewers with three days of multiplatform viewership; while "The Amazing Race" season 38 premiere grew to 4.01 million viewers.
[10/02/25 - 09:38 AM]
"Celebrity Wheel of Fortune" Scores on Friday Nights with Biggest Total Viewer Audience in Nearly Two Years
"Celebrity Wheel of Fortune" stood as the No. 1 program of the night, rising by double digits in Total Viewers over its previous season premiere.
[10/01/25 - 10:27 AM]
"Big Brother" Season Finale Is Most-Watched Episode in Over Three Years
The finale was up +33% from its year ago finale and up +33% from this season's average.
[09/30/25 - 03:44 PM]
ESPN and ABC Win College Football's Week 5; "College GameDay's" Most-Viewed Season Rolls On
ABC is off to its best start ever with 7.1 million average viewers per game, and the network has aired eight of the top 10 most-viewed games this season.
[09/30/25 - 02:08 PM]
Packers-Cowboys OT Thriller Averages 26.9 Million Viewers on NBC & Peacock, As NBC Sports Opens with Best Four-Week Audience Average in 20 Seasons of NBC "SNF"
The audience peaked at 29.9 million viewers in the second quarter (9-9:15 p.m. ET).
[09/30/25 - 12:01 PM]
Netflix Top 10 Week of September 22: "Wayward" Lures Viewers at No. 1, "KPop Demon Hunters" Sets Top 10 Record
New on Netflix this week is "House of Guinness," a historical drama series created by Steven Knight, which debuted at No. 3 on the English TV list with 5.2 million views.
[09/30/25 - 10:24 AM]
"High Potential" Season Premiere Vaults to Nearly 16 Million in First Week Across Platforms
This marks ABC's best season premiere for a drama among Total Viewers in five years.
[09/29/25 - 06:06 AM]
ESPN's 2025 MLB Game Viewership Up 21 Percent from Last Year
Coverage delivered 1.8 million viewers on average across 30 games this season.
[09/26/25 - 01:11 PM]
"Dancing with the Stars" Week Two Delivers Over 5 Million Total Viewers Rising Over Season Premiere for First Time in 14 Years
Once again, the show led its time period and stood as the No. 1 show of the night in Total Viewers (5.46 million) and Adults 18-49 (1.02 rating).
[09/25/25 - 02:05 PM]
Viewers Have Watched More Than 8 Billion Minutes of "Big Brother" This Summer - Up +27% from Last Year
Multiplatform average episode viewership grew to 5.1 million, up +23% versus last year in 35-days of viewing, outpacing the competition.
[09/24/25 - 02:47 PM]
"Jimmy Kimmel Live" Returned on Tuesday to 6.26 Million Total Viewers on Broadcast, According to Initial Live+Same Day Measurement
In addition to linear ratings, the monologue has garnered more than 26 million views across YouTube and social platforms.