Golf Majors Get Big TV Boost

Morning Edition

July 23, 2026

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The Open Championship final round averaged 4.3 million viewers, capping off a year in which all four golf majors saw TV ratings spike.

—David Rumsey

First Up

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Blue Jays and Maple Leafs owner Rogers Communications will sell a minority stake in its consolidated sports and media properties. Read the story.
ESPN’s latest round of layoffs tells us plenty about where the network is heading as it prepares to host its first Super Bowl next year. Read the story.

Open Championship Final Round Averaged 4.3M Viewers on NBC

Bill Streicher-Imagn Images

Ryan Fox’s unlikely Open Championship victory at the last men’s golf major of the year averaged 4.3 million viewers on NBC on Sunday, up 6% from last year and the tournament’s most-watched final round since 2022.

The final-round audience Sunday peaked at 6.1 million viewers on NBC and Peacock from 1:15 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. ET as Fox rallied late, including a birdie on the 18th hole, to win the Claret Jug by one shot over Cameron Young at Royal Birkdale Golf Club in England. Due to the time difference, The Open’s final round typically starts mid-morning on the East Coast of the U.S., finishing in the early afternoon, compared to later afternoon or evening finishes for the other three majors played Stateside.

It marks a small boost from the 4.1 million viewers who watched Scottie Scheffler’s commanding four-shot victory over Harris English on NBC at the 2025 Open at Royal Portrush in Northern Ireland. Last year’s final-round audience was a 21% increase over 2023, when Xander Schauffele won at Royal Troon in Scotland.

Major Ratings

All four majors saw final-round viewership increases this season. It should be noted ratings this year were collected using Nielsen’s Big Data + Panel methodology, while last year’s audience included panel-only figures.

Masters: 13.99 million on CBS (+8%)
PGA Championship: 5.76 million on CBS (+21%)
U.S. Open: 5.5 million on NBC (+2%)
Open Championship: 4.3 million on NBC (+6%)

The final round of the Players Championship, the PGA Tour’s flagship event with a $25 million purse, averaged 4.4 million viewers on NBC, up 15% from last year.

More Open Numbers

NBC’s Saturday coverage of the Open Championship averaged 3.7 million viewers, marking the tournament’s most-watched third round since 2018 and up 16% from last year.

USA Network’s Open broadcast—which included the majority of first- and second-round coverage on Thursday and Friday and some early-round coverage on the weekend—averaged 873,000 viewers spanning more than 25 hours, up 17% when compared to panel-only data last year and up 2% compared to Big Data + Panel figures in 2025.

Golf Channel’s Live From The Open post-round show Friday averaged 354,000 viewers—the most-watched edition since the Masters—as the fallout from Bryson DeChambeau’s two-stroke penalty issued after the second round played out in real time.

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ONE BIG FIG

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$638 million

That’s how much the NFL has reportedly raised through two private debt deals, according to Bloomberg. The league’s NFL Ventures LP arm borrowed about $338 million in June before reaching another deal—through a different subsidiary—to raise roughly $300 million. It’s not clear how the NFL intends to use the money, although the league has previously used debt to help finance stadium-related projects, including construction and renovations.

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FOS NEWS

Kyle Rudolph on Giving Back and the Business of Football

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Former NFL player Kyle Rudolph joined Front Office Sports to discuss how his Alltroo platform raised $20 million by democratizing fan charity access, why an 18th NFL regular-season game is inevitable and what it means for players, what he believes college sports needs to fix with the transfer portal and NIL, and how sports betting can impact players and the integrity of the game.

Watch the full interview.

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