FOX SPORTS' PRESENTATION OF 117th U.S. OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP SCORES MORE THAN 26 MILLION VIEWERS
Championship Averaged 2.7 Million Television Viewers, +10% Increase Over 2016
Koepka's Win Scores Record-Breaking Numbers on FOX Sports GO
Milwaukee - Following four days of riveting play from a competitive field at Erin Hills, Brooks Koepka clinched his first career major at the 72nd hole of the 117th U.S. Open Championship in an event that proved to be a viewership win for FOX Sports. Presenting its third U.S. Open, FOX Sports welcomed a total of 26.5 million viewers for all or part of the four-day event between its telecasts, according to Nielsen Media Research.
Across all four rounds, FOX Sports' complete U.S. Open presentation averaged 2.686 million viewers across coverage on the FOX broadcast network and FS1, a +10% increase over last year's average of 2.434 million viewers.
Sunday's final round coverage averaged 5.1 million viewers and peaked at 8.3 million viewers from 7:45-8:00 PM ET on FOX, as Koepka established a commanding lead in the final holes of the nation's premier golf championship. The concluding round of the U.S. Open powered FOX to an easy win across all networks as the highest-rated and most-watched event of the weekend, and the 3.1/9 HH rating/share ranks as the FOX broadcast network's highest-rated event for the summer season to-date.
Digitally, FOX Sports' live stream of the U.S. Open on FOX Sports GO accounted for 48.7 million minutes streamed across the four rounds of the championship, with an average minute audience of 25,210, a +77% increase over last year (vs. 14,235).
In addition, Sunday's final round is the highest-performing golf event in FOX Sports GO history, notching 18.2 million minutes streamed and an average minute audience of 30,321, a +135% increase over last year (vs. 12,879).
The 117th U.S. Open Championship was contested at Erin Hills, just outside Milwaukee, and the local market led the way with a 10.3/26 for the championship's final round. The 2017 champion Koepka's home market of West Palm Beach followed next with a 5.7/12. The top five markets were rounded out by Dayton (5.5/11), Fort Myers (5.4/11) and Oklahoma City (5.3/11), home to Rickie Fowler, who led following the first round and remained in contention for his first major win throughout the weekend.
FOX Sports' coverage of the 2017 USGA Championship Season continues with the 38th Senior Open Championship at Salem Country Club in Peabody, Mass. Live championship coverage begins Thursday and Friday, June 29 and 30 from 2:00 to 7:00 PM ET on FS1, moving to the FOX broadcast network for the third and final rounds on Saturday and Sunday, July 1 and 2, from 1:00 to 6:00 PM ET.
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