Golf Channel Scores Second-Straight Most-Watched Year

Fastest-growing U.S. network since early 2011

By Tim Baysinger -- Broadcasting & Cable, 1/3/2013 6:45:15 PM

Golf Channel built off its record-setting 2011 with another record year, as 2012 became the most-watched year in the network's 18-year history.

Since joining NBC Sports Group after the NBCU-Comcast merger in early 2011, Golf Channel is the fastest-growing network on U.S. television (among networks serving 80 million or more homes throughout that span), according to data released Thursday by Nielsen.

Golf Channel averaged 95,000 viewers in 24-hour Total Day (6 a.m.-6 a.m.) during 2012, up 6% from 2011. 2012 featured seven PGA Tour events that reached over 7 million unique viewers, led by the BMW Championship with 8.4 million. Additionally, 14 million viewers watched some or all of Golf Channel's PGA Tour Playoffs coverage, which was the most-watched ever in the Tour Playoffs' six-year history.

"We share in celebrating this milestone with our partners and most importantly, with our increasingly loyal family of viewers who have watched in record numbers to help us achieve these consecutive record-breaking years," said Golf Channel president Mike McCarley. "While we're grateful for this recent success, we continue to set our goals high and are committed to serving our passionate fans with more and more high-quality golf content in the New Year and years to come."