National Sports Journalism Center

"You might think that when league executives saw this year’s British Open ratings, they would think twice about selling their biggest events to cable channels," John Ourand writes, adding, "The TV numbers were downright ugly. In its first year carrying all four rounds of the British Open, ESPN logged the lowest rating for a final round in the event’s history, and its Saturday coverage brought the lowest rating in 22 years. As the anemic TV numbers started to roll in, I was certain that the most intrigue around a sleepy British Open — at least for American audiences — would come several days after Louis Oosthuizen lifted the claret jug. But I was wrong. There was no intrigue. I called several league executives. I talked with ESPN and other media executives. There was no real outcry about the ratings. And there was a clear sign that the trend of big sports events migrating to cable is not slowing down."