Golf’s TV Outlook Dims Without Tiger
Tiger Woods to Have Knee Surgery, Out for Rest of Year
By Robert Marich -- Broadcasting & Cable, 6/18/2008 11:03:00 AM
With Tiger Woods out for the rest of the year after reinjuring his knee at the U.S. Open, TV coverage of upcoming events will likely feel some pain, too.
The absence of Woods typically results in double-digit declines in TV audiences. When he surprisingly didn’t make the cut for the U.S. Open in 2006, viewing for NBC’s coverage that year fell 16% from the prior year and was the lowest since 1982.
In winning a grueling 19-hole playoff Monday, NBC drew the best golf ratings for that event in 30 years.
Going forward, ABC and TNT will telecast the British Open July 17-20; CBS and TNT have the PGA Championship Aug. 7-10; and ESPN and NBC have the Ryder Cup Sept. 16-21 -- all of which won’t have Woods.
NBC earlier this year was crowing about tournaments to come where Woods was expected to play. It had the most events at 10, with CBS next with seven and ABC with one. Most golf-TV-coverage ads are sold in advance, so advertisers and rates are already locked in.
ABC put out a statement Wednesday: "All of the sports world will miss Tiger while he is rehabbing. The Open Championship is a great global event that will include the best players in the world as they compete for the Claret Jug. They all have personal stories that fans will find compelling. We look forward to covering those stories and bringing them to life for the viewers at home."
According to Golf.com, Woods won five major golf tournaments in the second half of 2007, which he won’t be able to defend. Those include the PGA Championship and BMW Championship.
In prevailing during Monday’s 19-hole playoff, Woods was forced to play 91 holes over five days. “Now, it is clear that the right thing to do is to listen to my doctors, follow through with this surgery and focus my attention on rehabilitating my knee,” Woods stated on his Web site.
“We all know that Tiger’s presence significantly increases ratings,” said Phil Sharpe, senior vice president of technology and operations for Turner Sports, which will be televising the first two days of the British Open next month and the PGA Championship in August on TNT. “He brings in the public at large, not just the avid fans. It’s the same thing with baseball or basketball -- when you’ve got a story there and a character in there, people will come and watch. That’s definitely a major part of it with Tiger.”
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