Could CBS and Golf Channel Suffer Tiger Ratings Drop?
Tiger Woods’ bank balance isn’t the only thing likely to be hit by the endless swirl of press surrounding the golfer’s affairs. TV channels with golf rights are set to suffer some ratings fall-out, given Woods statement Dec. 11, that he was taking an indefinite break from the sport.
Pali Research media analyst and commentator Richard Greenfield suggests that the Tiger Woods trouble is bad news for CBS, which broadcast 20 PGA Tour events in 2009, and for Comcast’s Golf Channel, which he suggests now looks overvalued, following Comcast’s plan to merge that asset with NBC Universal as part of a new joint venture. (NBC, ABC and ESPN also air golf events).
“While we have no way of forecasting the length of Wood’s current exit from professional golf, near-term ratings will be impacted across the key networks that broadcast golf,” writes Greenfield in a blog post Dec. 14. “An unexpected drop in ratings is clearly negative for everyone broadcasting golf (impacting ad revenues and profits).”
According to a report by my colleague Marisa Guthrie, 13.68 million viewers tuned in to CBS’ coverage of the final round when Woods won his first Masters tournament in 1997. It is a record that has only been challenged one time since: in 2001 when Woods won again and 13.63 million viewers tuned in to see him put on the tournament’s vaunted green blazer.
In fact, CBS gets a 20% bump in ratings when Woods wins the tournament, averaging just under 12 million viewers for the final round of play compared to an average of 9.5 million viewers when Woods does not win. Woods has won the Masters four times, in 1997, 2001, 2002 and 2005. In 2007, he tied for second but was in contention until the final round of play.
As for Comcast’s Golf Channel, Greenfield notes it is the second most distributed Comcast-legacy cable network and is very widely distributed, reaching 82 million subscribers. “We doubt management’s 2010 EBITDA forecasts, nor the multiple applied, included a Golf Network without Tiger Woods involved in professional Golf,” writes Greenfield.
tvtime44 commented:
The Golf Channel's decline began pre-Tiger Failures. Comcast has turned the network into a glorified regional sports network and it shows--the quality is poor and the sales group's addiction to Cialis is obvious. And what is this--the 12TH Big Break?
And now the exclusive network of the LPGA. Talk about a consolation prize. Still have no idea what Page Thompson does there but alibi.
B-Ryan commented:
Poor CBS:(:(:( What will they ever do without Tiger Woods. How about we call what this situation exactly is. "Adultry", "Infedelity". My prediction is when he comes back, CBS will pedastalize him to new and dubious platform that they call a successful recovery. How is this real life situation any different than the primetime soaps that millions of women viewers are hooked on like virtual crack that they have aired for multiple generations. They are not concerned that Tiger cheated on his wife more than looking at this as an opportunity for ratings in the future. The public quickly forgets and are easily moldible. It will happen, just wait and see.