Declining PGA viewership?

[BTO]

Read an article this am that a disturbing trend is starting even in lieu of an excellent players championship...read title (says it all)

 

Can I IMO sum up the problem in 3 words the solution...well 4 but we'll keep it PG.

 

HIT THE BALL! 

 

Alright, a few more! Putt the ball! Borrow from MLB mentality. Penalties, penalties penalties for this snail paced play!!!

 

Sure this has been addressed ad finitum but my 2 cents. These guys are driving me crazy. 

[Ghostwedge]

I'll throw in 3 1\2 cents (inflation) the mass exodus of top players  to LIV doesn't help their view numbers. Also the slow play stuff isn't helping.

True story...I used to be able to watch any golf tournament coverage start to finish on tv for the full 4-5 hours. Now it's max 1 hour and I'm passed out in the chair. I even DVR them, blow thru the commercials and still can't stay awake.

This isnt old man yells at clouds stuff either, between the announcers, the caddie\ player conversation. feet shuffling and club waggles...... smh.

 

[Titleist99]

Another back door LIV promotion by slamming the PGAT..... Getting quite old.

[CSagan]

Needs more corporate sponsor interviews.

[nvr3putt]

Needs more T&A.

[bcjim]

Id need to see a historical accounting of the trends with alternative consumption factored in.  

 

I paid great attention to the tournament but I didn't see 1 minute of network coverage. It was all following the action online on the tour website. Or on peacock. 

[jholz]

Y'all realize that sports existed before TV viewership, right?

 

They figured out a way to make money. 

 

If the PGA Tour, LIV, etc. disappeared tomorrow, would it prevent you from going to the course and playing golf? It isn't going to stop me. 

 

So, life goes on. People will do what people do. 

 

Why we care so much about this is beyond me...

 

Although, I suppose an argument can be made that without the money the game garners, we wouldn't be playing the equipment we play. 

 

The upper end of the market dictates that $700 composite carbon/titanium is worth the investment. 

 

If there wasn't a payoff to be gained, we would probably still be playing persimmon. 

Edited March 20 by jholz

[mikewohlwend]

44 minutes ago, BTO said:

Read an article this am that a disturbing trend is starting even in lieu of an excellent players championship...read title (says it all)

 

Can I IMO sum up the problem in 3 words the solution...well 4 but we'll keep it PG.

 

HIT THE BALL! 

 

Alright, a few more! Putt the ball! Borrow from MLB mentality. Penalties, penalties penalties for this snail paced play!!!

 

Sure this has been addressed ad finitum but my 2 cents. These guys are driving me crazy. 

 

I was glad on Sunday when they showed Harman, they went to him after the 10th waggle. He didn't look nearly as slow.

 

15 minutes ago, CSagan said:

Needs more corporate sponsor interviews.

 

Those and the feel good stories get old fast.

[skim4]

Ive been watching the PGA more than I ever have. I thought the giant crowds at Sawgrass #17 and at the Phoenix were awesome. But if Pro Golf vanished over night - Id still be teeing it up on the weekends. 

 

 

[IndyArcher]

I know I'm probably the outlier, but when I watch golf, I kinda want to...I don't know...WATCH GOLF! 

 

Taking time away from the game for walking interviews, poor quality interviews with players after they finish, with the media asking the same old tired questions, Watching a diagram of the same hole for the 11th time...not being able to follow a favorite player throughout a tournament...cutting the coverage on a channel right after the leading players tee off...poor commentary...it all gets old. IMO, it is truly death through a thousand cuts. 

[caniac6]

There was a lot of college basketball last weekend. A lot of folks are very tired of all the drama in golf, too.

[RobS]

24 minutes ago, bcjim said:

Id need to see a historical accounting of the trends with alternative consumption factored in.  

 

I paid great attention to the tournament but I didn't see 1 minute of network coverage. It was all following the action online on the tour website. Or on peacock. 

I saw ratings data for the last 30 years not too long ago.  There was no real trend, which I found interesting.  Viewership numbers bounce up and down year to year.  I assume alternative consumption has an impact.  The last hour of the Players was down this year.  The NCAA Tournament selection show, which overlapped the Players, was way up this year.  If you want a really interesting stat, the National Golf Foundation polled golfers on TV golf viewership habits.  These #'s are from 2022 and are male only.  9% of golfers watch "often", 20% "sometimes", 23% "rarely" and 49% "never".  Those are laugh out loud numbers.    As evidence by the ratings every year, not many people watch golf, especially relative to other sports.

 

By every measure, there aren't a lot of people that watch golf no matter what year you look at.  Outside of the most hardcore golf fans, no one cares about what happens with the PGA Tour and LIV.  This is anecdotal but outside of this forum, some social media and the Golf Channel, I no longer hear anyone talking about LIV vs PGA Tour, SSG or PIF.  Not on the golf course, the range, the grill room, golf stores, am tournaments or junior tournaments.  Beyond the players and golf media, I don't think anyone cares.  It gets a lot of run here, but this is a deck chair off the Titanic.  I don't think the majority of the few people that watch golf care much that players left the tour.  Would they prefer that they didn't? Sure, but I think we're overestimating the impact and how much people really care about golf on TV.  'I just want to see the best players together more often' is what the players are saying, not many fans outside of this subforum.  I bet most fans are saying I'll watch golf when it fits my schedule.  

[Springsteennut]

I know around me a lot people are out playing because of the unseasonably warm weather the last 5/6 weeks. There are so many courses that have opened early that aren’t usually open until a couple weeks from now. That probably pulls away viewers who would probably be home watching.

[One Putter]

This is blatant concern trolling....

[BlackDiamondPar5]

21 minutes ago, RobS said:

I saw ratings data for the last 30 years not too long ago.  There was no real trend, which I found interesting.  Viewership numbers bounce up and down year to year.  I assume alternative consumption has an impact.  The last hour of the Players was down this year.  The NCAA Tournament selection show, which overlapped the Players, was way up this year.  If you want a really interesting stat, the National Golf Foundation polled golfers on TV golf viewership habits.  These #'s are from 2022 and are male only.  9% of golfers watch "often", 20% "sometimes", 23% "rarely" and 49% "never".  Those are laugh out loud numbers.    As evidence by the ratings every year, not many people watch golf, especially relative to other sports.

 

By every measure, there aren't a lot of people that watch golf no matter what year you look at.  Outside of the most hardcore golf fans, no one cares about what happens with the PGA Tour and LIV.  This is anecdotal but outside of this forum, some social media and the Golf Channel, I no longer hear anyone talking about LIV vs PGA Tour, SSG or PIF.  Not on the golf course, the range, the grill room, golf stores, am tournaments or junior tournaments.  Beyond the players and golf media, I don't think anyone cares.  It gets a lot of run here, but this is a deck chair off the Titanic.  I don't think the majority of the few people that watch golf care much that players left the tour.  Would they prefer that they didn't? Sure, but I think we're overestimating the impact and how much people really care about golf on TV.  'I just want to see the best players together more often' is what the players are saying, not many fans outside of this subforum.  I bet most fans are saying I'll watch golf when it fits my schedule.  

https://www.statista.com/statistics/316581/tv-ratings-masters-golf-cbs-usa/

 

https://www.sportsmediawatch.com/major-golf-ratings-historical-masters-us-open-british-pga-championship-tiger-woods/

 

Yup the ratings have bounced up and down for decades.  The media loves to say ratings for last weekend's tournament were up 20% or down 30%, like it's some big news. In reality it's mostly just normal variation. A lot of times if it's a close tournament you'll see high ratings. That's no surprise to anyone 😊

[bcjim]

38 minutes ago, RobS said:

I saw ratings data for the last 30 years not too long ago.  There was no real trend, which I found interesting.  Viewership numbers bounce up and down year to year.  I assume alternative consumption has an impact.  The last hour of the Players was down this year.  The NCAA Tournament selection show, which overlapped the Players, was way up this year.  If you want a really interesting stat, the

Not good, for sure. I didn't know this.  Otherwise, I agree basically.

[Fairways_and_Greens]

I’ve found that the Sky Sports golf feed is much more enjoyable than the US feed. They stay out of the way of the golf. 

[FriedEgg]

ratings don't stop me from watching

[bscinstnct]

31 minutes ago, FriedEgg said:

ratings don't stop me from watching

 

🤣

 

Eggsactly! 🍳 

 

People complain….golf is slow?! Golf is a sport where you walk and stand around. You want fast, check out NASCAR!

 

And why everyone care about ratings?

 

There’s nowhere else close that gives the said advertising bang for the buck for FinServ, Professional Services, luxury car and drug companies. 
 

Theres gonna be golf on Thurs-Sunday for the rest of our lives.

 

Or until Sentience develops and decides to do away with redundant biped life forms 🤣

[Rob G 89]

I think with the popularity of people paying golf it is hurting numbers as they rather play vs watch

[GwrxMod]

 Already discussed recently in another topic that was locked.