PGA Tour TV Ratings Show Sick Patient

[Ghostwedge]

14 minutes ago, RSinSG said:

I’m not sure how my sports viewing habits are counted by those keeping track, but I have satellite TV and other than this years Masters final round I haven’t watch a round of golf live in 5 years. I always record it and watch it at least 2 hours after it starts. It takes some discipline as I have to avoid watching or listening to anything that would spoil it, but it’s can be just as exciting later in the evening as it is live, and I don’t watch any commercials, playing through, or Jimmy Roberts-like human interest fluff. 
 

 

Same... DVR everything. 90% of the time 'm out playing golf while its happening on TV. Once in awhile a golf buddy will check his phone, any verbal update and he knows he will get lit up. 

[Soloman1]

you're not going to watch golf if you don’t play golf. golf participation parallels discretionary income. golf is becoming less of a game for everyone. greens fees are rising while inflation eats away at discretionary income. do you play golf or eat?

 

i don’t see tv ratings getting better.

 

viewers and tv are at odds. you want to watch exciting/good golf; tv wants to sell ads. lower ratings means less money because advertisers want to pay for eyeballs, so tv will try anything to keep you watching up to your gag point where you turn it off. just like breathless local news readers sounding like 1960’s radio dj’s with the excitement of the city filling potholes.

 

you’re looking for quality golf and unobtrusive coverage. they’re trying to maximize profit.

 

maybe the network made a bad 10-year deal?

 

 

[BlackDiamondPar5]

9 minutes ago, Soloman1 said:

you're not going to watch golf if you don’t play golf. golf participation parallels discretionary income. golf is becoming less of a game for everyone. greens fees are rising while inflation eats away at discretionary income. do you play golf or eat?

 

i don’t see tv ratings getting better.

 

viewers and tv are at odds. you want to watch exciting/good golf; tv wants to sell ads. lower ratings means less money because advertisers want to pay for eyeballs, so tv will try anything to keep you watching up to your gag point where you turn it off. just like breathless local news readers sounding like 1960’s radio dj’s with the excitement of the city filling potholes.

 

you’re looking for quality golf and unobtrusive coverage. they’re trying to maximize profit.

 

maybe the network made a bad 10-year deal?

 

 

Gonna respectfully disagree on a few points.

 

Maybe in Scottsdale where a crappy course is >$100 people are saying "you know there's better things I can do for enjoyment." But much of the country, especially my region in Western NY golf is surging. Most of the country golf isn't close to as expensive as Scottsdale and big cities.  I'm seeing more teens and 20somethings play than ever before.  More women playing than ever before.  Memberships at private clubs are full around here. Public courses are way busier than 2019.  Prices have gone up because demand has gone up. The courses can charge it and keep a full tee sheet.  If the demand wasn't there then prices wouldn't go up.  "Do I play golf or eat?"... has been said by virtually no golfer. 

 

I'm also gonna say there are plenty of golf fans that have never swung a club.  I know several that watch and/or keep it on in the background on the weekend.  On the other hand, my wife and her friends enjoy playing golf a great deal, but don't watch golf other than maybe a Sunday afternoon of a major.

 

Yes, the TV rating landscape is changing.  Viewing options are very fragmented.  People are out playing golf or engaged in other activities instead of watching.  More people are getting quick fixes of golf on YouTube.   Most Gen Z and Millennials have cut the cord and are watching golf streaming.  Me a boomer has watched more streaming on ESPN+ and Peacock etc in the last 6 months than ever before.  I cut my cord years ago and they don't know what I'm watching on broadcast TV.

 

 

[bscinstnct]

36 minutes ago, Soloman1 said:

you're not going to watch golf if you don’t play golf. golf participation parallels discretionary income. golf is becoming less of a game for everyone. greens fees are rising while inflation eats away at discretionary income. do you play golf or eat?

 

i don’t see tv ratings getting better.

 

viewers and tv are at odds. you want to watch exciting/good golf; tv wants to sell ads. lower ratings means less money because advertisers want to pay for eyeballs, so tv will try anything to keep you watching up to your gag point where you turn it off. just like breathless local news readers sounding like 1960’s radio dj’s with the excitement of the city filling potholes.

 

you’re looking for quality golf and unobtrusive coverage. they’re trying to maximize profit.

 

maybe the network made a bad 10-year deal?

 

 

golf participation statistics in the US actually shows consistency at 25-30MM/ year and an actual increase over the last 3 years. 
 

pretty much as many people stop playing golf every year as start because…it’s hard lol. 
 

The recent ratings slump makes sense as the tour has lost good players and guys like Rory, JT, Spieth even Rickie don’t perform that great.

 

But, if you’re a luxury car company or a financial or professional services company or drug company, advertising on the pga tour is a “target rich” audience. I imagine it carries by far the highest demographic concentration of income of any sport or tv audience for that matter. 
 

Remains to be seen if actual golf participation declines, it could definitely happen but so far it has not. 

Edited April 24 by bscinstnct

[mosesgolf]

Regardless of tv ratings Pro Golf is as good as ever imo.  In fact it seems like there is something exciting going on every week.  Whether it’s Scotty playing like Tiger, Wesley Bryan fighting for a win, Nick Dunlap, Jake Knapp, Jaeger, Malnati, Pavon, Bhatia, Hideki’s final round at the Genesis,  the growth of Ludvig. Theegala………… Golf is in a great place + with equipment getting better and better every year it makes it more enjoyable for us amateur hacks young and old.   Could not care less about the tv ratings.  

Edited April 24 by mosesgolf

[Soloman1]

21 minutes ago, BlackDiamondPar5 said:

Gonna respectfully disagree on a few points.

 

Maybe in Scottsdale where a crappy course is >$100 people are saying "you know there's better things I can do for enjoyment." But much of the country, especially my region in Western NY golf is surging. Most of the country golf isn't close to as expensive as Scottsdale and big cities.  I'm seeing more teens and 20somethings play than ever before.  More women playing than ever before.  Memberships at private clubs are full around here. Public courses are way busier than 2019.  Prices have gone up because demand has gone up. The courses can charge it and keep a full tee sheet.  If the demand wasn't there then prices wouldn't go up.  "Do I play golf or eat?"... has been said by virtually no golfer. 

 

I'm also gonna say there are plenty of golf fans that have never swung a club.  I know several that watch and/or keep it on in the background on the weekend.  On the other hand, my wife and her friends enjoy playing golf a great deal, but don't watch golf other than maybe a Sunday afternoon of a major.

 

Yes, the TV rating landscape is changing.  Viewing options are very fragmented.  People are out playing golf or engaged in other activities instead of watching.  More people are getting quick fixes of golf on YouTube.   Most Gen Z and Millennials have cut the cord and are watching golf streaming.  Me a boomer has watched more streaming on ESPN+ and Peacock etc in the last 6 months than ever before.  I cut my cord years ago and they don't know what I'm watching on broadcast TV.

 

 

 

agreed that every place is different and has different demographics. historically, most teens quit.

 

we also have less courses, having shut down 100-200 per year over the past 20 years. that's why some areas have full courses, supply has fallen. was it a boom globally, or just locally?

 

golf participation was dropping up until the last few years. so, we're just coming back up to the historical 8-8.5% of population. here's something interesting that surprised me. there are about the same number of private golf courses now as in the 1920's.

 

it really is complicated. the ngf changed the criteria and definition of a "golfer" to do what it does, promote the industry. a core golfer used to be someone who played 8 times per year. now, anyone who sets foot on a golf course once per year, even to just go to the range, is considered a golfer. it's hard to get consistent stats to measure.

 

cheers

[Soloman1]

34 minutes ago, bscinstnct said:

I imagine it carries by far the highest demographic concentration of income of any sport or tv audience for that matter. 

 

yep. back in the print days, the ad rate for back and inside covers of golf digest and golf magazine were more expensive than vogue.

[Dan33185]

1 hour ago, Soloman1 said:

you're not going to watch golf if you don’t play golf.

I've never played golf in my life and I enjoyed watching golf almost weekly up until a year or so ago. Now I watch the "bigger" tournaments and that's about it, but it has nothing to do with me not playing golf.

[Soloman1]

1 minute ago, Dan33185 said:

I've never played golf in my life and I enjoyed watching golf almost weekly up until a year or so ago. Now I watch the "bigger" tournaments and that's about it, but it has nothing to do with me not playing golf.

 

so you've contributed to the decline in ratings.

 

glad you like golf, but it's fair to say that you're a statistical outlier. do you bet on golf?

[tatertot]

How do the golf ratings compare with other sports? 

[Dan33185]

23 minutes ago, Soloman1 said:

 

so you've contributed to the decline in ratings.

 

glad you like golf, but it's fair to say that you're a statistical outlier. do you bet on golf?

You could say that, sure, but I've been less interested because of all the greed and bickering going on right now. I live in MN, sports betting is illegal here, and I have no interest anyways.

[stinger_gc]

None of these guys have much personality. The PGA tour has been riding the Tiger wave for almost 30 years now and has done nothing else to appeal to another demographic 

[00steven]

Not enough star power other than the majors to be honest. I actually tune in if Scottie or another top guy is in the hunt, unknowns or number 300’s in the world doesn’t interest me. Not sure if that’s a me issue or not, but don’t think I’m alone.

[00steven]

On 4/23/2024 at 11:09 AM, bcflyguy1 said:

Parallels between the current state of pro golf and the self-destruction of US open wheel racing (ie Indycar) in the mid-1990's are striking. Greed, product quality compromised by attenuation, decisions being made by people who bring little to the table except a talent for self-preservation, etc. etc. 

For the uninitiated:
 

 

 

I called this three years ago in a thread we had here as I am a huge American Open Wheel fan. Thanks for pointing out.

[BlackDiamondPar5]

1 hour ago, stinger_gc said:

None of these guys have much personality. The PGA tour has been riding the Tiger wave for almost 30 years now and has done nothing else to appeal to another demographic 

Did Tiger really have much personality? He was guarded with the media and stone cold focused on the course. 

 

It was exciting to watch him dominate, but I don't get excited about fist pumps. 

Edited April 24 by BlackDiamondPar5

[redfirebird08]

9 minutes ago, BlackDiamondPar5 said:

Did Tiger really have much personality? He was guarded with the media and stone cold focused on the course. 

 

It was exciting to watch him dominate, but I don't get excited about fist pumps. 

 

I mean he definitely showed more personality on the golf course than 99% of the robot players out there. 

[stinger_gc]

1 hour ago, BlackDiamondPar5 said:

Did Tiger really have much personality? He was guarded with the media and stone cold focused on the course. 

 

It was exciting to watch him dominate, but I don't get excited about fist pumps. 

I’d say so yeah. There’s a difference between being stone cold and vanilla. With Tiger it was things like the Frank headcover, Sunday Red, his aggressive nature on the course that set him apart. Scottie is the most stereotypical pga tour pro outside of his shuffle.

[tomjas]

Tiger was a marketer’s wet dream - young, amazing golfer, African American, Asian, father a vet

 

Couldn’t have created a better sales pitch in a lab 

[596]

The squabbling over billions of dollars between millionaires has turned me off of watching any of them 

[peadar]

The US broadcast is unwatchable. Ads ads ads. You can watch golf on sky sports in the UK and get about 8-10 minutes of ads an hour and see more shots than you can see on US coverage.

 

 

Countries overseas show more coverage of a US domestic sport. It’s wild.
 

In the US it seems like 30+ minutes of ads when you factor in play through ads and the commentators themselves advertising and “brought to you by….”

 

it’s a complete farce. Sometimes you can watch it on Australian TV completely ad free.  
 

Smylie said dwindling viewer numbers will mean more ads to offset the drop in people watching so it’s dark times ahead. 
 

And don’t get me started on having to change channels mid broadcast. It’s all a joke. Piffle. 

Edited April 25 by peadar
Spelling

[tomjas]

8 minutes ago, peadar said:

The US broadcast is unwatchable. Ads ads ads. You can watch golf on sky sports in the UK and get about 8-10 minutes of ads an hour and see more shots than you can see on US coverage.

 

 

Countries overseas show more coverage of a US domestic sport. It’s wild.
 

In the US it seems like 30+ minutes of ads when you factor in play through ads and the commentators themselves advertising and “brought to you by….”

 

it’s a complete farce. Sometimes you can watch it on Australian TV completely ad free.  
 

Smylie said dwindling viewer numbers will mean more ads to offset the drop in people watching so it’s dark times ahead. 
 

And don’t get me started on having to change channels mid broadcast. It’s all a joke. Piffle. 

Here in Australia, we had 4 Masters channels - US feed, global, Amen Corner and Featured Groups 

 

US feed get in the 🚮 

 

Feel sorry for US golf fans if that’s what they’re subjected to 

[peadar]

1 minute ago, tomjas said:

Here in Australia, we had 4 Masters channels - US feed, global, Amen Corner and Featured Groups 

 

US feed get in the 🚮 

 

Feel sorry for US golf fans if that’s what they’re subjected to 

It really is unwatchable mate haha. Ridiculous. 

[Bubb]

4 hours ago, BlackDiamondPar5 said:

Did Tiger really have much personality? He was guarded with the media and stone cold focused on the course. 

 

It was exciting to watch him dominate, but I don't get excited about fist pumps. 

Yes, Tiger was a ruthless stone-cold killer who intimidated and dominated his competitors. Everyone knew it and you could feel it, even through the TV screen.
 

Sheffler is a great player but he has the charisma of Davis Love, who I’m sure is a great guy but would never captivate the sporting public. Sheffler running away with the Masters resulted in a TV ratings disappointment for the Masters this year. Tiger running away with the Masters would result in a ratings bonanza this year or any year.

[Chanceman]

I really dislike this Signature event thing. Every one feels the same. And it is except for the “swing 5” guys. You need a mix to make it interesting. That’s why the majors are so good - players from all around the place. Look at that pro in the PGA last year. The old PGA tour schedule was more unpredictable with guys coming through all the time. That’s why Liv is so boring. 

[bobfoster]

Golf will be fine. The PGAT (and LPGAT) will be fine. Scottie is amazing. Nelly is even more amazing. We are watching absolute freaking mastery. The game with a level of consistency that is extremely rare. These people are taking the game to a new level.

 

I'm not at all worried about temporary viewership numbers. A patient isn't "sick" if they have a minor cold, but is otherwise completely healthy.

 

 

 

Edited April 25 by bobfoster

[st1800e]

9 minutes ago, Chanceman said:

Every one feels the same

Agreed, PGAT trying to attract viewers with something special, it’s not.  Just more money.  Doesn’t influence the potential drama, despite the commentators “this is for $xxxx, million”.  
 

What’s more exciting , watching Scottie cruise to another win or , for example, Jake gutting it out, missing fairways and winning his first. So many more examples of dramatic finishes.  
 

Do all the viewers imagine themselves Scottie? Obliterating the field,  or as the underdog, hitting a clutch shot or making a run of birdies (pars for us mortals) to win by one?  
 

 

[bobfoster]

44 minutes ago, st1800e said:

Agreed, PGAT trying to attract viewers with something special, it’s not.  Just more money.  Doesn’t influence the potential drama, despite the commentators “this is for $xxxx, million”.  
 

What’s more exciting , watching Scottie cruise to another win or , for example, Jake gutting it out, missing fairways and winning his first. So many more examples of dramatic finishes.  
 

Do all the viewers imagine themselves Scottie? Obliterating the field,  or as the underdog, hitting a clutch shot or making a run of birdies (pars for us mortals) to win by one?  
 

 

I fantasize about being Scottie. A level of consistency I can't even dream of. Fantasize even more about being Nelly. OMG, that swing. That beautiful, technically perfect, repeatable swing. (With the left arm slightly bent, totally something I do). 

 

I love watching professional golf right now. These people are hitting a level I never could have imagined. 

[Hickory4ever]

I am watching less and less golf and a lot of my friends are the same. Our interest in playing has never been higher. The reasons are likely similar to those that others have stated.

 

For me, the current PGA Tour broadcasts are making it easy to switch channels. Too many commercials and too many talking heads. The fracturing of the game only makes it worse, at least for me.

[stinger_gc]

13 hours ago, tomjas said:

Here in Australia, we had 4 Masters channels - US feed, global, Amen Corner and Featured Groups 

 

US feed get in the 🚮 

 

Feel sorry for US golf fans if that’s what they’re subjected to 

The “FREE APP” and website had all those streams in the US.

[North Butte]

On 4/24/2024 at 11:23 AM, Soloman1 said:

 

agreed that every place is different and has different demographics. historically, most teens quit.

 

we also have less courses, having shut down 100-200 per year over the past 20 years. that's why some areas have full courses, supply has fallen. was it a boom globally, or just locally?

 

golf participation was dropping up until the last few years. so, we're just coming back up to the historical 8-8.5% of population. here's something interesting that surprised me. there are about the same number of private golf courses now as in the 1920's.

 

it really is complicated. the ngf changed the criteria and definition of a "golfer" to do what it does, promote the industry. a core golfer used to be someone who played 8 times per year. now, anyone who sets foot on a golf course once per year, even to just go to the range, is considered a golfer. it's hard to get consistent stats to measure.

 

cheers

Wasn't it the NGF who was pitching the idea, back in the late 90's and early 00's that the USA needed to be opening a new golf course every day of the year just to keep up with the surging demand? Every housing developer in the country was loving to hear that...