Pete Bevacqua Leaves PGA Of America For NBC Sports

The PGA of America loses a CEO and NBC Sports Group gains a new president, with Pete Bevacqua taking a newly-created position starting in September under Mark Lazarus overseeing many elements, including all golf properties. 

In the meantime, a new CEO search will commence for the PGA of America with an upcoming television contract negotiation and possible move to Frisco, Texas looming. 

For Immediate Release:

PETE BEVACQUA NAMED PRESIDENT OF NBC SPORTS GROUP

New Role Will Oversee Programming, Marketing, Digital, NBC Sports Regional Networks, and all Golf Businesses

STAMFORD, CONN. -- July 24, 2018 -- NBC Sports Group today named Pete Bevacqua to the newly created position of President, NBC Sports Group. In this role, Bevacqua will oversee several key areas, including programming, marketing, digital, the NBC Sports Regional Networks, and all Golf businesses under the NBC Sports umbrella. He’ll report to Mark Lazarus, Chairman of NBC Broadcasting and Sports, and will begin his new role in September.

“With the expansion of NBC Sports Group over the last seven years, and our continuing investments in new and existing businesses, adding Pete to our already strong management team will help us organize for future growth,” said Lazarus. “We are thrilled to have someone with his experience and reputation join our organization.”

Bevacqua joins NBC Sports Group from the PGA of America where he has served as CEO since 2012. The PGA of America oversees the PGA Championship and Ryder Cup, among many other events, and serves more than 29,000 members. Most recently, he led the move of the PGA Championship from August to May beginning in 2019, giving the golf major a stronger place on the golf calendar. Among his other accomplishments at the PGA of America, he created the first-ever Chief Membership Officer; added and renewed several key partnerships and sponsorships; and the PGA designed and implemented a strategic plan focused on the PGA’s mission to serve its members and to grow the game. Prior to the PGA of America, Bevacqua served as the Global Head of Golf at Creative Artists Agency (CAA Sports), and other key industry positions.

“The opportunity to join NBC Sports Group, and the larger Company of Comcast NBCUniversal, which holds media rights to the world’s biggest events and an incredible assortment of assets, was too good to be true,” said Bevacqua. “I am also deeply grateful to the membership, leadership and staff at the PGA of America. Professionally and personally, for me and my family, these have been the best six years of my life. Leading the PGA of America and the 29,000 PGA Golf Professionals will always mean a great deal to me.” 

2018 Open Championship Ratings: Round 1 Up 27%, Round 2 Up 4%

Tiger played Thursday afternoon and Friday morning, likely explaining round one's big increase on Golf Channel.

For Immediate Release:

MOST-WATCHED ROUND 1 OF THE OPEN ON GOLF CHANNEL EVER:

Golf Channel’s Round 1 coverage of The Open posted a Total Audience Delivery (TAD: Live Linear + Streaming) of 1.024 average viewers, up 27% vs. 2017 and the most-watched Round 1 at The Open in its three years on Golf Channel (8:01 a.m. – 4 p.m. ET).

It also became Golf Channel’s most-watched Thursday ever, and the fifth-best Total Day on record (2006-2018). Golf Channel was the No. 1 cable sports network for Total Day by 9%. And from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. ET, Golf Channel was No. 1 cable sports network by 314%, and third for all 114 Nielsen measured cable networks.

And Friday:

MOST-WATCHED EARLY ROUND TELECAST OF THE OPEN EVER ON GOLF CHANNEL:

Golf Channel’s Round 2 coverage of The Open (8 a.m. – 3:58 p.m. ET) posted a Total Audience Delivery (TAD: Live Linear + Streaming) of 1.141 million average viewers, up 4% vs. 2017 and the most-watched Early Round telecast at The Open in its three years on Golf Channel. Friday’s Round 2 TAD was up 11% vs. Thursday’s Round 1 (1.024 million average viewers) and became Golf Channel’s most-watched weekday telecast since the 2016 Ryder Cup Friday coverage (1.3 million).

Tiger Effect: Quicken Loans Ratings Up Big, All But One PGA Tour Event He's Played Showing Big Gains

Paulsen at Sports Media Watch has a nice breakdown and chart following a strong 2.3 final round rating for the Quicken Loans National. That's up 92% over last year and 28% from 2016. The third round was up 143% and lead-in coverage on Golf Channel was up 147% Sunday, 129% Saturday. 

“The Tiger Effect” has consistently boosted PGA Tour ratings all season. Woods has played 20 rounds on broadcast television this season and all-but-one has posted an increase in ratings and viewership. The lone exception was the final round of the Memorial, which aired mostly on tape-delay.

Whoa: David Feherty Profiled By John Feinstein

This is the first story of any depth profiling Golf Channel's David Feherty since the death of his son, Shey. 

John Feinstein writing for Golf World:

On July 4, Anita had gotten a text from Shey saying he needed to go back to rehab. He had never gotten there.

For a year, Feherty had been told by professionals that he needed to stay away from Shey, that he was enabling his drug habit by giving him money. He and Anita had agreed the night before that they would call him the next day—Saturday—to wish him a happy birthday.

"The truth is, I'd broken down on several occasions and given him money again," Feherty says. "He was so sweet, and I couldn't say no to him. Plus, like all of us addicts, he was a very good liar. He convinced me the money wasn't for drugs. I'm sure I knew deep down he was lying, but I wanted to believe he was really on the way to coming out on the other side.

"Not talking to him regularly, not seeing him, was painful. But this ..."

He stops, unable to go on.

"For the season, the U.S. Open...ranks behind the final rounds at Tampa Bay and the Players"

Paulsen follows up with a few more numbers putting the U.S. Open's ratings decline into perspective. From Sports Media Watch:

The past five years have produced the five lowest final round ratings on record. Until 2014, the record-low was a 4.5 rating. Since, ratings have not exceeded a 4.2.

The reasons for that will range from declining ratings in all sports, to additional telecast time to a general reduced interest in the U.S. Open. (The championship's sellout streak is also over despite a limit of 30,000 tickets a day.) 

Then there is this:

For the season, the U.S. Open not only trails the third and final rounds of the Masters, but also ranks behind the final rounds at Tampa Bay (4.4, 6.9M) and the Players Championship (3.6, 5.8M).

Finishing behind Tampa Bay, even with Tiger, is astounding especially given the packed leaderboard heading into Sunday. 

Paulsen also reports an additional 36,000 viewers streamed the final round on Fox Sports GO.

Yep, streaming has arrived!

When Is More Sound Too Much Sound On A Golf Telecast?

Fox didn't have the best of technical days during round two of the 2018 U.S. Open, with about 7-8 minutes of no audio that fell while key players were on the course. If the Golf Gods were decent, the technical issues would have landed during a painful Fox synergy play featuring a Bill Hemmer interview. Perhaps if you're a regular viewer it was exciting to learn how life in the Hamptons works for the Fox News anchor, but for most it was an agonizing way to transition between announce teams while plugging a network show.

For every fan annoyed by the sound of balls hitting the bottom of the cup, the telecast featured several reminders of how much on-green dialogue we get to hear thanks to Fox's aggressive placement of microphones and other efforts to push the technology envelope.

But as the Sporting News' Michael McCarthy writes, Shinnecock is proving to be a tough place for Fox's 200-plus microphones given the, uh, style of New York fan energy projected toward players.

On Thursday, viewers didn't get many revealing nuggets between opposing players or between players and their caddies. Instead, they heard a lot from a loud and proud New York crowd. It was like listening to the soused, rowdy crew at the notorious 16th hole of the Phoenix Open. Technology giveth, and it taketh away.

On Friday, it got worse. As Timothy Burke of Deadspin noted, the increased audio led to a particularly raunchy fan conversation being picked up as Patrick Reed was playing a shot.

I'm all for Fox pushing the boundaries and trying to pick up the sound, even if the collateral damage is a bit rough at times.

Reminder: Fox And Rolex Bringing "Uninterrupted" U.S. Women's Open Coverage Starting Today

This is going to test the bladders of announcers and certainly will put the focus on sponsor Rolex, to the point we may grow tired of their ads. But from a viewing standpoint the new commercial-free approach begins with Thursday's U.S. Women's Open. 

From the press release when announced:

Beginning in 2018, Rolex will be the exclusive presenting partner of coverage for eight USGA championships on FOX Sports and FS1, including the U.S. Women’s Open, the U.S. Senior Open and the U.S. Amateur. Rolex’s commitment will ensure an uninterrupted broadcast of these events, providing golf fans hours of continuous live golf action as history unfolds.

“We are excited to further FOX Sports’ commitment to innovative and immersive viewing experiences for our audiences, as well as targeted messaging for our partners,” said Bruce Lefkowitz, executive VP of ad sales at Fox Networks Group. “These uninterrupted broadcasts give us the opportunity to innovate and differentiate our telecast, while capitalizing on the unique nature of the USGA championships to provide viewers with more live action and new perspectives on the golfers and championships.”

The innovative format will allow FOX Sports and the USGA to deliver more golf content to fans around the world, while providing Rolex the opportunity to demonstrate their commitment to the amateur and professional game. Features and video vignettes highlighting signature moments, legendary champions, and the iconic venues that make up these championships will be seamlessly integrated to further entertain, engage and educate the audience. 

Coverage times: 3:00 – 8:00 PM FS1/FSGO.

Weekend Ratings: Golf Goes Head-To-Head With Golf, No One Wins

Yes, we're a sport that plays in the daytime, limiting options. Golf also faces travel and weather issues and has to consider timing for the next tournament. Still...

Memorial Day posed it's share of issues, but looking at the down Colonial number (1.45), the essentially flat Senior PGA rating (0.5) and LPGA's .17 as noted in SBJ's weekend ratings wrap-up, golf battled itself and lost.

As the Forecaddie notes, this doesn't seem like the best use of the big partnerships between three of golf's various families. 

Quail Hollow Draws Best Rating Since '15, Second Best Sports Event Sunday

Another positive ratings story for the PGA Tour, as CBS's final round broadcast of the Wells Fargo Championship drew a 2.2 overnight rating for Jason Day's win over Aaron Wise, reports SBD's Austin Karp. That's up from a 1.6 last year when Brian Harman outlasted Dustin Johnson and Roberto Castro.

The rating put PGA Tour golf behind only the NBA Western Conference Semifinals game four between the Warriors and Pelicans (4.1).

Saturday's Kentucky Derby on NBC won the weekend with a 9.1 overnight rating.

Intriguing Tussling: Sky Sports And The Masters

The Guardian's Ewan Murray says all is not rosy between The Masters and Sky Sports--exemplified in part by this year's late renewal of the 2017 edition. 

While this tussling is of seemingly no interest to American audiences, the move to a Sky/BBC split was part of a series of efforts by major championships and the people who own their rights to align with Sky and Fox for broadcasts. Both paid handsomely to strengthen their offerings, but have suffered financial losses and criticism for not reaching enough eyeballs. The Masters currently is seen live on Sky and on BBC for recap shows.

This all gains more intrigue when Fox and Comcast (Murdoch and Roberts) are attempting to purchase Sky, with Fox already owning a big stake and Comcast making what amounts to a hostile bid. 

Murray writes:

The standoff for the 2018 Masters meant it took Sky until January to confirm it had secured rights. They were, however, only for a single year. When the Masters took place, Sky’s top brass – as was customary before – chose not to attend. If matters are to be patched up once more, it appears likely this will again be a late call.

(Booth) Bifurcation At The U.S. Open!

The Forecaddie says Fox is taking a different approach to the U.S. Open this year at Shinnecock Hills, with two lead teams(ish) featuring Joe Buck and Paul Azinger, along with another team of Shane Bacon and Brad Faxon.

Loomis explained what viewers can expect to see at Shinnecock Hills in June: “On Thursday and Friday at the U.S. Open there will be hours when it’s just Shane and Brad, and hours where it’s just Joe and Paul. On the weekend, there will be times where Joe and Paul will get two holes, Nos. 1 and 2, and Brad and Shane will get two holes, Nos. 3 and 4. It adds up to 10 holes for Joe and Paul, eight for Brad and Shane. Because people don’t see us all year, it allowed us to be a little simpler in figuring out who’s talking for the viewer.”

Congrats to Shane on the big vote of confidence! It must be the Shotmakers bounce!

Valero Texas Open Lands Best Rating Since 2014

Ok so a 1.7 for the 2018 Valero Texas Open final round isn't going to be cited as a sign of post-Tiger hope or even the inevitable and obvious audience growth impact of #LiveUnderPar, but given a very strong weekend for NBA playoff action on TNT and no major stars in the Valero field, CBS must be pleased to have the Andrew Landry win show an increase.

Austin Karp with the weekend roundup for SBD.

Weekend's 2018 Masters Ratings Up 24% And 16% For CBS

Saturday's third round of the 2018 Masters saw a nice increase while Sunday's finale with Patrick Reed and Rory McIlroy in the final group was up 16%. 

We see ratings increase numbers like that all the time, but when it's The Masters that means we're talking about a lot more eyeballs, two million to be exact: 13.027 million average television viewers versus 11.051 million last year.

Also note the streaming numbers at the very end.

CBS SPORTS’ 2018 MASTERS THIRD-ROUND COVERAGE EARNS RATINGS INCREASE OF 24%

CBS Sports’ third-round coverage of the 2018 Masters on Saturday, April 7, earned an average household metered market rating/share of 5.7/13, up 24% from last year’s 4.6/11.

This year’s third-round rating peaked with a 6.1/14 rating/share from 5:45-6:00 PM, ET and a 6.1/13 from 6:15-6:30 PM, ET.  

Top Five Rated Markets:

1. Ft Myers-Naples – 10.1/22
2. Greenville-Spartanburg-Asheville- 10.0/18
3. Greensboro-High Point-Winston Salem- 9.7/17
4. Dayton- 9.6/18
. Louisville- 9.3/18

And Sunday's news...

CBS SPORTS’ 2018 FINAL-ROUND MASTERS COVERAGE DELIVERS INCREASE IN VIEWERSHIP OF 18% 

MASTERS FINAL-ROUND IS HIGHEST-RATED AND MOST-WATCHED GOLF TELECAST SINCE MASTERS IN 2015

DIGITAL STREAMS OF ENTIRE TOURNAMENT DRAW RECORD VIEWERSHIP

CBS Sports’ final-round coverage of the 2018 Masters on Sunday, April 8 was seen by an average of 13.027 million television viewers on CBS, an increase of 18% from last year’s final round (11.051 million), according to Nielsen live plus same day fast national ratings.

Yesterday’s coverage earned an average national household rating/share of 7.9/18, an increase of 16% from last year’s 6.8/16.

This year’s final round was the highest-rated and most-watched golf telecast since the final round of the Masters in 2015 (8.8/20; 14.231 million viewers).  

The final round peaked with a 9.9/21 rating/share and 16.836 million viewers from 6:15-6:30 PM, ET.  

CBS Sports’ live streaming video coverage of the 2018 Masters Tournament, featuring four channels of golf action available on CBS Sports and Masters digital platforms, drew record viewership with 873 million total minutes of coverage streamed, an increase of 110% from 2017. 

ESPN’s Friday Masters Telecast Up 50 Percent from 2017

Thank you Tiger, who played in the afternoon:

An average of 3.9 million people watched ESPN’s telecast of the second round of the Masters Tournament on Friday, the most-viewed Friday at the Masters since 2013 and an increase of 50 percent over last year’s audience of 2.6 million, according to Nielsen Fast National data.

The second round, which aired from 3 p.m. until 7:45 p.m. ET, ranks as the third most-viewed Friday since ESPN began airing the Masters in 2008.

In addition to being up 50 percent over 2017’s Friday audience, the telecast also was up 28 percent over the audience of 3.1 million for the second round in 2016.

2018 Masters First Round Viewership on ESPN Up 40% From 2017

Pretty impressive bump given that Tiger Woods was not in the afternoon wave for the ESPN window.

Masters First Round Viewership on ESPN Up 40 Percent From 2017

Nearly three million viewers tuned in for ESPN’s telecast of the first round of the Masters Tournament on Thursday, an increase of 40 percent over the Thursday audience of last year, according to Nielsen Fast National data.

The telecast, which aired from 3 p.m. – 7:20 p.m. ET, averaged 2,971,287 viewers, up 40 percent from the 2,129,214 Thursday average in 2017 and up 24 percent from the 2016 Thursday average of 2,397,624.

The telecast ranked as the fourth-best Thursday since ESPN began airing the Masters Tournament in 2008, exceeded only by the years in which Tiger Woods was featured in Thursday coverage (2009, 2010 and 2015). Most of Woods’ round on Thursday had already been completed when ESPN’s telecast began.

The telecast also saw growth across all key demographics, with a 44 percent increase in persons 25-54.