Ratings: LPGA Benefits From Network Airing In Rare Victory Over PGA Tour

You can understand when LPGA Commissioner Mike Whan pines for network coverage after seeing last weekend’s ratings. That’s when the Diamond Resorts TOC aired on NBC while The American Express (formerly the Bob Hope/Chrysler/Humana/Clinton/Careerbuilder/Desert/) was on Golf Channel.

According to Showbuzzdaily.com’s wrap-up of weekend sports ratings, the LPGA drew a .40 on NBC each weekend day, averaging 595,000 and 587,000 viewers respectively.

Meanwhile, the final round of the The American Express won by Andrew Landry, went up against the NFL’s Titans-Chiefs AFC Championship game on CBS and averaged 227,000 viewers to draw a .04. The round did, however, edge out a particularly powerful episode of Vet Exotic on National Geographic to be the 137th cable show of the weekend.

Also airing at the same time as the LPGA and the PGA Tour on ESPN2: the tape delayed final round of the Latin America Amateur. That telecast drew a .03 and 121,000 average viewers.

**Some added context to the LPGA’s strong week:

VIEWERSHIP: @diamondresorts Tournament of Champions delivered 306K viewers per minute and was seen by more than 4.25 million unique viewers across @GolfChannel and @NBCSports, +3% YOY. The past two years of this event are the most-watched @LPGA Tour season-openers in 11 years. pic.twitter.com/HkjzvvIJEL

— Golf Channel PR (@GolfChannelPR) January 23, 2020

Going Against The NFL Playoffs, 2020 Sony Open Rates About How You'd Expect

We’ll just move on past how the weather and freak show that was the 2020 Sony Open may go down as one of the worst PGA Tour events ever played. It ended on Sunday, and that’s all that mattered.

Then again, as considered in this post and poll last weekend, you as golf fans agree that trying to compete against the NFL makes little sense. Yes, a Monday Sony Open finish would have meant finishing against the start of college football’s national championship game. Then again it probably could not rate any worse than the weekend rounds of the 2020 Sony.

According to ShowbuzzDaily.com, Saturday’s overnight was a .03, averaging 215,000 in the 18-49 yo demographic, making it the 142nd ranked cable show that day while going against two NFL Divisional games.

Sunday’s Sony final round against the Seahawks and Packers on Fox drew a .03, with 282,000 avg viewers, making it the 137th ranked cable show. Good news though, it just beat out Secrets of the Zoo: Tampa on National Geographic. Though they drew more 18-49 year olds with a 309,000 average.

It’s supposed to be a great zoo!

Kapalua Ratings: Going Against NFL A Bad Idea, Finishing Against Golden Globes Worked Better

As Sports Business Daily notes, the NFL’s Saturday Wild Card games were up, with massive peak audiences of 31.4 million for Titans-Patriots and 29.4 million for the Texans-Bills overtime thriller on ESPN.

The NFL saw gains for both of its Wild Card games on Saturday. CBS led the way with 31.4 million viewers for the Titans’ win over the Patriots, which is the best audience for the Saturday primetime Wild Card since Saints-Eagles drew 34.4 million in ’14 on NBC.

Third round play at Kapalua went up against the Patriots game and did not rate among the top 150 cable shows, where a .3 minimum was needed to rank.

The news was better Sunday as NFL games ended earlier, freeing up eyeballs for the 2020 Sentry’s conclusion, won by Justin Thomas in sudden death playoff over Xander Schauffele and Patrick Reed.

Sunday’s live PGA Tour coverage on Golf Channel ranked 79th, with only the Golden Globes as major competition. The Sentry drew a .09 with an average audience size of 634k, 319k were 18-49 year olds. That means the peak audience was significantly higher during the exciting conclusion.

Still, there may also be viewers lost to a pair of NFL games already played and limits to how many hours one can watch television in a day. Not to mention, most Sunday night, Monday coverage centered around the NFL games.

And circling back to Sunday’s reader poll asking about Monday finishes for the entire Hawaii/La Quinta swing, 68% of you voted in favor of such a setup to avoid football. As always, thank you for voting!

Monahan On Next TV Deal: More Work To Do Than Has Been Suggested

PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan spoke to the light sprinkling of golf reporters on hand for the 2020 Sentry Tournament of Champions, reports GolfDigest.com’s Dave Shedloski. He covered an array of topics, but for those eager to see how the PGA Tour positions media rights for 2022 and beyond, it seems no decision will be coming imminently.

“We have more work to do. Probably more work than has been suggested,” Monahan said. “But I've been bullish on our prospects before we entered the process, and I'm as, if not more, bullish as we get through it.”

And this on TV vs…platforms:

He said that much more attention is being given to the delivery platforms as opposed to a straight television deal. “I’m probably more focused on that than I am anything else,” he said. “Making certain that … we continue to provide our content to our fans in the way that they want to consume that content.”

Instant Poll Asking For A Friend: Would You Support Monday Finishes During The NFL Playoffs?

We’ve run into this question seemingly every year. But with the NFL’s already high ratings on the rise again as a strong leaderboard plays against wildcard weekend. It takes little imagination to know that golf is annoying blip to casual fans following the games, and is even asking its core audience to keep their remotes or second screens busy.

In between remote control flips to wildcard games, I ask, what would be so terrible if the first three events of the PGA Tour season started on Friday and ended on Monday?

The Sentry Tournament of Champions, Sony Open and Bob Hope Chrylser Humana Careerbuilder Workday American Express Desert Classic could all finish on Mondays and in eastern U.S. prime time on Golf Channel.

For the sponsor, a Monday finish might allow the event to get a similar rating on cable and get more recognition in media cycles when the only major sporting event.

The major negatives: a potentially smaller final round gallery at the Hawaii events, a tight turnaround from the desert event to Torrey Pines and the end of any chance a major network would carry the final round. And such a move would mean finishing near the start of the national college football championship but also on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, a national holiday.

And then there is this point from reader Mark:

So I am trying to figure out why the @PGATOUR did all this work to end before the @nfl started but start the main part of the 2020 season on wild card weakened @GeoffShac @the_woke_yolk @NoLayingUp

— Mark Wittig (@MarkWittig) January 5, 2020

So, simple yes or no…

Should the PGA Tour's opening events avoid NFL playoff games with Monday finishes?

Yes

No

 

pollcode.com free polls

Worldwide Leader Watch: Will PGA Tour Learn From USGA's Mistake?

In writing about the near-completion of the PGA Tour’s next rights deal, John Ourand writes in his exclusive Sports Business Daily piece:

ESPN has made an aggressive play for the rights, which in addition to PGA Tour Live, includes tournament coverage before the networks go on air. ESPN+ would carry the digital rights. Discovery also has emerged as a serious contender for the digital rights and appears likely to share them with NBC Sports if they can manage to work out a deal. Discovery holds the Tour’s digital rights internationally.

While we have no idea what the deal terms look like, what the coverage windows might entail and what the PGA Tour’s goals are for their streaming coverage, news that ESPN is relegated to bidding on pre-network coverage and PGA Tour Live begs this question: will the PGA Tour learn from the mistakes of the USGA?

The PGA of America left Turner for ESPN to handle the first two rounds of the PGA Championship starting in 2020 and the Masters first two rounds remain on ESPN. When the USGA signed on with Fox and Fox Sports 1 for its exclusive coverage, it essentially said goodbye to a pair of the world’s largest media companies in Comcast and Disney while welcoming in another.

Even rival executives shake their head to this day at the stupidity of cutting off ESPN, which, even with fewer homes and ratings declines since 2013 when that decision was made in Far Hills, remains immensely powerful. They can decide how much to cover and promote a sport while still establishing the sports conversation. The USGA has presumably learned their lesson after falling off the relevancy cliff by shunning two hugely powerfully companies with their deal. So will the PGA Tour find a way to invest ESPN in the PGA Tour, or go with a unproven entity in Discovery’s GolfTV Powered by the PGA Tour?

Even their rivals have to be hoping the PGA Tour learns from the USGA’s mistakes for the betterment of American professional golf coverage.

CBS, NBC, Golf Channel Have Scooped Up Majority Of Next PGA Tour Contract Through 2030

John Ourand predicted the outcome just hours before reporting exclusively for Sports Business Daily on the PGA Tour’s next TV rights deal, which looks very similar in many respects to their current arrangement.

Not that there’s anything wrong with that.

Any baseball fan can tell you how the discombobulated structure of network and playoff games takes something away from the simplicity of knowing where to find a telecast. And while streaming, cord-cutting and other sports chip away at the number of viewers, golf has posted smaller declines compared to some sports, in part because final rounds are found on networks and the core audience knows where to find early round coverage.

That said, Ourand says deals haven’t been officially signed pending the resolution of “minor sticking points”. Left undecided is the provider of digital streams for PGA Tour Live coverage and other digital elements. But he still reports many exclusive details worth considering beyond the money stuff, which only PGA Tour VP’s care about as they look to upgrade their X3’s to X5 M’s this holiday shopping season.

Ourand says the annual value of the deal jumps from $400 million to $700 million. And….

CBS and NBC essentially will keep the same regular-season packages. The big difference will be seen with the FedEx Cup Playoffs. CBS and NBC will produce all three playoff tournaments, including the Tour Championship, in alternating years. As part of the nine-year deals, NBC will carry the playoffs five times and CBS will carry them four times. Previously, NBC and CBS shared these rights, with NBC producing most of them each year.

I’m not sure of the reasoning behind this. Nor can I envision why fans will care.

An official announcement is not expected to come until early next year. The big hold-up is with digital rights, which are currently held by NBC Sports as part of PGA Tour Live and are still being negotiated. ESPN has made an aggressive play for the rights, which in addition to PGA Tour Live, includes tournament coverage before the networks go on air. ESPN+ would carry the digital rights. Discovery also has emerged as a serious contender for the digital rights and appears likely to share them with NBC Sports if they can manage to work out a deal. Discovery holds the Tour’s digital rights internationally. After initial interest, it appears that Amazon has dropped out of the bidding. Sources said it was too difficult to handicap a favorite for the digital rights.

Again, this is pre-coverage on PGA Tour Live and remains a small part of the equation. More fascinating is that the PGA Tour Live broadcast window and role sounds about the same in the new deal as the old.

The Tour hired Evolution Media as counsel on its rights deals. CBS and NBC also emerge as winners, keeping rights to a property that generated a lot of interest among media companies. The deal answers a lot of questions about the new ViacomCBS, whose merger became official two weeks ago. Coming on the heels of its UEFA Champions League deal, this PGA Tour deal shows that CBS will be aggressive in getting sports rights. The deal shows how important the Tour is to Golf Channel -- and how important Golf Channel is to the Tour. As part of its offer, AT&T said it would turn Headline News into a golf-centric channel, but sources said AT&T never got close to a deal.

In the battle of media moguls, does this mean Brian Roberts closed out Randall Stephenson 6&5?

Left unsaid: how much AT&T’s debt issues and activist investor impacted willingness to introduced a new channel as the future becomes OTT/app-focused.

Also to be explained: what happened to anticipated interest from Fox, Amazon and ABC, or the to-be-created PGA Tour Network. Are the first three outlets cited saving their money for the NFL or did they decide golf just wasn’t for them.

The structure outlined appears to be a small victory for network and cable where a majority of golf fans still reside. However, we’ll hopefully learn of efforts addressed in the new deal to provide cord cutters the option to pay for this coverage via OTT services, and also of PGA Tour demands for certain production values.

Also unaddressed yet: what happens to LPGA Tour, PGA Tour Champions and Korn Ferry coverage rights?

And the most pressing question of all should settled soon: is the CEO mid-final round interview a thing of the past?

Ourand Predicts PGA Tour Broadcast Incumbents To Return, GolfTV Will Get Digital Rights

In his 2020 predictions column, Sports Business Daily’s media writer John Ourand says this about the PGA Tour television rights negotiations:

Incumbent broadcasters CBS and NBC Sports Group will renew their PGA Tour deals, including Golf Channel. What’s particularly interesting about this deal, though, will be the tour’s U.S. digital rights. After initial interest, talks with Amazon will not materialize, and ESPN+ will put in an aggressive bid. But the tour ultimately will decide to sell its digital rights to Discovery, which will make it part of its GolfTV business.

The latter portion of his prediction would be fascinating given the enticing possibilities of including Amazon and/or ESPN/Disney as a media partner given how established both already have become in the streaming world.

Of course it’s all a prediction at this point and news of deal particulars could drop any moment.

Which reminds me, a new Mandalorian drops Wednesday!

**Not long after this post went up, the Forecaddie reported the retirement of CBS producer Lance Barrow at the end of 2020. The longtime head of their golf team replaced the late Frank Chirkinian.

Ramifications Of 2019's Presidents Cup's Big Ratings: 141% Increase Since Korea

Of course naysayers will score a few points noting Tiger’s involvement, which still draws up to a million more eyeballs than most golf telecasts. And they won’t be wrong.

But consider what the Presidents Cup was facing this year in drawing an audience: late night finishes in the Eastern Time Zone, Christmas party and event season when people are less likely to be home on a Friday or Saturday night, and the Presidents Cup coming on the heels of a fall when cartoon reruns drew larger ratings than most of the PGA Tour’s fall events (especially non-Tiger Asia swing tournaments).

First, For Immediate Release:

MOST-WATCHED CABLE TELECAST IN PRESIDENTS CUP HISTORY

Saturday’s Final Day Singles Matches on GOLF Channel Featuring Playing

Captain Tiger Woods Sees 141% Increase vs. 2015 Final Day in South Korea 

Viewership Peaked at 2.15 Million Viewers Per Minute (11:15-11:30P ET)

as United States Team Was Completing its Come-From-Behind Victory 

ORLANDO, Fla., (Dec. 16, 2019) – Saturday’s Final Day singles matches at the Presidents Cup at Royal Melbourne Golf Club in Australia became the most-watched cable telecast in Presidents Cup history, according to Nielsen Fast Nationals. 

Airing live in primetime on GOLF Channel (6 p.m.-12:05 a.m. ET), the final day posted a Total Audience Delivery (TAD) of 1.742 million viewers per minute (+141% vs. ’15 Final Day), including 1.705 million viewers per minute tuning in to the linear telecast. Viewership peaked at 2.15 million viewers per minute (1.37 U.S. HH rating) from 11:15-11:30 p.m. ET as the United States team was completing its come-from-behind victory over the International team. Saturday also became the most-streamed Final Day in Presidents Cup history.

There was also this regarding Friday’s eleven hour telecast featuring two sessions. Note that viewership average over eleven hours of golf:

VIEWERSHIP: @PresidentsCup Day 3 matches TAD (Total Audience Delivery) averaged 841K viewers per min on @GolfChannel, +47% vs '15 Pres Cup in South Korea.
- Peaked 8:45-9 pm ET with 1.172 million viewers
- Most-streamed Presidents Cup day on record with 13.8 million live minutes pic.twitter.com/bf6sj9JF9S

— Golf Channel PR (@GolfChannelPR) December 14, 2019

Yet to come in as of this post: NBC’s numbers from the weekend showing the repeat of the sessions. Later in the week we should have a sense of total audience.

But we already know enough from such strong numbers in weird time slots to highlight a few things.

—Sports fans will watch for long spans or dip in for decent-lengths of time if it’s compelling, featuring elite players at a quality venue.

—Team events and match play continue to engage fans in ways that stroke play cannot.

—Never hurts to have a close match.

—The PGA Championship, played at night in Australia, in a winter month, and in Olympic years as many suggested, would have been a ratings success along with a “grow the game” extravaganza.

Video: Live From Sends Nobilo Off In Style

While you were sleeping, Rich Lerner and Brandel Chamblee paid tribute to Frank Nobilo on his last “Golf Central Live From” show. He’s off to CBS full-time, but over the last fifteen years has been a huge part of our enjoyment of major championship coverage.

The segment:

CBS Adds Nobilo, Immelman To Broadcast Team, Wie Joins Masters Digital

So much to read into this, both timing and personnel wise. Hard to say all of the ramifications, but I did note a few elements to the news here at Golfweek.com.

The full CBS release:

CBS SPORTS ANNOUNCES ADDITIONAL ROSTER MOVES FOR 2020 GOLF SEASON

Frank Nobilo Expands Role to Full-Time Analyst

Masters Champion Trevor Immelman Joins CBS Sports Golf Coverage

Dottie Pepper Named Lead On-Course Reporter

Mark Immelman and Andrew Catalon Duties Increase; Michelle Wie Joins CBS Sports

CBS Sports announces additional roster moves for the 2020 golf season for the Network’s television coverage of the PGA TOUR, Masters and PGA Championship.

Frank Nobilo, who has contributed to the Network’s golf coverage for the past five seasons, will expand his role and serve as an analyst for the full CBS Sports golf season. Nobilo, a veteran broadcaster, retired from golf in 2002 after winning 15 tournaments worldwide. 

Masters Champion Trevor Immelman joins as an analyst contributing to the Network’s PGA TOUR coverage as well as CBS Sports’ cross-platform coverage of the Masters and PGA Championship. Throughout his distinguished playing career, Immelman won 11 events worldwide – including the 2008 Masters – and was also a two-time participant in the Presidents Cup in 2005 and 2007.  

Dottie Pepper, who joined the Network in 2015, has been elevated to lead on-course reporter. Pepper is a 17-time LPGA winner and two-time Major Champion, winning at the Nabisco Dinah Shore (now the ANA Inspiration) in both 1992 and 1999. She was honored in 1992 as the LPGA Player of the Year.

Analyst and Coach Mark Immelman, who joined CBS Sports in 2016, will increase his duties with the golf team this season, working the majority of the Network’s PGA TOUR schedule. Additionally, he will continue as part of CBS Sports’ cross-platform coverage of the Masters and PGA Championship. He also currently serves as the Director of Golf at Columbus State University.

Andrew Catalon, who has contributed to CBS Sports’ multimedia coverage of the Masters and PGA Championship since 2011 and 2012, respectively, also will increase his golf duties on the broadcast side, serving as host for select PGA TOUR events. In addition to golf, Catalon serves as play-by-play announcer for CBS Sports’ coverage of the NFL and college basketball, including the NCAA Tournament.

Additionally, Michelle Wie, the five-time LPGA TOUR winner, will contribute to CBS Sports’ multimedia golf coverage this season, including the Masters. 

Earlier this year, Davis Love III was also announced as full-time golf analyst for CBS Sports. For the 2020 golf season, newcomers Trevor Immelman and Love will join veterans Jim Nantz, Nick Faldo, Ian Baker-Finch, Nobilo, Pepper, Mark Immelman, Amanda Balionis and Catalon throughout CBS Sports’ coverage of the PGA TOUR, Masters and PGA Championship.

Ratings: LPGA's Season Finale Down 33%; RSM Classic Not Great Either

2019’s final weekend of official tournaments drew very few eyeballs.

According to Sports Business Journal’s weekend roundup, the CME Tour Group Championship drew a .3 and an average of 395,000 viewers on NBC, down 33% from last year’s final round on ABC. The rating made it by far the lowest rated sports event on network TV last weekend and as Paulsen notes at Sports Media Watch “easily” the lowest since its run on broadcast TV dating to 2015.

Figure skating, on tape, drew double the audience.

Meanwhile the PGA Tour’s 2019 RSM Classic’s compelling final round won by Tyler Duncan over Webb Simpson in a playoff did not land in the top 150 cable shows among the 18-49 year olds, meaning only two rounds of the entire fall showed up on those lists (the ZOZO Sunday and delayed Monday rounds featuring Tiger Woods).

It should be noted: the CME and RSM aired in matching time slots, further dividing the audience.

Also to be noted: Loud House on Nicktoons is geared toward 6-12 year olds, yet with its .3/122,000 still earned a spot in the top 150 for a 10 pm showing while the RSM Classic did not.

BBC's Masters Run Ends, Live Coverage Exclusive To Sky Sports Starting In 2020

The amazing run of BBC offering live major championship coverage since 1955 is now over, as the Masters and Sky Sports have signed a new deal starting in 2020.

Sky Sports has been part of UK Masters coverage since 2011. However, the move eliminates round three and four coverage that still aired on BBC, and requires a subscription to view.

From The Scotsman’s Graham Bean authored report:

The Beeb will still show highlights but for the first time since the 1950s there will be no live golf on the BBC.

The corporation lost the rights to show the Open live in 2017 after 61 years of free-to-air coverage and has now surrendered the Masters too.

From next year, Sky Sports will show exclusive live coverage of the tournament from Augusta. Sky also outbid the Beeb for the Open.

Up until 2011, the BBC screened live coverage from all four days of the Masters, but Sky Sports came in in 2011 and the Beeb was reduced to screening live coverage from Friday and Saturday only.

Bevacqua Bullish On NBC/Golf Channel Retaining PGA Tour Rights: "I’m thinking about how we’re going to improve."

As we near the projected date of the next PGA Tour television rights deal, NBC Sports Group President and former PGA of America CEO Pete Bevacqua chatted with SBJ’s Abe Madkour and John Ourand.

Among the topics? Playing golf at Bel Air with Al Michaels and where NBC will target resources with the NFL and other sports properties.

The money needed to retain the NFL has many observers wondering what might get scrimped on by networks. Bevacqua made clear golf is not one of those sports.

Bevacqua said there is a "plan in place" for which non-NFL deals NBC is hoping to maintain or add going forward. He said, "I know in my mind what we feel we need to bid on, what we would like to bid on and what we probably won’t bid on. That can always change." Bevacqua was bullish on NBC and Golf Channel's chances to keep its PGA Tour package. "I’m not thinking about what will happen if we don’t get them," he said. "I’m thinking about how we’re going to improve." He also noted there will be a better sense of the landscape on the future of Tour rights "by the end of the year." SBJ has reported that Tour execs want to have a new deal in place by the end of the year, despite the current deals running through '21.

The full interview that is worth a listen despite the tragic microphone placement (come on SBJ, up your game!):

CBS Making "Aggressive" PGA Tour Rights Bid After Securing Champions League

When news of CBS securing Champions League rights broke over the weekend, there was a natural question about what this meant for their PGA Tour rights.

SBD’s John Ourand considers takeaways from Champions acquisition and notes:

The UCL deal is not a one-off. I’m told that CBS has put forth an aggressive bid for PGA Tour rights, which is expected to be decided by the end of the year. Last fall, in a minor surprise, it renewed a deal for the PGA Championship. Under the direction of Sean McManus and David Berson, CBS Sports always has prided itself on deep relationships and historically has had success keeping the rights it wants. This deal shows that CBS no longer is content on keeping its rights portfolio intact; they want to expand it.

A decision on the next PGA Tour rights package is expected before year’s end.