NBC Golf Viewership Up 27% In '16, Golf Channel Up 8%

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Erik Matuszewski of Forbes reports the final golf viewing numbers for 2016, with NBC/Golf Channel seeing substantional viewer increases thanks in part to adding The Open Championship and golf's Olympic return.

Given the declining numbers in most sports television, the increases appear especially positive, as Matuszewski notes:

While many major sports networks saw viewership declines in 2016 – ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, NFL Network and MLB Network among them -- Golf Channel viewership rose 8% over a year ago while NBC Sports Network saw a 14% audience increase. Golf Channel matched its highest-rated year ever, tying its record numbers from 2013 when Tiger Woods won five PGA Tour titles, including two at events with highly-visible Monday finishes on the network.

“With most of the media world seeing declines, seeing double-digit increases like this is important and it proves that our investments are paying off,” Mike McCarley, the President of Golf for NBC Sports Group, said in an interview.

In 2017 live golf will account for 37% of Golf Channel's programming, up from 18% in 2011.

The full press release:

NBC’S GOLF COVERAGE DRAWS LARGEST U.S. AUDIENCE IN 2016
WITH 71 MILLION UNIQUE VIEWERS, UP 27% YEAR-OVER-YEAR
Golf Channel Matches Highest-Rated Year Ever in 2016
 
Millennial Audience Grows 33% Year-over-Year, Doubles over Past 2 Years
 
Golf Channel Digital Scores Best Year Ever Across All Platforms
 
ORLANDO, Fla. (Jan. 5, 2017) – NBC Sports’ Golf Channel on NBC coverage drew the largest U.S. broadcast golf audience in 2016 with 71 million unique viewers, +27% vs. 2015 and NBC Sports’ largest total audience for live golf coverage since 2013. Building upon NBC Sports’ slate of marquee PGA TOUR events, viewership growth was driven by the addition of long-term partnerships with The Open and Ryder Cup, as well as golf returning to the Olympics. With the most live hours of coverage in network history, Golf Channel also drew its largest total audience with almost 45 million unique viewers. As a result of a continued investment in high-quality, live programming, Golf Channel matched its highest-rated year ever for the third consecutive year (.08 U.S. household rating, 24-hour total day 6AM-6AM) since the network was founded 22 years ago by Arnold Palmer. After joining NBC Sports Group in 2011, Golf Channel has scored its six best years ever and has increased ratings +60% and viewership +53% over that span,  according to data released by The Nielsen Company. Additional highlights include:
·       Golf Channel one of four sports networks experiencing 2016 viewership growth
·       The Open, Ryder Cup propel Golf Channel to most-watched day ever record, twice
·       Golf Channel posts seventh consecutive quarter of year-over-year growth
 
“NBC Sports’ golf coverage had a transformational year in 2016 with the addition of robust, multi-platform coverage of The Open, Olympics, and a U.S. hosted Ryder Cup – all in a 12-week span. These high-quality, live events coupled with an affluent, loyal and younger audience across all platforms helped fuel the success of golf within the NBC Sports Group,” said Mike McCarley, president of Golf, NBC Sports Group. “With more live coverage than ever before, including more live golf coverage than all other networks combined, Golf Channel has experienced tremendous growth since joining the NBC Sports Group in 2011 and now provides more live coverage than ever before. With this growth, we firmly believe the best is yet to come.”
 
TELEVISED GOLF REACHES 89.7 MILLION VIA NBC SPORTS LINEAR CHANNELS
In 2016, Golf Channel and NBC reached nearly 90 million unique viewers by providing more live tournament golf coverage than all other U.S. television networks combined. Golf Channel televised 139 events that reached more than 500k viewers (+83% vs. 2010) and 13 events that reached more than 1 million viewers (+117% vs. 2010), representing double-digit growth since joining the NBC Sports Group in 2011.
 
1 OF ONLY 4 SPORTS NETWORKS WITH VIEWERSHIP GROWTH IN 2016
Golf Channel’s  8% growth for average viewership and 11% growth for persons 25-54 ranked third among all sports networks, which in 2016 only saw four networks experience growth:

GOLF CHANNEL TWICE SETS RECORD FOR MOST-WATCHED DAY IN NETWORK HISTORY
Golf Channel first set its record for most-watched total day in network history on Friday, July 15 with second round coverage of The Open (584k average viewers), which included 14 consecutive hours of live coverage from Royal Troon, Scotland. Then on Friday, September 30, Day 1 coverage of the Ryder Cup propelled the network to a new record for most-watched day in network history (673k average viewers), which included 10.5 hours of live coverage.
 
7 CONSECUTIVE QUARTERS OF YEAR-OVER-YEAR GROWTH
Golf Channel has posted seven consecutive quarters of year-over-year growth, including second and third quarters posting all-time quarterly high marks in 2016 (125,000 and 121,000 average viewers, respectively), and fourth quarter being the most watched since 2011 (72,000 average viewers). Ultimately, Golf Channel posted its second most-watched year ever (107,000 average viewers, 24-hour total day 6AM-6AM, +8% vs. 2015), surpassed only slightly by 2013 (108,000 average viewers).
 
KEY YOUNG & AFFLUENT DEMOS CONTRIBUTE TO CONTINUED GROWTH
Viewership growth was driven in part by millennials with impressions for persons 25-34 increasing +33% in total day, a mark that has doubled over the past two years, as well as +43% in primetime. Also in 2016, Golf Channel continued as the No. 1 most-affluent ad-supported television network in both total day and primetime for the third consecutive year with the highest median household income.
 
RECORD GROWTH FOR GOLF CHANNEL DIGITAL
Golf Channel’s success extended across all platforms, including more than 264 million live streaming minutes (+96% vs. 2015) via Golf Channel Digital, which also saw best-ever results in key metrics for video starts (48 million, +19%), page views (894 million, +2%), and unique devices (4.9 million, .5%). Golf Channel also helped connect more golfers to the game via its portfolio of digital lifestyle brands, including GolfNow, which utilizes technology to encourage more golfers to play more golf.

ADDITIONAL 2016 GOLF CHANNEL VIEWERSHIP HIGHLIGHTS
·       Growth Throughout the Year (average viewers, 24-hour total day 6AM-6AM)
o   First Quarter                 +15 % YOY     Most-Watched Feb. & March since 2013
o   Second Quarter             +1 % YOY       Most-Watched 2nd Quarter Ever
o   Third Quarter                +6 % YOY       Most-Watched 3rd Quarter Ever
o   Fourth Quarter              +16 % YOY     Most Watched 4th Quarter since 2011

The Open
o   NBC Sports’ first-ever live coverage of The Open finished as the most-watched final round since 2009, and finished +20% vs. 2015. Overall, coverage reached 20.8 million unique viewers across NBC and Golf Channel, +10% vs. 2015 and highest since 2012.
o   Golf Channel’s first-ever live coverage of a men’s major championship at The Open propelled the network to be a Top-5 cable network during Thursday and Friday coverage with total viewers and the No. 1 cable sports network with both average viewers and persons 25-54 (6 a.m.–2 p.m. ET).
o   Live streaming of NBC Sports’ coverage of The Open delivered 51.3 million minutes on 606k unique devices across all platforms, marking all-time highs for an NBC Sports golf event.

Ryder Cup
o   NBC Sports’ first-ever comprehensive coverage of the Ryder Cup from a U.S. venue across both NBC and Golf Channel reached 22.2 million unique viewers.
o   Golf Channel was the No. 1 cable sports network by 319% and the No. 2 cable network from 8:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. ET on Friday.
o   Across all NBC Sports Digital platforms, live streaming of the Ryder Cup delivered 35.1 million minutes on 487k unique devices and an average-minutes audience of 22k, which is the highest average-minutes audience ever for an NBC Sports golf event.

Olympics
o   For the first time in more than 100 years, golf returned to the Olympics, and 24.5 million unique viewers watched coverage across Golf Channel and NBC, including 21 million unique viewers who watched the men’s competition on Golf Channel and NBC and 5.5 million unique viewers who watched the women’s competition on Golf Channel.
o   Golf Channel and NBC both aired the conclusion of the men’s competition and this was the second highest-rated 90 minutes of golf in 2016, only behind the Masters, with a combined 5.6 U.S. household rating and 8.578 million average viewers.

 

Additional Golf Channel Programming

o   Golf Central viewership +5% vs. 2015 for average viewership and persons 25-54. This is Golf Central’s most-watched year since 2013.
o   Morning Drive’s average viewership was even vs. 2015, but +27% with persons 25-54, the highest performance with this key demo since 2013.
o   Feherty posted its best season ever with total average viewers. March premieres featuring Jordan Spieth (Part 1: 325k average viewers, Part 2: 351k average viewers) and Jason Day (279k average viewers) were the most-watched premieres since the series debuted in June 2011 (Live+Same Day DVR). Both Jordan Spieth premieres became the most-watched Feherty episodes ever, averaging more than 430k average viewers on a Live+3 basis.
o   Golf Channel’s primetime delivery overall was +2% vs. 2015 (123k average viewers)

PGA Tour, Twitter Team Up For 70 Hours Of Weekday Coverage

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Bloomberg's Scott Soshnick with details of a new PGA Tour-Twitter broadcast partnership that covers 31 events and 70 hours over the course of the season.

Essentially they will provide 60 or 90 minute pre-game show coverage before PGA Tour Live and Golf Channel's weekday coverage commences.

PGA Tour Live has been providing coverage in the pre-Golf Channel window and will continue to be there for its subscriber(s). Theoretically this deal will encourage more to sign up for the paid PGA Tour Live service and gives the Tour more of the digital presence new Commissioner Jay Monahan telegraphed in this Q&A. There is also the big-picture effort to create new distribution channels for eventual Golf Channel negotations when that deal expires in 2021.

Muirfield's Membership: Savage Brand Of Self-Satire?

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The Honourable Company will be voting again later this month to potentially admit female members and The Guardian's Marina Hyde has moved beyond the bothered stage, having shifted to enjoyment of the club's stubborn ways. (Thanks to reader TM for sending.)

A majority of members have voted in favor of allowing females to join. But as Hyde recounts, the holdouts, who have prevented the move from occurring and Muirfield to rejoin the Open rota, are viewed...lightly.

On club membership, I am an unapologetic Marxist (Groucho, not Karl), and since the R&A have rightly removed Muirfield from the Open rota, this spectacle has become much more self-harming than anything else. Indeed, the good gentlemen of Muirfield should be under absolutely no illusion: watching their twice-yearly insistence on making pillocks of themselves is a hundred times more entertaining sport than anything that could be viewed on their course. If they feel they must persist in this particularly savage brand of self-satire, then it is not for us to impede their journey.

Day Opens The Door For New Commish To Attack Slow Play

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New PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan probably took a few aspirin when he saw that world No. 1 Jason Day returned from time off and, unprompted, proudly touted plans to play slower in 2017.

After all, the new Commish has more on his plate than you'd expect given the supposedly great product Saint Finchem left behind. Big picture stuff like trying to fix a confusing schedule, repairing relations with sponsors and keeping FedEx around should be Monahan's first-month priority instead of jumping in on the slow play debate.

But did Day just hand Monahan the perfect opening to attack the slow play problem?

Because of Finchem's many blind spots related to the actual product of PGA Tour golf, none was more perverse and damaging as his desire to see pace of play policies ignored. Finchem prioritized protecting the gentleman's game imagery above the gentlemanly behavior of playing golf at a considerate pace. Finchem never shied from bragging about his players taking hats off and shaking hands for the 18th green cameras.

Slow players? That could be swept under the rug because television wouldn't show someone rudely taking three minutes to play a shot, until they started showing such antics down the stretch because they had no choice. Then a Sean O'Hair or Kevin Na or Jason Day made it apparent how ungentlemanly it is for someone with PGA Tour level talent to take that long to hit a shot, and the Commissioner openly resisted penalty shots.

It is no coincidence that in the nearly 20 years Finchem was in office, the last penalty occurred in his first months on the job and never since. He also worked to undermine the stature of his officials by prolonging contract negotiations and underpaying the unionized force charged with enforcing the rules. And don't think players were oblivious to this neutralization of the referees or the amount of time that has passed since the last penalty (1995).

Even the USGA appeared has bowed to Finchem, implementing its very effective pace of play system at all but the one of its championships. It just happens to be the one where coddled PGA Tour players play: the U.S. Open.

Now that Finchem is retired, the PGA Tour slowpokes' sense of taking as much time as they'd like came flooding out of Day's mouth prior to Kapalua's 2017 season kickoff event. With no fear of being penalized and a rumored $10 million a year from Nike to pay any minor fines, Day made clear he's not going to rush himself.

The full comment:

Imagine a pitcher declaring that he will not throw a pitch until he's ready or a free-throw shooter backing off five times before taking a free shot? The leagues would crack down. 

In an era when no sport can afford to be seen as slowing down, the PGA Tour has shied away from enforcement that might help solve the problem. However, a new commissioner is in town and he's just been given a natural opening to push back.

Monahan shied away from taking a strong stand on slow play in a Q&A at PGATour.com earlier this week, understandably not needing to start his tenure off on a combative foot. Yet Jason Day has uttered comments  far removed from the simple reality that the PGA Tour survives on its entertainment value, not on how it pads Day's bank account. The suggestion he will back off until he's ready made clear Day's entitlement level runs so deep that even his truest believers might not feel sorry to see a PGA Tour rules official stalking him around Kapalua. And Torrey Pines. Or any fairway he pitches his tent upon to indulge himself at the expense of our viewing pleasure.

More Splashy Signings: Bubba To Volvik Ball, Lydia To PXG For $10 Million Over Five Years

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The high profile switches continue, and while we know Bubba Watson has moved the equipment needle before, can he make golf ball buyers go pink?

Golf.com's Michael Chawra says that's the color Bubba hopes to play even though the model he's selected is not sold in pink.

Bubba says it was his idea to play the Volvik ball after watching the World Long Drive. Jeff Babineau reports from Maui for Golfweek.com on Bubba's claim and notes this about world top ten golf ball usage:

With Watson playing a Volvik ball, five companies now are represented among the top 10 players in the world. With Rory McIlroy expected to return to Titleist (Pro V1x) when he competes in South Africa this month, Titleist will have four of the top 10 (two playing Pro V1, two playing Pro V1x). Also represented are TaylorMade (two), Callaway (two), Srixon (one) and now Volvik.

Continuing its high profile splash into the equipment business, my sources say PXG's Bob Parsons has signed Lydia Ko for a whopping $10 million over five years, while also adding Brittany Lang, Christina Kim and Ryan O’Toole as new members of the staff.

Beth Ann Baldry, reporting for Golfweek.com says Parsons is going after LPGA players in search of international sales:

“In 2016 we saw remarkable growth in international sales,” PXG founder Bob Parsons said in a news release, “but we recognize that we have only scratched the surface. Tour validation is important, and the ladies tour is wildly popular in many countries.”

Here is Lydia discussing her switch on Morning Drive, which will also include a PXG putter:

Ko also did a nice demo on Aimpoint Express, using Golf Channel's new virtual putting green.

The full PXG press release:

PXG Adds #1 Ranked Golfer Lydia Ko to Its Roster of Champions
2017 Tour Lineup Supports PXG’s International Growth Strategy
 
Scottsdale, AZ (January 3, 2017) – Today, PXG (Parsons Xtreme Golf) revealed a tour strategy designed to help accelerate and capitalize on global excitement surrounding the company’s brand and revolutionary equipment. In a bold move, PXG has focused solely on signing LPGA Tour talent for the 2017 season. At the top of the list is world number one, Lydia Ko.

“This year PXG is looking at golf and the tour from a global perspective,” said PXG founder and American entrepreneur Bob Parsons. “In 2016 we saw remarkable growth in international sales, but we recognize that we have only scratched the surface. Tour validation is important, and the ladies tour is wildly popular in many countries. We had five exceptional ladies on staff in 2016 and this year that number has grown to nine. These players, as well as our top-notch PGA TOUR pros, will help us bring PXG’s unmatched technology to passionate golfers around the globe.”

New #PXGTroops include:
    •    Lydia Ko, 14 time LPGA Tour Winner
    •    Brittany Lang, Reigning U.S. Women’s Open Champion
    •    Christina Kim, 3 time LPGA Tour Winner
    •    Ryan O’Toole, 2011 Solheim Cup Team Member

“It was always my dream goal to become world number one,” Lydia Ko shared. “Now that I have reached that benchmark in my career, I am focused on consistently playing the best golf I can. When I first hit PXG’s clubs I was extremely impressed by how they felt. They felt solid and the performance was – wow!”

Known for developing leading technology that delivers indisputable performance. The company invests heavily in research and development, and does not prescribe to traditional product cycles.

“I’ve had PXG clubs in my bag for several months and all I can say is they are the real deal,” said Christina Kim. “The wedges have got to be the best I’ve ever played and the rest of the clubs are simply excellent. I couldn’t be more excited about being part of a company that is disrupting norms and taking risks in the name of innovation and performance.”

PXG’s professionals represent some of the very best talent on the PGA TOUR and LPGA Tour. The new players will join current #PXGTroops James Hahn, Billy Horschel, Charles Howell III, Zach Johnson, Chris Kirk, Ryan Moore, Charl Schwartzel, Cristie Kerr, Alison Lee, Sadena Parks, Gerina Piller and Beatriz Recari.

“I have so much respect for PXG and Bob Parsons,” Brittany Lang said. “Being on staff is really a special opportunity.”

“From founder to fitter, every representative of PXG is passionate about golf and dedicated to making sure golfers are able to experience incredible results on the course. I have never been so impressed by a company,” Ryann O’Toole added. 

Public Service Reminder: The DJ Local Rule Is Now Available

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There have been many victims but none more famous than Dustin Johnson, therefore it's as much his local rule as anyone elses. Happy New Year DJ!

The full text of ball-accidentally-moves-on-putting-green rule. The USGA is also offering a video explanation and infographic on the rule and available for North American courses.

Granted, the accidental movement problem is generally only a regular issue at greens Stimping over 12 or where HD cameras are watching play.

Still, invoke the local rule, please...

Did Writer Trump-Up Account Of Trump Encounter?

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Politico's Kenneth Vogel does a nice job trying to figure out if President-elect Donald Trump had a former unauthorized biographer (understandable) and Koch brother/club member (not so understandable) removed from Trump International in West Palm Beach before they could tee off.

It seems writer Harry Hurt III, who took to Facebook to post details--in the third person--and gave the impression Trump had one of his members, David Koch, escorted off the property, actually did no such thing. That notion seemed unbelievable given Koch's status as a Trump club member and as an influential figure in American business and politics, albeit one that Trump has neutralized.

Here is the initial post:

 

 

Here is what Vogel concluded about the Koch portion of the story, which is the most incredible. If it had been true:

Another member of the Hurt-Koch foursome, fellow GOP donor John M. Damgard, told POLITICO that neither he nor Koch were privy to Hurt’s exchange with Trump, and that Hurt didn’t recount it to them in any detail.

“Harry just said he had been asked to leave,” said Damgard, a former president of the Futures Industry Association who has a house in Palm Beach. “I thought he was kidding. And then I learned that there had been some previous bad blood between them from back in the ‘90s apparently,” Damgard said, adding, “Unbeknownst to us, he had written a book or an article that was critical of Trump.”

So, Damgard continued, “rather than exacerbate something that wasn’t going to go very well, we just decided to get into the car and leave.”