Nielsen Wire » golf http://blog.nielsen.com/nielsenwire Consumer Insights, News, Research & Reports Fri, 20 Nov 2009 18:19:47 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.5 en hourly 1 Appeal of Tiger Woods Extends to Video Game World http://blog.nielsen.com/nielsenwire/consumer/appeal-of-tiger-woods-extends-to-video-game-world/ http://blog.nielsen.com/nielsenwire/consumer/appeal-of-tiger-woods-extends-to-video-game-world/#comments Fri, 19 Jun 2009 19:01:35 +0000 Nielsen Wire http://blog.nielsen.com/nielsenwire/?p=12922 When it comes to golf’s U.S. Open, it’s no secret the role Tiger Woods plays in television ratings, but one advertiser in particular may be cheering hardest for the defending champion. EASports, the maker of Tiger Woods PGA Tour 10, has been prevalent so far in this year’s tournament, sponsoring hole flyovers during the broadcast, and placing banner ads on the online stream of the tournament. According to Nielsen’s Video Game Tracking survey, the franchise has grown steadily in both awareness and purchase intent, as evidenced by comparing these metrics in the week each title was released. EA is no doubt hoping Woods makes a strong showing over the weekend.

]]> http://blog.nielsen.com/nielsenwire/consumer/appeal-of-tiger-woods-extends-to-video-game-world/feed/ 1 When Tiger Wins In Red, The Masters Sees Green http://blog.nielsen.com/nielsenwire/media_entertainment/when-tiger-wins-in-red-the-masters-sees-green/ http://blog.nielsen.com/nielsenwire/media_entertainment/when-tiger-wins-in-red-the-masters-sees-green/#comments Wed, 08 Apr 2009 20:05:22 +0000 Nielsen Wire http://blog.nielsen.com/nielsenwire/?p=10401 As the 2009 Masters gets underway this week, The Nielsen Company looks at the tournament’s final round ratings during the reign of Tiger Woods. Starting in 1997, when Woods won his first of four green jackets, his presence at the top of the leaderboard has been ratings gold.

Ratings For The Masters Golf Tournement: 1997-2008
Year Woods Result Viewers P2+
1997 Won 13,685,000
1998 T-8 9,957,000
1999 T-18 9,993,000
2000 5th 10,061,000
2001 Won 13,638,000
2002 Won 9,694,000
2003 T-15 8,811,000
2004 T-22 7,913,000
2005 Won 10,778,000
2006 T-3 9,298,000
2007 2nd 10,152,000
2008 T-2 9,711,000
Source: The Nielsen Company / All telecasts on CBS

In tournaments won by Tiger, CBS averages 11.9 million viewers during final round coverage. In each tournament since 1997 NOT won by Tiger, viewership for the final round drops 20% to an average of 9.5 million viewers.

In 2008 and in 2007, Woods finished second, keeping Tiger and his iconic red shirt in the mix for Sunday viewing. In those years, viewership was notably higher even than when fan favorite Phil Mickelson – arguably the PGA’s second biggest star – won in 2004 and 2006.

]]> http://blog.nielsen.com/nielsenwire/media_entertainment/when-tiger-wins-in-red-the-masters-sees-green/feed/ 1 Tiger’s Return Expected To Make PGA Ratings Roar http://blog.nielsen.com/nielsenwire/online_mobile/tigers-return-expected-to-make-pga-ratings-roar/ http://blog.nielsen.com/nielsenwire/online_mobile/tigers-return-expected-to-make-pga-ratings-roar/#comments Wed, 25 Feb 2009 14:41:52 +0000 Nielsen Press http://blog.nielsen.com/nielsenwire/?p=8568 When Tiger Woods tees off later today at the Accenture Match Play Championship, he won’t be the only one relieved by his return to the links. In fact, PGA Tour officials and TV executives might have more of a reason to celebrate than Tiger himself.

The Nielsen Company compared the network TV ratings for the 3rd and 4th rounds of golf tournaments played by Woods after the U.S. Open in 2007 with those same tournaments he missed in 2008 due to a season-ending knee injury. And the results are just what you might expect: Tiger’s absence almost singlehandedly sliced tour ratings in half.

VIEWERSHIP OF PGA TOURNAMENTS MISSED BY TIGER WOODS DUE TO INJURY IN 2008-09

TOURNAMENT NETWORK # OF VIEWERS P2+, 2007-08 # OF VIEWERS P2+, 2008-09 % CHANGE
BRITISH OPEN-SAT ABC 3,040,000 3,278,000 7.8%
BRITISH OPEN-SUN ABC 5,147,000 4,463,000 -13.3%
AT&T NATIONAL-SAT CBS 2,630,000 1,442,000 -45.2%
AT&T NATIONAL-SUN CBS 3,615,000 2,164,000 -40.1%
NEC WORLD SERIES GOLF-SAT CBS 3,250,000 1,793,000 -44.8%
NEC WORLD SERIES GOLF-SUN CBS **4,541,000 3,018,000 -33.5%
PGA CHAMPIONSHIPS-SAT CBS 5,947,000 ^^1,298,000 -78.2%
PGA CHAMPIONSHIPS-SUN CBS **9,165,000 3,885,000 -57.6%
BUICK INV PGA GOLF-SAT CBS 3,761,000 1,601,000 -57.4%
BUICK INV PGA GOLF-SUN CBS **6,193,000 2,868,000 -53.7%
DEUTSCHE GOLF CHAMP-SUN NBC 3,658,000 1,960,000 -46.4%
DEUTSCHE GOLF CHAMP-MON NBC 4,936,000 2,116,000 -57.1%
BMW GOLF CHAMPIONSHIP-SAT NBC 3,113,000 1,091,000 -65.0%
BMW GOLF CHAMPIONSHIP-SUN NBC **4,358,000 1,678,000 -61.5%
TOUR CHAMPIONSHIP-SAT NBC 3,573,000 1,372,000 -61.6%
TOUR CHAMPIONSHIP-SUN NBC **4,231,000 2,183,000 -48.4%
TOTAL 4,567, 000 2,430,000 -46.8%
source: The Nielsen Company 2009
** – tournament won by Tiger Woods
^^ – play suspended by inclement weather

The average household rating/share for the 2007-08 tournaments played by Tiger was 3.3/8. The same tournaments played without the injured Tiger in 2008-09 averaged 1.7/4. An estimated average of 4.6 million viewers tuned in to those tournaments played by Tiger, compared to 2.4 million the following year, a drop of almost 47%.

For the record, Tiger won last year’s Accenture Match Play Championship in front of an average 4.2 million TV viewers tuned to NBC.

The “Tiger Effect” extends beyond TV ratings; it has an impact on web traffic, as well. When Tiger amazed fans with his victory at the U.S. Open last June, it was also a victory for the PGA Tour’s Web site, which drew its highest audience of the year that month, with 1.6 million unique visitors. In fact, the average monthly PGA Tour Web traffic for April through June was 24 percent higher than in the following three months, after Tiger’s departure from the tour.

The Nielsen Company 2009

Source: The Nielsen Company 2009

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