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Web Chatter About Tiger Woods Begins to Shift Back Towards Golf

Nielsen Wire — Mon, 22 Mar 2010 21:10:24 +0000

Even before Tiger Woods granted two brief TV interviews on March 21 to discuss his return to the games, Nielsen data from January 29 through March 19 shows that golf returned as the most relevant topic surrounding Woods in online conversations.

Since Tiger’s troubles began last Thanksgiving, online conversation surrounding Woods shifted quickly to scandal coverage laced with strong negative sentiment. Data visualized through the Nielsen Brand Association Map, which tracks phrases and topics closely associated with brand mentions, illustrates how Tiger Woods discussion has now split into three stories: Woods’ return to golf at the Masters Tournament, continued coverage of the scandal, and Woods’ line of golf video games.

Tiger’s reputation as an international sports star still has ground to make up. A Brand Association Map measuring online conversation before the scandal shows how Tiger was linked to lofty terms such as “Best”, “Great”, “Win”, and “Impressive.” With the exception of “Winner”, the current Golf conversation revolves around Tiger’s return and not necessarily his abilities.

In the early days of the scandal, words like “adultery” and “cheater” were closely related to the sports icon. The recent change in discussion focus can be seen as an improvement to sentiment about Woods and his overall reputation, a key issue where his remaining sponsors are concerned.

Video games have re-entered the most relevant discussion thanks to continuing hype for Tiger Woods PGA Tour 11. Much like Golf discussion, the lack of topic blend with the scandal may show an improvement in Woods’ reputation. However, video game discussion has yet to return to the level of relevance to Tiger Woods that it had before the scandal broke.

What Do Historical Ratings Mean for Tiger’s Masters Return?

admin — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 20:01:49 +0000

Tiger Woods announced today that he will return to the PGA Tour for golf’s signature event – The Masters. That’s surely music to the ears of ESPN and CBS, the two networks providing live coverage for this year’s tournament. With so much anticipation for Tiger’s return to golf, many are speculating about just how high Masters ratings will be. And while Nielsen does not project future ratings, there are some past indicators that could make this year’s Masters a record-breaking event.

Nielsen looked at TV ratings for the final rounds of golf’s four major tournaments since 1977 and found that the top ten telecasts were all from the Masters. The top-rated telecast was the tournament’s final round in 1997. An estimated 14.1% of all TV households tuned in to watch Tiger win his first Masters that year. And when Tiger sealed his victory at the 2001 Masters, the final round went into the books as the second highest rated golf telecast since at least 1977 with a 13.0% household rating.

Top 10 Major Golf Final Round Telecasts (Since 1977)
Rank	Program	Network	Household Rating (%)	Winner
1	Masters 1997	CBS	14.1	Woods
2	Masters 2001	CBS	13.0	Woods
3	Masters 1981	CBS	10.6	Watson
4	Masters 1990	CBS	10.5	Faldo*
5	Masters 1998	CBS	10.2	O’Meara
6	Masters 1999	CBS	10.1	Olazabal
7	Masters 2000	CBS	10.0	Singh
8	Masters 1987	CBS	9.9	Mize*
9	Masters 1989	CBS	9.9	Faldo*
10	Masters 2005	CBS	9.8	Woods
Source: The Nielsen Company *indicates playoff

Last year, Nielsen found that ratings for tournaments missed by Tiger were down by almost one half. So far this year, Tiger’s absence from the PGA Tour has not had such a dramatic effect. Ratings for final round coverage of PGA tournaments are down just 11% season-to-date compared to the same period last year.

Having Tiger in the tournament is one thing, but when Tiger is in contention, it adds significantly more viewer interest. Last year, Nielsen found that ratings for the Masters’ final round are 20% lower when Tiger does not go on to win.

Appeal of Tiger Woods Extends to Video Game World

Nielsen Wire — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 19:01:35 +0000

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.

When Tiger Wins In Red, The Masters Sees Green

Nielsen Wire — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 20:05:22 +0000

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.

Tiger’s Return Expected To Make PGA Ratings Roar

admin — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 14:41:52 +0000

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.

Source: The Nielsen Company 2009