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

Nielsen Press — 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.

Tiger’s Return Expected To Make PGA Ratings Roar

Nielsen Press — 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

SPORTS WRAP: Ryder Without Tiger; Cowboys And Packers’ Big Score; Yankee Stadium Finale

admin — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 18:23:25 +0000

Each week, Nielsen Sports’ analysts offer their take on the biggest sports media headlines.

Ryder Cup Golf — Minus Tiger
Last Friday morning, 1.4 million ESPN viewers tuned in to Ryder Cup golf coverage from Louisville, Kentucky. With the world’s best golfer, Tiger Woods, sidelined, golf fans were introduced to Team USA Captain Paul Azinger’s rag-tag group of Ryder Cup rookies. On Saturday, Ryder Cup’s TV audience more than doubled — an average of 3.2 million viewers tuned in to watch the tournament action on NBC, and on Sunday, 3.9 million NBC viewers watched as the underdogs from the U.S. earned the U.S. its first Ryder Cup win in nine years. Who says golf isn’t a team sport?

Record-Breaking Football Ratings
In the NFL, the Dallas Cowboys v. Green Bay Packers game last Sunday night (Sept. 21) set a season record for Sunday Night football TV viewing this fall — more than 21.7 million U.S. viewers tuned in for the game on NBC. Meanwhile, ESPN’s streak of record-breaking Monday Night Football TV audiences continued with the New York Jets vs. San Diego Chargers game (Sept. 22), which drew this year’s fourth largest cable audience. Could it be that Fantasy Football has finally entered the mainstream?

Date	Network	Sunday Night Football: Matchup	Viewers (P2+)	U.S. Average Audience (% of Households) *
9/21/2008	NBC	Dallas Cowboys @ Green Bay Packers	21,729,000	13.1
9/14/2008	NBC	Pittsburgh Steelers @ Cleveland Browns	17,834,000	10.8
9/7/2008	NBC	Chicago Bears @ Indianapolis Colts	18,351,000	11.2
9/4/2008	NBC	Washington Redskins @ New York Giants	13,531,000	8.6
Source: The Nielsen Company (September 4, 2008 – September 21, 2008)
Note: Data includes Live and Same Day DVR viewing; percentage of U.S. households indicates the average audience during entire telecast.

Date	Network	Monday Night Football: Matchup	Viewers (P2+)	Coverage Area Audience (% of Households) *
9/22/2008	ESPN	New York Jets @ San Diego Chargers	11,881,000	8.9
9/15/2008	ESPN	Philadelphia Eagles @ Dallas Cowboys	18,608,000	13.3
9/8/2008	ESPN	Denver Broncos @ Oakland Raiders	9,665,000	7.3
9/8/2008	ESPN	Minnesota Vikings @ Green Bay Packers	12,501,000	9.3
Source: The Nielsen Company (September 8, 2008 – September 22, 2008)
Note: Data includes Live and Same Day DVR viewing; percentage of U.S. cable households indicates the average audience during entire telecast.

Good-Bye, Yankee Stadium
Despite competition from the Emmys (12.3 million viewers on ABC) and Sunday Night Football (22 million viewers on NBC), Yankee Stadium’s last ever television appearance — during the Yankees v. Orioles game — drew 3.1 million viewers last Sunday night. The telecast ranked as the seventh most-watched Sunday Night Baseball game this year. Yankee Stadium is closing to make way for a new stadium, opening next season.