It’s a puzzle at this point that doesn’t have a solution. The PGA Tour—its officials and its stars—are grappling with the reality of dwindling TV ratings. Last year, on average, the viewership numbers dropped 20%. A depressing fact that concerned even Rory McIlroy. There hasn’t been any positive news yet this year. Sentry, Sony Open, American Express—it’s a similar pattern. Does the solution still lie in Tiger Woods? Bitter as it might sound, Tour Pro, Byeong Hun An’s words might just be the truth.

Hun An was actually responding to former CBS journalist Kyle Porter’s take on the matter. Porter tweeted, “The PGA Tour has a lot of problems right now. Foremost among them might be that it’s a lot more fun and entertaining to watch your favorite YouTubers play fascinating courses for 40 minutes than it is to watch Andrew Novak and Sam Stevens duke it out at Torrey for 400 minutes.”

Porter admits a point well-known in the close corners of the golf community but talked only in whispers. This is the heyday of YouTube golf. Even though the older generation of YouTube stars like Rick Shiels has witnessed a decline in their viewership growth, new-gen stars like the curious bunch at Taco Golf are thriving. It’s fun, less time-consuming, and draws more people, most of whom are young.

And hey, mind-boggling slow play (like taking 40 minutes to complete ONE hole at Am-Ex) is not a concern here. 

However, on the PGA Tour, even when Andrew Novak or Sam Stevens has been swapped by a heavyweight like Scottie Scheffler or Xander Schauffele, it really hasn’t changed much. Last year’s PLAYERS Championship was a nailbiter with Scheffler, Schauffele, and Wyndham Clark in the mix. The viewership plummeted half a million from 2023 (3.53M vis-a-vis 4.5M). Overall, Sunday viewership plunged by 19% compared to 2023. 

This is where Byeong Hun An chimed in. “At this rate, all the pro golfers are going quit their job (sic!) and be a YouTuber. Golf always has been 5+ hour coverage. As we get younger audiences, it’s hard for them to be entertained for that long. On YouTube, you can skip certain sections or watch shorts. What’s wrong with have (sic!) English, Novak and Stevens in contention? The views? It’s not changing unless Tiger is in contention these days.”

That’s one bitter pill to swallow. Considering the pool of talent left on the PGA Tour (despite a steady exodus to LIV), there hasn’t been a star to replicate Tiger Woods’s aura. It’s not that LIV Golf has ‘poached’ a chunk of the PGA Tour’s viewers – the Saudi-backed side hasn’t cracked the code as the distressing TV ratings evince. Woods, on the other hand, has paid somewhat larger dividends (more on that later). While both Hun An and Porter have a point, a key factor is largely ignored in the conversation around golf viewership. Linear TV viewership has declined across the board.

PGA Tour caught in the crossfire of streaming and cable?

Day by day the linear TV viewership is indeed plummeting. Actually, you can argue the decline is sharper than TopGolf Callaway’s stock. But on a serious note, Marca reported that the College Football Championship game between Ohio State and Notre Dame witnessed a 12% decline this year. As did the NFL Wild Card round, which endured a 9.3% slump.

White post-season fatigue is one key factor; the rising cost of cable has posed a hurdle as well. A 2022 study found Americans pay over $1,618 per year for 192 channels (and ads), of which they watch on average only 15. The average monthly charge of $147 was a 52% increase in three years. Consequently, a Nielsen study from 2023 actually showed a declining trend in TV viewership—12.5% Y-O-Y.

Streaming takes charge in moments like this.

More so, when bundle packages are cheaper than cable charges. A survey found more viewers prefer the streaming model on TV, i.e., pay for only the channels they watch. Another research study found that 65% of Gen Z people don’t have a TV subscription. That likely explains why conventional Pay-TV distributors lost 1.6 million subscribers in the second quarter of last year. Golf, specifically, suffers in this case as viewers have to hop from one channel to another depending on the timeslot and the day. 

Nevertheless, has the PGA Tour been able to capture the Gen-Z’s attention via ESPN+ or Peacock? There really is no way to know. ESPN doesn’t release their streaming numbers. Amid all this, linear TV viewership remains the only benchmark. Even there, as polls in our newsletter tell us, traditional golf fans are disgruntled by the channel-hopping and the rising cost of keeping channels that broadcast golf on their TVs. Still, having Tiger Woods helps.

A tad bit. PNC Championship (with a lead-in by football) recorded a massive uptick in viewership numbers. Last year, the Genesis Invitational witnessed a viewership decline after Woods withdrew. All this is even though the 15-time major champion has played tournaments that you can count on one hand. But given his age and performance graph, there is a necessary question to ask. Will the 82-time PGA Tour winner still be the needle mover every week when he doesn’t contend?