The PGA Tour has allied itself with SSG and a number of investors recently. The reason? Well, the circuit wanted to revitalize the sport all the while trying to help itself increase its audience, TV ratings, and viewership through the PGA Tour Enterprises. Unfortunately, it seems the body that saw Tiger Woods take on the role of Vice-Chairman has miles to go before they reach their goal, as the recently ended event at Bay Hill Golf Course wasn’t able to reach the mark.
A tweet was shared by NUCLR GOLF reporting how the men’s circuit was hit with low TV ratings. What’s more, it appears that Scottie Scheffler raking in his first victory in 12 months wasn’t enough for the golf world to turn its attention to the PGA Tour all the while being unable to even best the previous year’s numbers.
TV ratings spell trouble for Tiger Woods-included PGA TOUR Enterprises
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The Arnold Palmer Invitational saw the current No. 1 in the world emerge victorious with a score of 15-under-273 all the while carding 20 birdies, six of which came on Sunday. However, the scintillating gameplay failed to meet the standard that was set back in 2023 when the champ of the tournament of the year scored 19 of the same, four of which came in the final round.
The numbers shared by Josh Carpenter, a golf writer, reported how Sunday managed to rake in a total of 2.29 million viewers. The figures, apparently, indicate a drop of around 30% as opposed to Kurt Kitayama’s victory last year.
Meanwhile, this is not the first time that the Jay Monahan-led circuit has experienced a similar situation. The Mexico Open, which saw Jake Knapp emerge victorious, had been watched by a total of 1.8 million viewers as opposed to the 2.28 million that saw Jon Rahm winning the same back in 2023.
🚨🔻📉 #NEW: With 2.29M viewers on Sunday, the Arnold Palmer Invitational experienced a final round ratings drop of 30% compared to Kurt Kitayama’s win last year. (Per @JoshACarpenter) pic.twitter.com/Uy0ZlAJ5re
— NUCLR GOLF (@NUCLRGOLF) March 12, 2024
Meanwhile, as the Monahan-led circuit continues to suffer setback after setback, the same cannot be said for the Saudi-backed league. LIV Golf had, reportedly, managed to outperform itself at the recent event in Jeddah.
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LIV Golf and its sweet taste of victory
A tweet shared on social media reported over a million views for the tournament that took place in Saudi Arabia. A total of 769k people viewed the contest on Caffeine TV while 181k views came from the domain of YouTube. What’s more, it apparently managed to get over a million counts without counting LIV Golf +, LIVGolf.com, or the CW app.
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This is a sweet victory for the Greg Norman-led league, which faced poor TV ratings during the month of December 2023. The Saudi-backed circuit had experienced a dip in viewership as opposed to the numbers it raked in during its inaugural season. Well, it appears the increase in numbers for one league indirectly spells trouble for the other, as both the Tours seem to be going in the opposite direction when it comes to TV ratings and viewerships.
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