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The PGA Tour’s viewership on US broadcasters NBC, Golf Channel and CBS has increased during the ongoing 2023 season, according to Sports Business Journal (SBJ).
Confirmed:
- Through seven events, viewership on NBC increased three per cent year-over-year (YoY) with a total audience delivery (TAD) of 2.27 million viewers
- The Honda Classic and WGC Dell Match Play on NBC were the most-watched in four years
- The Valspar Championship hit a five-year high, with 2.59 million viewers tuning in to NBC for the final round
- Golf Channel has seen a nine per cent YoY jump in its audience through 15 events, notching up a TAD of 519,000 viewers
- CBS has averaged 2.59 million viewers for four PGA Tour events, excluding the Masters, marking a four per cent jump YoY
- The average weekly digital visitors to the PGA Tour’s website rose by eight per cent YoY in Q1 2023, while the number of iOS downloads of the tour’s app were up 60 per cent
- Video views across the tour’s Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube channels were up 31 per cent compared to last year
- ESPN reported that streaming of PGA Tour Live on ESPN+ was up “significantly” in Q1, adding that the Genesis Invitational and Players Championship were the most-watched PGA Tour events ever on ESPN+.
Context:
This season, the PGA Tour increased its prize funds and put more FedExCup points on offer for several new ‘designated’ events in response to the breakaway LIV Golf circuit. Viewership numbers for those events have seen strong increases over 2022.
SBJ notes that two of the PGA Tour’s tournaments scheduled against LIV Golf’s three events saw a decline in viewership. The Valspar Championship, however, grew its audience for the final round by five per cent, despite going up against LIV Tucson.
Coming next:
The viewership figures for the PGA Tour will be well-received by its broadcast partners. The numbers also come a little over a month on from the tour announcing a shakeup of its schedule that will see cuts scrapped and tournament formats more closely aligned with those on LIV Golf at certain events from the start of next year.
