ABC's broadcast of last night's "Battle at Bighorn," a
made-for-TV golf event featuring Tiger Woods against Sergio
Garcia, earned an 8.6/14 preliminary overnight Nielsen
rating, up 16% from last year's 7.4/12 overnight for the
"Showdown At Sherwood," which featured Woods against David
Duval (ABC). During last night's 3 1/2 hour broadcast,
event title sponsor Lincoln Financial Group ran two 60-
second and five 30-second spots. Associate sponsors
Killians, Mazda and Coors had on-screen billboards and
commercial time during the broadcast. Killians had two 30-
second spots, Mazda had three 30-second spots and Coors had
three 30-second spots (THE DAILY). In L.A., Thomas Bonk
writes that the golf during last night's event "wasn't that
compelling." Bonk: "This experiment in prime-time golf
looks as if it may need a second opinion." But Bonk notes
that both players wore microphones and both caddies wore
shorts: "That probably doesn't seem like much, but we're
actually talking groundbreaking stuff here." Bonk also
notes that 175 media credentials were issued for the event,
which would "probably be a record if anyone really cared."
Woods' future involvement in the series is "something the
Woods Camp is considering," as Woods' IMG agent Mark
Steinberg said that he is "going to wait to see what the
ratings are" before committing again (L.A. TIMES, 8/29).
But also in L.A., T.J. Simers cites Bighorn Golf Club
General Managing Partner R.D. Hubbard as saying that he has
a three-year contract with Woods to play in the made-for-TV
golf event. Hubbard: "I'd make it 10-to-20 years right now
if I could" (L.A. TIMES, 8/29).
STILL TURNED ON BY TIGER: USA TODAY's Rudy Martzke
writes that while CBS' final-round coverage of Sunday's WGC
NEC Invitational was down from last year due to a three-hour
rain delay, CBS' live coverage for the final 1:45 before
switching over to TNN averaged a 7.2 overnight. Sunday's
final half hour on CBS earned a 7.7 overnight (USA TODAY,
8/29). The HOLLYWOOD REPORTER's Michele Greppi notes until
that Sunday, NASCAR events "were the only ones to make the
switch from CBS to TNN live." CBS Sports Senior VP Rob
Correa said the network move does not mean CBS is "ditching
our audience." Greppi notes that the NEC coverage "took
with it pods of commercials and promotional spots that had
aired on CBS and got an unexpected run on TNN." Correa:
"We'd already run through our commercial inventory. Those
were all bonuses" (HOLLYWOOD REPORTER, 8/29). Meanwhile, PGA
Tour Commissioner Tim Finchem said TV viewers haven't been
saturated by too much coverage of Woods: "People are as
interested in watching him challenge records as they are
watching him challenge the rest of the field. They're
fascinated by a guy who can separate himself from the best
players in the world. If he does it six or eight times a
year for the next five years, at some point do people get
bored? Maybe. That's not the case right now" (AP, 8/29).
