When combining all live and replay telecasts, Golf Channel and NBC averaged 905,000 viewers for last week’s PGA Tour Hyundai Tournament of Champions, marking a record for the tournament on the net. Jordan Spieth won the event this year by eight strokes. Golf Channel began airing the event’s four rounds in ’07. The audience this year also tops ESPN’s coverage when it had the tourney in ’06, when Stuart Appleby beat Vijay Singh in a playoff. Golf Channel also saw a 91% increase in viewership compared to last year, when the event began on a Friday and finished on a Monday night. Looking at just live coverage of the event, Golf Channel and NBC averaged 637,000 viewers, up 70% from last year’s 374,000, when Patrick Reed beat Jimmy Walker in a playoff. Live coverage on Sunday, which began at 6:00pm ET, drew 797,000 viewers, up from 409,000 viewers on a Monday last year, when coverage began at 4:00pm. Meanwhile, GolfChannel.com’s PGA Tour scoring page saw a 34% increase in page views, while Golf Channel’s mobile PGA Tour scoring page was up 108% in views. The NBC Sports Live Extra app also saw a 142% increase in live-streaming minutes for the event (Austin Karp, Assistant Managing Editor).
WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS: The Champions Tour is introducing the first of three new 30-second commercials under the "Where Legends Play" campaign during this week's Golf Channel coverage of the PGA Tour Sony Open in Hawaii. Entitled "Where Else" and featuring the voice of actor and director Alfonso Ribeiro, the spots will highlight golfers such as Fred Couples, Hale Irwin, Miguel Angel Jimenez, Bernhard Langer, Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player, Lee Trevino and Tom Watson. Developed in joint collaboration by the PGA Tour's Brand Marketing team, PGA Tour Entertainment, the Champions Tour and Austin-based ad firm GSD&M, the commercials will also be featured across the PGA Tour's social media channels (PGA Tour).
