Bryan Zuriff credits Turner Sports for why "The Match" has been so popular with sponsorsHiltzik Strategies
The third edition of Turner Sports' "The Match" airs Friday at 3:00pm ET on TNT, with Phil Mickelson and Charles Barkley taking on Stephen Curry and Peyton Manning at the Stone Canyon Golf Club in Arizona. "Capital One's The Match: Champions For Change" will raise funds for Historically Black Colleges & Universities, with help from an impressive group of sponsors. Barkley and Curry will make their first appearances in "The Match," which should broaden viewer interest. "The NBA and golf have always had a long history of intrigue," Bryan Zuriff, co-Creator and Exec Producer of "The Match," told THE DAILY. In this Q&A, Zuriff previews "The Match: Champions For Change," and outlines his vision for the event's future. Some answers have been edited for clarity and brevity.
Q: How important has Phil Mickelson been to the success of “The Match”?
Zuriff: Phil is a natural showman. He’s the Arnold Palmer of his generation. He just lends himself to this. He’s also a real student of the game and he knows how to talk to people in a way about golf. For example, when he was talking about chipping in the last event (“The Match: Champions For Charity”), people were blown away. And to be able to hear that now with Charles Barkley, to try to teach Charles Barkley, he’s going to be able to do that in a way that’s going to relate to people across the country.
Q: Why has “The Match” been such a hit with sponsors?
Zuriff: (Turner Sports Exec VP/Sports Partnerships & Branded Content) Will Funk has been phenomenal at Turner Sports. A lot of it has to do with Turner Sports. They’re boutique. They’re not like ESPN that needs to put programming on all day long. They really care, their sponsors get more of a highlight package. Plus, in golf, you have time in between shots so the sponsors really get to highlight.
Q: How did you decide on the “Champions For Change” theme?
Zuriff: (Stephen Curry) had reached out to me because he wanted to be a part of it. And he’s really involved with the HBCUs with what he’s done for Howard University. Phil obviously loved it, and he’s really excited about that because he’s going to get involved with some stuff at Howard University through Steph. And in all honesty, no matter how it does, if we can just effect a little bit of change and different types of people get to get exposed to golf, that is a great relationship builder for people moving forward.
Q: How will this edition be different from the first two?
Zuriff: This is going to be more about the personalities. We just did a press conference and their personalities really shined. This is “Dancing with the Stars.” This is a personality show with a real competition. You can’t get that with a regular PGA Tour event. The first time we did Tiger-Phil (“The Match”), they really wanted to win going down the stretch -- not that they don’t in this -- but we didn’t have cameras on them, we had caddies with them.
Q: How important is the betting aspect?
Zuriff: Big. DraftKings is going to be putting out some incredible props. They get that people want to watch matchups. You get to bet every hole, every shot is a different odd. DraftKings is able to really cater to that audience in a big way, on a day when there’s not that much happening in sports.
Q: Where does “The Match” go from here?
Zuriff: I see this as a semi-annual event, sort of a slow night in the summer that leads into July 4th, so a weekday night with a fun competition, like night golf. And then I see it every Thanksgiving, hopefully for a lot of years to come, where we’re able to raise a lot of money every year and put smiles on people’s faces. Especially at the end of this year, we want people to laugh and have a good time. It was a really hard year for everybody.
