 |
|
|
|
| |  |
Brave New World for Golf on TV
Tom Clavin
archive article, added 04/13/2006 | |
 
PGA Tour Commissioner Tim Finchem |
A year ago at this time, even coming off the Tiger Woods playoff triumph in the Masters, the PGA Tour was not a happy place. A few longtime sponsors were pulling out of tournaments. TV ratings were down when anyone but Woods won. Fans had become accustomed to snoozing through the post-PGA Championship part of the season. The PGA’s contract with the television networks was up for renewal and there were fears that if the revenue stayed the same or the dollars even went down, tournament purses would be affected. Had the PGA Tour peaked?
Then PGA Tour Commissioner Tim Finchem pulled a rabbit out of his hat, and in 2006 all is (mostly) well. It’s no wonder that there was only cheering when it was announced last week that Finchem had re-enlisted for another six years as commissioner.
The rabbit was a new TV contract that not only means more money, not less, for PGA Tour events but changes significantly the landscape of the schedule, beginning in 2007. Most of the changes are very smart ones, though there have been some collateral damage along the way.
First, let’s look at the impact the contract between the PGA Tour and the networks has and has had:
In 1998, before Finchem’s first TV contract went into effect, TV revenue was over $58 million, and total purse money was $96 million. What this means is that approximately 60 percent of the purse money came from TV revenue, leaving the remaining 40 percent to be raised via sponsors and other sources.
Immediately the following year, when the first Finchem contract kicked in, there was a dramatic difference. TV revenue shot up to $121.5 million and purse money soared to $135.8 million. Even better, the TV revenue made up 89.5 percent of the purses.
The TV revenue continued to climb. In the last year of that first contract, it was up to $162.2 million, and purses were closing in on the $200 million mark.
Another big milestone was reached in 2003, the first year of the second Finchem contract. That year, TV revenue was $206.7 million, and purses had rocketed to $224.7 million, with TV revenue comprising 92 percent of purse money.
Tiger Woods at Bethpage |
This year, guess what? According to PGA Tour projections, TV revenue will be $270 million . . . the same as the total of purses on the tour.
Such robust TV revenue takes a lot of pressure off tournament directors because less money has to be found from other sources to underwrite event expenses. More TV money also means more proceeds goes to the many charities the PGA Tour tournaments support. (It isn’t just a coincidence that the PGA Tour passed the $1 billion mark in donations in 2005.) And it satisfies what is ultimately the bottom line – keeping the players happy. When players with a tenth of the talent of Tiger Woods are still becoming millionaires, there are plenty of smiles to go around.
Here is really where the tour has to give a high-five to Finchem. When he negotiated his first TV contract, that would run from 1999 to 2002, it was right after Tiger Woods had won his first Masters, in 1997. Four years later, when he negotiated his second TV contract, Woods had just completed the “Tiger Slam.” Being able to play the Tiger card gave the commissioner a lot of leverage.
Woods is still the biggest ratings-getter in golf, but the other concerns threatened to neutralize his impact. To the surprise of everyone, however, Finchem negotiated a $3 billion TV deal with CBS, NBC, and The Golf Channel. It is a six-year deal that among other things allows for a whopping 35 percent increase in winnings to players. And according to the PGA Tour, thanks to the new TV contract charitable contributions will reach the $2 billion mark in 2013. That is only eight years after reaching the $1 billion level, which took over 50 years.
Jack Nicklaus at Baltusrol |
There are some changes. ABC and ESPN dropped out of negotiations, and it’s a shame that we won’t see golf telecasts on those channels beginning next year. And to increase men’s golf visibility, several tourneys have been shifted around or dropped altogether because they just weren’t performing well enough. To make this kind of money, it was no more Mr. Nice Guy for Tim Finchem.
But the PGA Tour took this opportunity to do something very smart, which was recommended here months ago. It bolstered the late-summer season, when before the PGA Championship was the de facto ending event. August 2007 now looks like this: World Golf Championship-Bridgestone Invitational 8/2-5, PGA Championship 8/9-12, Carolina Classic at Greensboro (a very durable event) 8/16-19, Barclays Classic (right above New York City) 8/23-26, and the Deutsche Bank Championship (in Boston) beginning 8/30. That is followed by a new FedEx Championship Series event in Chicago and the Tour Championship 9/13-16.
What an exciting stretch. Great golf and baseball pennant races to watch at the same time . . . sign me up!
I couldn’t be happier that Phil Mickelson and not Tiger Woods won the Masters last week. First of all, the very selfish reason: As I’ve previously written here, a win by Tiger meant he tied Walter Hagen at 11 major victories, which means in that context that would be pretty much the last we’d hear of Hagen in the golf media as the spotlight would shift to Jack Nicklaus’s total of 18 majors.
Hey, I want as much modern-day PR for Sir Walter as possible so that my biography of him will keep selling. Now I look forward to more mentions of the Haig as Tiger chases his 11th major this June at the U.S. Open at Winged Foot in Westchester County. This is more appropriate anyway, as Hagen won two U.S. Opens but was past his prime when the Masters made its debut.
Retief Goosen at Shinnecock Hills |
The other reason is Phil’s victory revives the competitive bar. For much of last year, the top players in the world didn’t challenge Woods when it counted. He won two of the first three majors and dominated the money list. Ernie Els blew out his knee and was gone the rest of the year. Vijay Singh couldn’t duplicate his 2004 success and he’s entering his mid-40s with a lot of mileage on him. Retief Goosen seems only to have afterburners to switch on at the U.S. Open, and is a routine also-ran at other majors.
That left and leaves Phil. And he has responded. He won the PGA Championship last August, and now the Masters for his second major in a row. (The “Mick Slam,” anyone?) At 35 and apparently feeling more confident as a champion, he and Tiger can really go toe to toe for at least the next five years.
Tiger Woods will win his 11th major, and quite probably it will be this year. He deserves every title and penny he earns. But he shouldn’t have to carry the entire PGA Tour on his shoulders for TV contracts, and if Phil and perhaps one of the emerging young guns provide challenges and excitement most weeks, even Tiger will be happy.
Questions, comments, and green jackets can be sent to “Links Life” at Hondo7@optonline.net.
All photos courtesy of USGA
Tom Clavin, who lives in Sag Harbor, writes about golf for The New York Times, The Met Golfer, Golf Magazine, and other publications. His new book is "Sir Walter: Walter Hagen and the Invention of Professional Golf." This column about everything in and around golf, especially with “links” to local courses, will appear every two weeks on Hamptonsview.com. Comments, questions, information about East End players and competitions, free golf apparel, and memberships hondo7@optonline.net.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
