Golf still easy to sell as viable for networks

In the battle of the economy vs. sports, chalk up a big victory for the PGA Tour.

The victory came in the form of a new nine-year television contract between the tour and its two big network partners, CBS and NBC. That contract will kick in for 2013, meaning the PGA Tour doesn't have to worry about television deals through 2021. In an era of uncertainty over money and sponsorship commitment, knowing what your television deals look like through 2021 is the equivalent to hitting the lottery and knowing you've got a check coming in the mail every week for the next 10 years.
Of course, with 2012 already locked in for television, there will be questions in the coming weeks and months about what tournament might land where on the tour schedule and how that might change that tournament's television coverage. But most things won't change.
And while there were no financial details announced in the new deal, talk among those around the tour is that the PGA Tour did not take a cut in rights fees. In fact, the fees might have edged up a bit, though far less in terms of percentage than the last two television contracts that were fueled by Tiger-mania and which helped raise tournament purses drastically.
The thinking not that long ago was that the tour would struggle to get a decent television package. Ratings were down, Tiger Woods had gone from dominant player to non-winner and troubles in the economy would limit the networks' ability to pony up big money.
So how did the tour pull this off and walk away with a plum of a deal that other sports will be envious of?
A couple of things are apparently true:
Networks love bought commercial time: The PGA Tour comes to each contract negotiation being able to tell the networks that a vast majority of available commercial time in each tournament will be bought by the tournament's title sponsor. Networks hold parties over that kind of news.
Golf has retained a core audience: OK, ratings are down from when Tiger Woods was the king of the sports world. But the fans who have stopped watching were fans of Woods more than they were fans of golf.
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Golf fans are still watching sports, and the demographic of the hard-core golf fan is still appealing to networks and advertisers.
Tiger is missed, but not as much as we thought: Parity is nice, but golf's biggest booms in popularity in recent times have come thanks to two dominant forces (both in their game and persona), Arnold Palmer and Tiger Woods. Another dominant player will pop up at some point. Younger players with charisma such as Rory McIlroy and Keegan Bradley have helped soften the blow.
The appeal of the digital world: Apparently, golf fans are much better at accessing their favorite game through digital means than fans of other sports.
The ability to sell the idea of fans providing page views and in turn helping to drive digital advertising sales is something the PGA Tour could sell to CBS and NBC. And in the brave new digital world, that makes golf a safer bet than some other sports.
By, Larry Bohannan

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