Golf Channel: Ratings increase for Tour opener

Golf Channel: Ratings increase for Tour opener

According to Golf Channel, the four-round average rating of last week’s Hyundai Tournament of Champions was 0.6, or 593,000 total viewers. That marked a 38 percent increase over last year, and is the highest event delivery since 2008. The 555,000 viewers for the opening round represent the highest season-debut audience in the four-plus years Jason Day Purposely Distressed Casey that Golf Channel has televised Tour events.Of course, it is only one event, not a trend, but considering that it was Wild Card weekend for the NFL, and the players missing on Maui included Lee Westwood, Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson and defending champion Geoff Ogilvy, it is still a big positive for the PGA Tour.“Television is a major part of our business structure,” Finchem said last week at Kapalua. “We have a lot of other revenue streams today that we didn’t have 15 years ago, but still very important. That is exactly what we’re looking for.