Tiger's Statement Draws About 5.4 Million Viewers On Cable

Tiger Woods' statement on Friday drew about 5.4 million cable viewers across ESPN, Golf Channel, CNN, MSNBC, CNBC, Headline News and Fox News, which is "about three to four times the normal audience for that time of day for those networks," according to David Barron of the HOUSTON CHRONICLE. The online audience likely "added considerably to the total," as ESPN said that it had "about 1.6 million video views on its Web site and about five million page views" (CHRON.com, 2/22). USA TODAY's Michael Hiestand reports Woods' statement earned its biggest cable audience on Fox News. The network drew 1.87 million viewers, ahead of 1.55 million for ESPN and 911,000 for CNN (USA TODAY, 2/23). ESPN averaged a 1.4 cable rating for its telecast of Woods' statement, more than three times higher than the 0.4 cable rating it garnered in the same time slot 24 hours earlier. ESPN2's audience was 48% larger than the day before, while ESPNews' was four times larger. ESPN Mobile also logged 1.1 million page views for Woods news (ESPN).

WITH OR WITHOUT YOU: CBS News and Sports President Sean McManus said of Woods, "We're all looking forward to him coming back, but until then we're doing perfectly fine. ... Golf is still a valuable product for us." But Pilson Communications President Neal Pilson said the "more casual audience that follows Tiger probably won't be back until he comes back again." Optimedia Exec VP & Dir of National Electronic Media Larry Novenstern estimated that for the 15 or so tournaments Woods might have been expected to play this year, networks can expect an advertising loss that "would total between" $10-20M with Woods' absence (AP, 2/23). Meanwhile, PGA Tour Commissioner Tim Finchem said, "I don’t think people look at this as a PGA Tour issue. We haven’t seen anything that indicates that. Individuals make mistakes. Tiger made mistakes. He is dealing with those mistakes, but thus far, we haven’t seen any residual impact on the organization as a whole" (“Golf Central,” Golf Channel, 2/22).

GREENS FEE: In Jacksonville, Garry Smits reports Woods and his reps "will pay for all costs associated with planning and implementing his 14-minute statement" Friday at the TPC Sawgrass clubhouse, and St. Johns County (FL) taxpayers and the PGA Tour "won't be on the hook for a dime." Woods' appearance "required the use of nearly 30 St. Johns County Sheriff's deputies who were working on an off-duty basis but paid the standard overtime rate of $33 per hour." PGA Tour Exec VP/Communications & Int'l Affairs Ty Votaw said that all direct costs are "being paid for by Woods, his ETW Corporation, or by IMG, his management group." Votaw added that he "didn't know which entity would pick up the final tab" (FLORIDA TIMES-UNION, 2/23).