Thursday, April 15, 2010
"Crouching Tiger..."
Tiger Woods walked off the 18th green at the 2010 Masters Championship with a final-round 69 and 279 total. Phil Mickelson's winning with 272 total. Needless to say, Woods walked away without a green jacket.
Woods has been frequently criticized by the media and viewers in regard to his personal affairs. During Round 1 of the Masters, an airplane flew over the course with a banner that read "Tiger did you mean booty-ism." Many wonder if all the media coverage has affected his emotions and his game.
Phil Mickelson has been in the news briefly, on the other hand. For those who do not know, his wife and his mother are both battling with breast cancer. I find it interesting that very little media coverage has highlighted his accomplishments and perseverance versus the failure of Woods.
Good news is, Tiger’s comeback did bring record viewership for the Masters Tournament. ESPN says nearly 5 million people tuned in for first round coverage which is the biggest audience a cable network has EVER gotten for golf. CBS is reporting a 33 percent increase in viewership over last year.
It is safe to say that the negative press is helping ESPN, Golf, and others but at what cost? How much is this really helping the sales? Any other comments in relation to media economics?
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5 comments:
We do live in a society where the media is more flooded with scandals, despair, and disaster. The most important issues in the world of media are like an episode of the Real World on MTV. Things like Phil's struggle are just minor to Tiger have multiple affairs. This negative exposure is blowing up golf. I have never really wanted to watch golf but now i would love to tune in to see Tiger Woods and see what may or may not happen while he plays. Before i never cared. So all this negative exposure is working. Now is it fair? No. This is the society we live in.
its true that negative attention is attention. Americans enjoy a good scandal, this allows people to become entertained with a life that is not their own. My question is, is it as edgy if he were to seek redemption and become a role model.
Is it safe to say that the negative press is helping ESPN, Golf, and others? In my opinion, yes all this have gained an interest in golf many viewers do not normally have. Here is the deal, as great a story as Phil Mickleson's win at the Masters was. Fred Couples marvelous first round day at the Masters finishing the best round anyone over the age of 50. No one cares about them besides immediate family or you average fan that wants to be different instead of cheering for Tiger like everyone else. Tiger Woods is the best golfer plan and simple ever. No one cares about golf unless Tiger is playing. Numbers do not lie. How much do I think this is helping the sales? Well in the television market, the ratings skyrocketed for the return of Tiger Woods. Sure it was the Masters, but I have a feeling that not nearly as many people would have watched if Tiger was not playing. I think Tiger returning to golf in the fashion he has will help golf, the ratings of television golf coverage, and also in sales of merchandise.
I do believe that it is safe to say that currently the golf industry is being re-recognized due to the incident with Tiger Woods. I do think that the Masters is such a well respected and well known golf event and overall sports event that this was the perfect time for Tiger to re0enter the golf world although it might not be the best for his family. It will and has already created some hype about the golf world and if this is ethical but the incident involved the player in personal issues and not the gold industry in itself so I do believe that it is allot less hurtful and intense as people make it out to be. In the economy as well, the media and the turnout of the Masters needed this icon to come back to represent himself for ratings and I also think it was the best logical time for Tigers return since the Masters holds such great reputation in the sports world. Even though I do not necessarily agree with what Tiger has done, this was the right choice for the gold industry and himself at the time.
Yes I agree. This negative press is definitely aiding the golf viewer ship as well as ESPN as a whole. As Patrick said, that is the society we live in. People want to see drama and entertainment, and if that's what it takes to make golf interesting, then that's what they'll do! So by refusing to abide by natural ethical principles the network has been able to bring MANY new viewers to ESPN who wouldn't have thought about watching golf before.
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