CHICAGO, (Reuters) – Even the prospect of a golf landscape temporarily minus Tiger Woods is not one PGA Tour officials, advertisers and sponsors care to ponder as speculation swirls around the popular athlete’s private life, which has kept him secluded in his Florida home.
Yet as corporate sponsors like Gatorade and Gillette consider ways to deal with recent negative coverage of the world’s No. 1 golfer, some media companies are seeing an upside.
Woods’ absence since a minor car accident last month sparked tabloid reports of marital infidelity has prompted flashbacks to the eight months from last year to early this year when Woods was absent from golf courses and recovering from knee surgery.
In that time, TV ratings for golf tournaments tracked by Nielsen Media slumped almost 50 percent, causing advertising rates to fall. Attendance on courses dropped off too.
“Tiger’s presence at a golf tournament and being on the leader board generates significantly increased ratings,” said Neal Pilson of consulting firm Pilson Communications and former president of CBS Sports. “When deals are negotiated, the fact Tiger is a member of the tour influences what networks pay.”
After the accident, Woods missed a tournament in California he had hosted for the past nine years and he has not discussed when he will return to play.