PGA Tour: the Relative Shift in TV Ratings Since the Beginning of the Fedex Cup Era

PGA Tour: The Relative Shift in TV Ratings Since the Beginning of the FedEx Cup Era

A THESIS

Presented to

The Faculty of the Department of Economics and Business

The Colorado College

In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree

Bachelor of Arts

James Martello Jr

February 2019

PGA Tour: The Relative Shift in TV Ratings Since the Beginning of the FedEx Cup Era

James Martello Jr

February 2019

Economics

Abstract

Top players in the sports industry enjoy a fanatical following across the globe, making them ideal prospects for advertising campaigns in both print and electronic media forms. This paper uses decades of TV ratings, specifically from golfs FedEx Cup Era and television shows in general. Using weekly data from the Top 5 FedEx Cup ranked players presence in the Top 10 of golf’s most competitive tournaments, the presence of Tiger Woods, and the number 1 ranked television show of the year, this study utilizes a generalized least squares regression. This study hypothesizes that all variables used will positively affect the golf tournaments television rating. The results suggest that most variables do positively affect TV ratings, but based on the statistical evidence the hypothesis was not present.

KEYWORDS: (PGA, TV Ratings, FedEx Cup, Tiger Woods) JEL CODES: (L83, Z20)

ON MY HONOR, I HAVE NEITHER GIVEN NOR RECEIVEDUNAUTHORIZED AID ON THIS THESIS

James Martello

Signature

iii

Acknowledgements

This journey would not have been possible without the support of my family, professors, and friends. To my family, thank you for encouraging me in all of my pursuits and inspiring me to follow my dreams. To my advisor Neal Rappaport thank you for the countless hours of support and direction throughout this entire process. Finally, thank you to my friends for all you have done for me over the past 4 years and allowing me to have the most memorable college experience.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

ABSTRACT…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS………………………………………………………………………………………………………. iv 1 INTRODUCTION…………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 1

2 LITERATURE REVIEW…………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 4 2.1 Top Players and Television Ratings...... 6 2.2 Literature in Sports……………………………………………………………………………………………….. 8 3 THEORY ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 15 3.1 Model...... 15 3.2 Hypothesis……………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 17 4 DATA…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 18 4.1 Summary Statistics………………………………………………………………………………………………… 21 5 RESULTS AND ANALYSIS ………………………………………………………………………………………………. 22 5.1 GLS Regression………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 22 6 CONCLUSION……………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 25 REFERENCES……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 26

Introduction

The focus of this paper is to determine if there has been a shift in relative television popularity of golf vs other sports specifically investigating whether the presence of top FedEx Cup players significantly influences television ratings. There have been assertions that having top performing players in sports tournaments increases ratings

(Gooding 867). These assertions will be tested empirically in the current paper. While many of golf’s superstars continue to have a huge impact on TV ratings for different tournaments, the most influential one continues to be Tiger Woods. The American born golfer broke into the professional golf tour in 1996, where his impressive performance earned him multimillion-dollar endorsements from several brands including Nike. Tiger won his first major tournament in 1997, making him the most popular golfer in the world.

Since then, Tiger has been attracting favorable television ratings for the tournaments he participates in. Apparently, Tiger’s appearances in major golf tournaments between 1997 and 2013 attracted unprecedented coverage on all sports networks. This phenomenon has been referred to as the Tiger Effect.

Between 2013 and 2017, Tiger remained out of all major sports events due to injuries and other personal reasons. During this period, television ratings for major golf tournaments decreased significantly. In late 2017, Tiger made a comeback to golf. He participated in a number of events during the 2018 golf season and his appearances led to increased TV ratings for the tournaments. Throughout the season, the Tiger Effect appeared to consistently improve television ratings for all tournaments including the

British Open, the Masters and the PGA Championship.

It can be noted that during the 2018 season Tiger appeared in more than 20 events. All these events were featured broadcast television and hence his participation boosted both the ratings and viewership. He performed exceptionally well during the

2018 British Open tournament. According to Beall (2018), television ratings for the

British Open tournament increased by 40% compared to the 2017 level. This was among the highest TV ratings since the year 2006 when Tiger emerged as the winner of the

British Open tournament. Similarly, Tiger performed well during the 2018 PGA

Championship and as such TV ratings rose by almost 70% compared to the 2017 ratings.

In the final round of the 2018 PGA Championship, television ratings stood at 5.21.

It appears that in the 2018 tournaments that Tiger participated in, television viewership increased by significant levels. In the tournaments where Tiger won, an even larger number of fans watched him compete. This was the case with both the British

Open and the Tour Championship. In those two tournaments, TV ratings rose to unprecedented levels with the improved performance and positioning of Tiger Woods.

Based on Tiger’s 2018 performance, it is clear that no other golf player has ever attracted such a high level of TV ratings (Cunningham 2018). Currently, Tiger is on top of his game in both performance and popularity. Although the majority of golfers attract large numbers of fans and impressive TV ratings, Tiger goes well above that and is known to attract an even larger number of viewers. It is for this reason that his performance is associated with increased high TV ratings.

It can be concluded that sporting events that feature top players have a tendency to attract higher TV ratings. This has been the case with Tiger Woods, who has maintained consistency in his performance. So much so that various brands are

competing to be associated with his success. Consequently, Tiger has become a renowned celebrity endorser. Given the potentially large amount of money to be realized from sports, the competition among golf brands is at an all-time high. Thus, the appearance of key players in the tournaments pushes increased TV ratings.

Literature Review

The concept of star players and the effect of celebrities on sports are important for successful marketing activities in the modern society. The most important issue of concern is how the top players form and maintain their popularity and why fans support and adore them. According to Routledge, Mariann and Mariann (2016), fans are often attracted to the top celebrity players because they are entertaining, successful, and have good physical attributes. The celebrities give the fans an opportunity to fulfill what they are missing in their lives with vicarious success.

The relationship between the top celebrity players and their fan base can be best understood using psychological theories that explain various aspects like self-identity and group identity. Certainly, the top players share some attributes with other celebrities in terms of success, physical attractiveness, publicity, financial success, and entertaining their fan base. However, the sports celebrities provide additional attraction to the fans because of specific traits that are unique to sports such as determination, sportsmanship, tenacity, and others.

The positive perceptions of the top players evoke emotions of cultural heroes in sports. The fans regard them as having extraordinary talent, strength, and bravery. This is partly why fans establish vicarious identity through the top players. Fans often find the desirable traits in both individual and team players. However, some players get more attention from the public and fans. For example, players in the individual sports like golf, gymnastics, tennis, boxing, and swimming get more attention than other players.

Nevertheless, the motivation of some fans to support the top celebrity players is a

function of media exposure. The way media portrays them convinces some fans to start following them and want to be associated with them.

According to Kovacs (2018), tennis has grown over the years and now has global appeal. However, the top tennis players share most of the prize money and associated fame. The high earnings and fame are a function of many variables other than their talents. For instance, they participate in many tournaments that give them exposure and ranking. Many sports have player rating systems but the one used in tennis focuses on a world ranking of the best players and has served to increase those players fan bases and level of appeal to consumers.

Top tennis players, like WTA and ATP members, are ranked using aggregate scores. The ranking system makes it possible for the top players to appear in major tournaments and events to improve their ranking. Additionally, the appearance of the top players improves public awareness and increases fan attendance. In so doing, the ranking benefits the fans, players and the tournament organizers. When the top players meet each other in the later stages of a tournament, the event organizers often focus the attention of the media to their matches. This is an effective technique for improving television ratings and popularizing the sport to the consumers. Tennis is just one of the popular sports involving individual athletes. It gives the top players a platform to meet and play against each other regularly. This endears tennis to its fans and enables the event organizers to attract new consumers.

Tennis tournaments also give the lower ranked players the opportunity to play against the top players. This exposes the new players to the world, thereby boosting their careers. This has a bigger impact, especially in cases where the less known players win

against well-established top players like Roger Federer. Without the participation of the top players, it would be difficult for the tournament organizers to attract the huge fan base that they attract when top players are involved.

2.1 Top Players and Television Ratings

Sports have to be able to raise revenues continuously to be able to remain commercially viable and competitive. Sports organizers and sponsors have to observe what their more successful rivals are doing and learn from them. The first challenge is often to make the sport appeal to more consumers, sponsors, and broadcasters. Once this is done, the organizers can then proceed to convert the popularity of the sport into revenues. Successful leagues like the NFL can offer valuable lessons to sports organizations. Which strategies to emulate is often dependent on the nature of a particular sport.

Gate collections have been the main source of revenue for many sports organizations. However, the amount of revenue generated from television broadcasting has increased tremendously in recent years. This backdrop has led to many sports organizations collecting more revenue from television broadcasting than the gate collections (Gooding, Chase, and Stephenson 2017). It illustrates that television is an important source of revenue in sports, especially the presence of superstars in tournaments like The Masters, PGA Championship, U.S. Open, British Open, and Players

Championship.

The top players can positively affect television ratings even in the games that people do not expect to have a high rating. For instance, the 1993 NBA finals registered

higher television ratings because of Michael Jordan. The same goes for the 1995 finals because of the participation of Shaquille O’Neal (Gooding, Chase, and Stephenson 2017).

The absence of these two names lead to a decline in the television ratings of the 1994 finals. The return of Michael Jordan from retirement in 1995 is a clear indication of the power of having superstars in a tournament. This is why it is important to analyze the effect of top players on television ratings. The general pattern is that the tournaments featuring top players often tend to have higher ratings both domestically and internationally compared to those that they do not feature. The top players are important to the tournament organizers because they are an important tool for generating revenue.

The top players have personal appeal. In turn, that makes people want to watch them play in the tournament. This often translates to higher television ratings. The celebrity status of top players is a major driver of increased television revenue. They validate the sport while acting as a powerful marketing tool. The top players create special group of followers that tune into their favorite channels to see them play. This increases the television ratings for the games in which they are involved. The influence of top players is evident at many levels. They influence merchandise sales, the number of people who attend games, and television ratings. This is evident in almost all major sport in the US. NBA superstars like LeBron James and Yao Ming had a significant effect on their followers. Tournaments and games are driven by high performing top players.

Taking away a top player from a tournament or game interferes with the image and appeal of the sport and the competition.

2.2 Literature in Sports

According to Buteau (2018), the interest in golf increased by 40% when Tiger

Woods was playing. The television ratings of Masters Tournament improved because of

Tiger who was trying to make a comeback. Furthermore, the presence of other star players like Jordan Spieth, Rory Mcllroy and Justin Thomas also had a positive impact on the tournament. The ESPN statistics showed that approximately three million people tuned in from 3 pm to 7 pm. The rating of 2.2 is a 24% increase from the first round of

2016.

Biner (2014) conducted a study to investigate talent distribution and revenues in sports leagues. The study relied on television ratings and game attendance to measure the effect of talent distribution and revenue generation. The regression results showed that close games attract more television viewers and when the home team is dominant, people are more likely to attend the events. This shows that television demand and stadium demand have an inverse relationship. The same findings were confirmed by the study conducted by Seungmo et al (2008). In this study, the researchers investigated the behavior of customers on spectator sport. They used samples drawn from the fans of

Mixed Martial Arts. This study was unique because it used an individual sport rather than a team sport.

Many researchers have investigated the behavior of fans in team sports.

Moreover, the study was unique because of its focus on an emerging sport rather than the well-established team sport. According to the findings, there are many factors such as aesthetics, socializing, economic factor, and other factors that affect the decision of fans to watch the games. Drama and interest in the sport were the main factors that influence

the decision of the fans to watch the games. Interest in the sport was stronger than drama. As an emerging sport, Mixed Martial Arts has been able to attract fans to attend their events and watch their matches.

Mixed Martial Arts is still an emerging sport, and as such the marketers have to identify the factors that drive media consumption in order to grow the sports fan base.

Although attending live events may be difficult for some fans because of financial and geographic challenges, watching the games through television minimizes the effect of the two variables on customer decision. The findings of the study explain why some fans prefer to watch Mixed Martial Arts events on the media outlets rather than attend the live events. There were gender differences when it comes to predicting media consumption among males and females. For the males, interest in the sport was the major factor that influenced media consumption. This illustrates that people who consider themselves as

Mixed Martial Arts fans are more likely to watch their events through media outlets.

Women also have interest in the sport, however, the drama associated with Mixed

Martial Arts was the main factor that influences their decision to watch MMA events.

They are likely to watch the fights because of the drama rather than being an MMA fan.

The study also investigated the effect of vicarious achievement on media consumption.

According to the findings, vicarious achievement had a stronger influence on the males than the females. Men have positive feelings when their favorite fighters win. This has an effect on their media consumption because they are likely to watch all the events that include their favorite fighters.

Greenhalgh, Simmons, Hambrick, and Greenwell (2011) conducted a study to investigate the attributes that differentiate niche from mainstream sport. The researchers

wanted to identify the factors that the consumers use to distinguish between the two sports. Niche sports are sports that do not attract the attention of mainstream media.

They used seven attributes to ascertain their effect on mainstream sports and niche sports.

The primary study relied on surveys to collect primary data that was used for analysis.

The study population comprised of 215 students drawn randomly.

According to the findings, consumers use various attributes to differentiate between mainstream sports and niche sports. Player similarity and affordability were strongly associated with the niche sports. Similarly, popularity and star power are associated with the mainstream sports. This shows that the marketers should emphasize these attributes to be able to reach more potential consumers. Additionally, the marketers for niche sports should strategically position their games against the mainstream sports to gain viewership. This knowledge is important as it provides marketers with an understanding of the characteristics that make their sport unique and identifies the best differentiation mechanisms.

Differentiation is important in sports marketing especially for the marketers targeting small market segments. These marketers have to differentiate their products to be able to appeal to their target customers. Going after the market for mainstream sports may not work for the marketers of niche sports. Those marketers must understand the factors that influence fans and their decision to choose between main sports and niche sports.

According to a study conducted by Back, Tekla V., Philippe Blatter, and Jacques

(2004), golf has achieved its current commercial potential because of star players like

Tiger Woods. Tournaments like the US Open and the Masters have continuously

registered good performance in television ratings. With more broadcasters signing up to give golf more exposure, the event organizers have increased the amount of effort and resources used in promotion and public relations. Such efforts have led to an increase in the sale of golf related consumer goods and services. Superstars like Tiger Woods have contributed significantly to the popularity of golf in the US and internationally. The top golf players have a contractual obligation to spend time in various tournaments as part of the organizer’s efforts to promote golf and carry out public relations. This has had a positive effect on television ratings and popularity of the sport because fans are able to establish continuous contact with their favorite golfers. Tour organizers have been able to use the superstars to promote their events.

The fact that broadcasters focus most of their coverage on top players like Tiger

Woods indicates that they are important for promoting the sport and improving television ratings. This strategy has led to better television ratings and improvement in the level of revenue that the organizers get from the tournaments. These higher revenues have been used to increase the prize money paid to the tournament winners over the years.

The organizers of the PGA tour have benefited from the rising popularity of the sport and have been able to generate more revenues. The tour now goes to different states and regions across the United States and Europe. They concentrate their marketing efforts to the specific regions to increase the sphere of their influence on the market. This arrangement has strengthened the event organizer’s negotiation position and provided the much needed exposure of the tour’s smaller tournaments. Additionally, the event sponsors purchase a big share of the advertising rights and at times help the broadcasters

meet the cost of production. This is important as it reduces the risks that the broadcasters take by signing up for tournaments with low television ratings.

Wang and Hirotaka (2015) conducted a study to investigate the motives of team sport spectators in China. They made use of the primary research approach to gather data for analysis. They relied on focus groups and literature review to collect data that they used to draw conclusions. The researchers distributed questionnaires randomly to the spectators watching a game in Shanghai. The questionnaires contained open-ended questions to make it possible for the researchers to gather as much information as possible. The participants answered questions on how many matches they attend annually and what motivates them to support their teams and attend matches. Forty participants confirmed that they attend at least one game a year and provided their motives for attending those games. The findings of their study revealed that the male spectators were more likely to attend more games compared to their female counterparts.

The study also revealed that the female spectators were more attracted to the individual players. They were more likely to attend games when their favorite individual players were involved. The regression results showed that achievement influenced 30.8 percent of the motivations of the spectators to attend games. Poor performance by the team frustrated some fans and made them decide against attending. This implies that achievement has an effect on the rate of match attendance in China. The fans want their team to succeed so that they can become part of its success. Moreover, regular wins persuade more fans to attend future games. The other variables that influence the fan’s decisions include interest in certain players, support for the city, and the need to bond with family. The study recommends having an aggressive cheering squad in football

matches to energize the atmosphere. Additionally, the media should highlight the team’s past success in an effort to win over new fans.

Danaher, Dagger, and Smith (2011) conducted a study to investigate the main determinants of television ratings. The researchers relied on secondary data to answer the research questions. They used regression analysis to model the various factors that affect television ratings. Their findings showed that most of the statistical models used to forecast television ratings are ineffective and do not reflect the real outcomes.

This analysis provided a literature review on the effect of top players on television ratings. The findings show that there is a dearth in research that the current study aims to fulfill. It is important to explore the factors that influence the decision of the fans to switch on their televisions and watch the broadcasted matches. This knowledge can be used to forecast television ratings and inform the tournament organizers on how to win over more consumers for their products and services. Generally, fans want to be associated with the top players and this partly explains the good ratings when such players are involved in a tournament. The psychological attachments that fans have with their favorite players makes them attend the games whenever they can and catch the games on their televisions when they are unable to make it to the sporting venues.

Strong fan base is the main driver of economic success. As such, the tournament organizers have to look for effective ways of growing their fan base. Fan interest, commitment, and passion determine their consumption decisions. Understanding why fans associate themselves with certain players makes it easier to determine their behavior.

To motivate such fans, it is important to ensure that they are able to watch their favorite players play in tournaments. This will enable the event organizers to adopt better

promotion strategies to get the best out of the participating top players. Additionally, the firms that employ the top players to promote their products can use the information to help them reach a wider market segment. The top players can equally benefit by using the information on what drives the passion of their fans to improve their appeal to their fan base.

Theory

The purpose of this analysis is to uncover if there has been a shift in relative television popularity of golf compared to other sports. The analysis will specifically investigate whether the presence of top FedEx Cup players significantly influences television ratings. Golfers, like most individual sports athletes, are ranked off their personal success. Unlike many other individual sports, golf rankings change on a weekly basis depending on a golfer’s success in the prior week. The motivation for this study is to see how television ratings of golf tournaments have changed over time and what variables influence these changes. The methodology for this study is a generalized least squares (GLS) regression.

3.1 Model

The model is as follows:

TV_Ratings = 0 + 1#Top10 + 2Tiger_Effect + 3TV_Show_Rating +

4TV_Net_tntcbs + 5TV_Net_fox + 6TV_Net_espncbs + 7NBAFinal + 8Act_Part +

8yd2008 + 9yd2009 + 10yd2010 + 11yd2011 + 12yd2012 + 13yd2013 + 14yd2014

+ 15yd2015 + 16yd2016 + 17yd2017 + 18yd2018 + i

Where:

 TV_Ratings is the cumulative television rating for The Masters, PGA

Championship, US Open, British Open and Players Championship each year from

2007- 2018.

 #Top10 is how many top 5 FedEx Cup ranked players are in the top 10 of the

tournaments.

 Tiger_Effect is a dummy variable assigned a 1 if Tiger Woods is playing in the

tournament and a 0 if he is not playing.

 TV_Show_Rating is the television rating for the top television show each year

from 2007 – 2018.

 TV_Net_tntcbs is a dummy variable assigned a 1 if the tournament was

broadcasted on TNT and CBS and a 0 if it was aired on a different network.

 TV_Net_fox is also a dummy variable assigned a 1 if the tournament was

broadcasted on Fox and a 0 if it was aired on another network.

 TV_Net_espncbs is another dummy variable assigned a 1 if the tournament was

broadcasted on ESPN and CBS and a 0 if it was not.

 NBAFinal is the television rating for Game 1 of the NBA Final each year from

2007 – 2018.

 Act_Part is the number of active golf participants each year from 2007 – 2018.

 Yd2008-2018 is a dummy variable created for all years used in this study.

3.2 Hypothesis The null hypothesis for this study is that the relationship between TV ratings, the

Tiger Effect, the number of active participants, the number of top 5 FedEx Cup players in the top 10, and the tv rating for the number one television show are expected to all be positively correlated. In contrast, I believe the tv rating for Game 1 of the NBA Final should have a negative relationship with television ratings. Tiger Woods playing in a tournament, being the face of the PGA Tour and golf as a sport for so many years, should increase television ratings. The number of active participants and the number of top 5

FedEx Cup players in the top 10 of a tournament should also increase tv ratings. The more people that play golf and the more top name players in the hunt to win on Sunday should have a positive effect on tv ratings. In terms of the TV rating for the top television show this should also have a positive correlation because the television shows and golf tournaments are usually aired at different times allowing for the viewer to watch both. As for the tv rating for Game 1 of the NBA Final to be negative, this is expected because these are both events that happen once a year and compete against each other for higher ratings. Both of these events have high viewership and compete with each other not only for ratings but also between which networks they are being aired on.

Data

Variable Data Source

Tiger_Effect PGATour.com

#Top10 augusta.com/masters

golfchannel.com/tours/pgachampionship

golfchannel.com/tours/usga

pga.com/openchampionship

golfchannel.com/tours/pga-tour/2018/players-championship

Act_Part https://www.statista.com/statistics/191907/participants-in-

golf-in-the-us-since-2006/

TV_Ratings sportsmediawatch.com

TV_Show_Rating screencrush.com/top-rated-television-show-by-year-every-

year/

NBAFinal sportsmediawatch.com

TV_Net_tntcbs https://www.pga.com/events/pgachampionship/2018-pga-

championship-tv-schedule-channels-live-stream-

information

TV_Net_fox http://www.usopen.com/broadcast-schedule.html

TV_Net_espncbs https://www.cbssports.com/golf/tournaments/masters/event

Shown in the table above is the data used in this study, which was taken from multiple sources due to the fact that there is no one huge database that holds rankings and television ratings for the PGA Tour. First, the data for the Tiger_Effect came directly from PGATour.com. This data showed every tournament from 2007 – 2018 that Tiger

Woods participated in, whether he made or missed the cut, was in or out of the top 10, and if he won or lost the tournament. If Tiger played in the tournament the data would record a 1 and if he did not participate it would record a 0.

Next, the data for the variable #Top10 was taken from 5 different sources from the different PGA Tournaments analyzed. The #Top10 variable is the number of Top 5

FedEx Cup players that were in the Top10 of each tournament.

The next source of data was for the variable Act_Part. This is the number of

Active Participants that are currently playing the sport of golf. This variable may be a good way to interpret the trend of television ratings. If more people are playing the sport, it can be hypothesized that more people will be watching on television.

Next, is the dependent variable which is TV ratings. This is the overall television rating for the Masters, PGA Championship, US Open, British Open and Players

Championship from 2007 to 2018.

The next variable is TV_Show_Ratings. This data provided the television rating for the top television show for each year from 2007 to 2018. This variable is used to compare the trend of television ratings as a whole to the sport of golf. If television ratings for TV Shows are down that may explain why the golf ratings would be lower for that year as well.

Next is the variable NBAFinal. The data from this source provided me with the

TV ratings for Game 1 of the NBA Final from 2007 to 2018. This variable was used to compare the rating for another large sporting event that happens once a year to that of the five golf tournaments being analyzed. This will also test to see if there are any secular trends in sports viewership.

The next variable used is TV_Net_tntcbs. This data provided the television network for the PGA Championship which uses both TNT and CBS throughout the weekend. TNT Network covers Rounds 1 and 2 on Thursday and Friday, and CBS covers Rounds 3 and 4 on Saturday and Sunday.

Next is the variable TV_Net_fox. The data for this variable provided the television coverage for the U.S. Open for which Fox has all the broadcasting rights. Fox

Network covers all four rounds throughout the weekend.

The last variable used is TV_Net_espncbs. The data for this variable was used to provide the television network for the Masters. The Masters uses both ESPN and CBS to cover their tournament. ESPN covers Rounds 1 and 2, and CBS covers Rounds 3 and 4.

4.1 Summary Statistics

Table 4.1 Summarized Statistics of Variables

Variable Obs. Mean Std. Dev. Min. Max.

#Top10 60 1.5 1.07 0 4

Tiger_Effect 60 .3 .46 0 1

TV_Ratings 60 4.79 2.23 2.1 10.7

Act_part 60 25.27 1.94 22.4 29.5

TV_Show_Rating 60 13.58 1.80 11.1 17.3

NBAFinal 60 9.19 1.30 6.3 11.1

Results and Analysis 5.1 GLS Regression Table 5.1: GLS Regression Results Dependent Variable: TV_Ratings

Variable Coefficient t-Statistic

Constant 96.011* (2.35) Top_10 -0.117 (-1.23) Tiger_Effect 1.399** (3.95)

Act_Part -3.496* (-2.26)

TV_Show_Rating 1.629* (2.34)

NBAFinal -2.785* (-2.43)

TV_Net_tntcbs 1.262* (8.5)

TV_Net_fox 1.495* (8.96)

TV_Net_espncbs 5.021* (20.01)

푁푢푚푏푒푟 표푓 푂푏푠푒푟푣푎푡푖표푛푠 60

푁푢푚푏푒푟 표푓 퐺푟표푢푝푠 .90

*Significant at the 5% level, ** Significant at the 10% level * Year푅 − Dummy푆푞푢푎푟푒푑 is( not푂푣푒푟푎푙푙 included) in Table 5.1

Table 5.1 illustrates the GLS regression results inspecting the relationships between TV ratings and the independent variables. To correct for heteroskedasticity, the regression uses robust standard errors and accounts for 90 percent of the variation in the model. When looking at the TV ratings for the five major US golf tournaments, nearly all theorized variables were significant predictors. First, Tiger Woods’ participation in the tournament has a positive relationship with the public’s viewership. This supports the hypothesis that Tiger’s presence and dynasty draws additional viewers, regardless of if he is playing his best golf or not. Next, the number of active participants playing the sport of golf has a negative relationship with TV ratings. One would expect that more golf participants would mean a higher number of viewers, driving TV ratings up. However, the regression finds the opposite. Similarly, TV ratings are unaffected by the number of top 5 FedEx Cup ranked golfers in the top 10 of the tournament. Each tournament has an average of 1.5 top 5 FedEx Cup ranked golfers finishing the tournament in the top 10, with a maximum of only 4. Due to the low percentage of top ranked golfers finishing in the top 10, it can be hypothesized that most golf viewers are interested in watching the general sport, not necessarily an individual. If this hypothesis holds true it is problematic to the coefficient of the active participants variable. However, the problem may not lie in the findings of the regression, but in the statistic itself. When considering the population who play golf recreationally, one has to assume that a large percentage of these golfers don’t play a golf game that mirrors the professional game of golf. For many of these golfers they enjoy hitting golf balls on the range as opposed to playing a round of golf due to their beginner skill level. Furthermore, the disconnect between the everyday golfers and professional golf is increased by the cost and time associated with playing a

round of golf. Thus, the statistic isn’t a true representation of people who play the game of golf but more a representation of people who enjoy hitting golf balls. Therefore, it is logical to assume that these everyday golfers would not receive joy or satisfaction from watching professionals play a game that they are not interested in themselves.

Analysis of the regression allows for the comparison between the TV ratings for golf, NBA basketball, and the top-rated TV show for the respective year. First, the top- rated TV show has a positive relationship with golf’s ratings. This is logical because these top shows and golf tournaments are usually aired at different times, with the aired program advertising for the other during the commercials, allowing for the TV channels to capture those viewers. On the other hand, the NBA Finals’ ratings have a negative relationship with golf’s TV ratings. This is also intuitive because these two programs are competing for the same viewers during the same broadcasting hours. Finally, the

ESPN/CBS partnership has the highest coefficient of the TV networks, suggesting that their broadcasting strategies are best suited for golf tournaments.

Conclusion

This paper emphasizes the role of sports in our lives and how top players influence TV ratings. Sports play a vital role in our daily lives. They improve our capability and efficiency to do work, and remove our mental exhaustion especially when we serve as active participants. Most educational institutions hold sports events to promote talent development. These events provide an opportunity for members to participate in events even after school. We are in a new era of media where top talents attract more viewers in sporting activities. Tiger Woods, one of the most recognizable athletes in the world, improved television ratings, especially in the leading PGA Tour events. It is right to say that there is a relationship between top celebrity players and media ratings. The continued use of media enhances talent development.

The issue of digital sports transformation is also discussed throughout the paper.

Today, technology plays a vital role in the definition of sport and fan experience. People are no longer required to be in specific regions to be able to support their favorite teams and players. Media technology makes it easy to watch these games through television, streaming and other smart devices, which could be viewed as a disadvantage. This change has been able to attract more members who build a global fan community, but directly effects TV ratings. Many factors influence people decisions to watch games. The media is one of the elements used in promotion and public relations. Most viewers end up attending sports events when their favorite individual players are involved. Celebrity players influence televisions ratings as well as people’s desires to be involved in sporting activities.

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