As the sports industry turns its attention to Augusta this week with The Masters on ESPN and CBS, Golf Channel is continuing its own run of wins, announcing last week that the network had notched its eighth consecutive quarter of year-over-year viewership growth. Now, with The Masters in its sights, the network will look to continue that run with nearly 90 hours of live news and Masters-themed programming this week, led by the network’s signature Golf Central Live From the Masters news coverage, anchored by Mike Tirico, Rich Lerner and Steve Sands, in addition to The Players next month as well as The Open.
Cynopsis Sports caught up with Mike McCarley, President, Golf for NBC Sports Group, to talk about its growing viewership, programming strategy and The Masters.
McCarley on viewership: For eight straight quarters, Golf Channel has been on a streak of year-over-year quarterly viewership growth, as well as nine straight quarters of streaming growth. Some of this growth is fueled by new, live programming, some by original programming, and some is by news – not all programming works all the time, but the prevailing trend is extremely positive and viewers are taking notice of our commitment to quality. And as the golf season heats up with the Masters, we’re providing comprehensive news coverage anchored by our recently Emmy-nominated Golf Central platform, which is Live From the Masters all week. We’re unique because our audience not only watches, but also plays golf – so we can tailor content that serves their wants and needs by engaging their favorite golfer, which is usually themselves.
On Masters coverage: This week, the wider sports world turns to golf and those sports fans rely on us for the latest from The Masters every day, at nearly every hour. Golf Central Live From the Masters serves viewers with comprehensive news and analysis, as well as high-quality storytelling, which is a hallmark of NBC Sports. Golf Central Live From the Masters will examine everything from the significance of Tiger Woods’ win in 1997 to showcasing the exceptional experience for patrons lucky enough to live out a sports fan’s dream of walking the grounds of Augusta National.
On boosting Monday-Wednesday content: Golf tournaments are traditionally staged Thursday-Sunday and Golf Channel has traditionally bridged between tournaments with compelling news, instruction and entertainment programming. However, this also is an opportunity for live events to cut through the weekend sports clutter. This non-traditional golf window allows us to expand live primetime programming, especially from West Coast venues.
On the new documentary Jack: Our original programming slate ranges from exploring the rich history of the game to in-depth instructional content, as well as being home to one of the most unique voices in sports, David Feherty. His award-winning series, Feherty, is not only a critical success, but this season is off to a hot start. The first two episodes this March were the highest-rated original programs in Golf Channel’s 22-year history. This season includes a who’s who across genres, from Steph Curry to Matthew McConaughey to Condoleezza Rice. Additionally, one of the cornerstones of our original productions is the award-winning and critically acclaimed Golf Films productions. Jack is a three-night television event starting this Sunday after the Masters and features more than 100 interviews from well-known figures providing insight as to why he is one of the greats of all time. Tom Selleck lends his voice to the project that serves as a way for us to extend the viewing experience for the Masters Week audience.
On the year ahead: Golf Channel is committed to bringing sports fans the absolute best coverage of the world’s tours and golf’s biggest events, including The Players, The Open and Presidents Cup this year. Golf’s young stars are appealing to our millennial audience, which has doubled over the past two years. The LPGA Tour continues to experience remarkable growth with their roster of international and American stars competing on increasingly larger stages, most prominently during last summer’s Rio Olympics. But Golf Channel’s success is grounded in providing the highest-quality content, each and every week.
