"Golf Channel Tournament Ratings Setting High Marks"

This post is a waste of your time because as Michael Buteau explained in a Bloomberg story today, the PGA Tour doesn't "depend on" ratings for its business model to work.

Golf Channel Tournament Ratings Setting High Marks
 
PGA TOUR Telecasts up 33% After First Three Tournaments of 2011
 
 
ORLANDO, Fla. (Jan. 27, 2011) – Record-setting tournament ratings have highlighted the start of the new year for Golf Channel, marked by the highest PGA TOUR season opener ever on the network and double digit increases for entire events.
 
After posting an impressive 38 percent event increase year over year for the PGA TOUR season kick-off event, Hyundai Tournament of Champions, and continued increases for the Sony Open in Hawaii, Golf Channel recorded its largest gain with a 60 percent increase in ratings for the Bob Hope Classic.
 
To date, combined ratings for the first three events of the 2011 PGA TOUR season represent a 33 percent gain over last year.
 
The first round of the Hyundai Tournament of Champions represented a 37 percent ratings increase from the same round in 2010, with the tournament average for all five rounds (0.6 household rating/593,000 average total viewers) the best since 2008.  Sunday’s final round of the Bob Hope Classic (0.6/652,000 average total viewers) was the event’s best final round since 2007 that was opposite stiff competition from the NFL playoffs.
 
“We’ve worked extremely hard to improve our tournament telecasts and we’re extremely excited the PGA TOUR on our air is off to a great start,” said Tom Stathakes, Golf Channel senior vice president of programming, production and operations.  “We’re getting better every day, and that will always be our mantra.  Things are looking promising for a great year ahead.”