How people consume content has, of course, changed considerably with the ever-advancing digital age. While watching sports now may not require you to purchase a ticket, reserve a seat, leave your house, and wait in long queues, there are still debates as to which can give you the best experience – TV Broadcast, Live Streaming, or being there to watch the game in the same venue. The way things changed did not change the way sports have been a part of our culture.

In particular, the Real Research App launched a survey on watching the PGA tour on TV to see the public’s experience of watching it. Does it provide better clarity with the presence of commentators, from little to no cost, or is it just inconvenient for them due to commercials and such?

Highlights:

  • Over 80% watch commercials thoroughly during PGA Tour TV broadcasts.
  • 67.92% purchased products due to commercials during PGA Tour TV broadcasts.
  • Over 60% choose TV over other media for being more immersive.

Over 90% Watch the PGA Tour on TV

A whopping 90.13% say they have watched the PGA Tour on TV. To know more, the survey asks if they watch the entire game. More than half (57.75%) watch the game, including the commercials, while 9.81% watch the game without the commercials. Moreover, 8.90% see only the screen board, and 4.61% watch only the game highlights. Meanwhile, 7.04% watch games of a specific group, and 4.88% watch response games of a particular player.

The survey asks next about the most important factor when watching the PGA Tour on TV. The responses to this question are as follows: commentary (53.03%), picture quality (14.07%), various screens’ composition (5.52%), and camera work (5.01%).

Furthermore, 81.87% carefully watch commercials during the TV broadcast of the PGA Tour. The survey then asks if they have ever bought or felt an urge to purchase a product or a service due to these commercials. In reply, 67.92% made a purchase, 15.57% felt the urge to buy, while 16.51% neither.

Immersive TV Broadcast of PGA Tours

In addition, the survey asks about the level of immersion and concentration of watching golf on TV compared to watching it on other media (e.g., mobile, tablets, etc.). In reply, 63.69% say the PGA Tour is more immersive to watch on TV, and 12.64% say it is less immersive. Following that, 15.02% remain unsure and 8.65% say it has no difference compared to other media.

Likewise, the survey asks respondents whether they prefer watching the PGA Tour online or on TV. Here, many prefer online for various reasons – 49.11% say they can see it anytime and anywhere, 21.55% do not have a TV and 10.82% favor convenience. On the other hand, some (7.76% ) prefer to watch it on TV for free, and 10.14% for a bigger screen.

Concerning golf’s TV broadcast, the survey asks respondents what could be the reason why their ratings are relatively low compared to other sports. In response, 60.37% think it is due to the game’s less popularity compared to other sports, and 10.14% think the quality of broadcasts of other sports is better. Following that, (7.24%) think the golf course is too large, while 5.33% think people tend to play golf themselves rather than watch it.

58.86% Suggest Increase Public Interest in Golf for Ratings

Next, the survey asks respondents how satisfied they are with the previous broadcast of the past PGA Tours. In return, 47.93% are extremely satisfied, and 19.24% are satisfied. Whereas 4.50% are very unsatisfied and 4.96% are unsatisfied. However, 23.36% remain neutral.

past-PGA-Tours
Figure 3: Respondents’ opinion on why they were satisfied with the previous broadcast of the past PGA Tours

Afterward, the survey asks for reasons why they were satisfied. It turns out that 57.81% were satisfied with watching it on a big screen, 22.65% were happy to watch it for free, and 9.59% were glad of the commentators.

Equally, the survey also asks about the cause of their dissatisfaction with the past PGA Tours broadcast. For this, 18.47% say it was impossible to watch it anytime and anywhere, 13.19% say the camera was slow to follow the ball, and 12.40% say that the commentator had insufficient prior knowledge. Moreover, 11.27% say the commentator’s commentary was biased, and 10.85% say they were unsatisfied with the angle and position of the camera.

To conclude, the survey ends by asking the respondents the best way to increase the ratings of the TV broadcast of the PGA Tour. A majority of 58.86% suggest increasing the public interest in golf itself, 13.34% say introducing creative TV broadcasting methods, and 11.00% think of providing various screen images.

Methodology

Survey TitleSurvey on Watching the PGA Tour on TV
DurationJune 16 – June 23, 2022
Number of Participants50,000
DemographicsMales and females, aged 21 to 99
Participating Countries Afghanistan, Algeria, Angola, Argentina, Armenia, Australia, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Belarus, Benin, Bolivia, Brazil, Brunei, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Cambodia, Cameroon, Canada, Chile, China, China (Hong Kong) China (Macao), China (Taiwan), Colombia, Costa Rica, Croatia, Czech Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Ethiopia, Finland, France, Gambia, Georgia, Germany, Ghana, Greece, Greanada, Guatemala, Honduras, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Iraq, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Ivory Coast, Japan, Jordan, Kenya, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lebanon, Libya, Lithuania, Malaysia, Maldives, Maluritania, Mexico, Moldova, Mongolia, Morocco, Mozambique, Myanmar [Burma], Namibia, Nepal, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Oman, Pakistan, Palestine, Panama, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Romania, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Serbia, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Slovakia, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, Thailand, Togo, Tunisia, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Uganda, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States, Uruguay, Uzbekistan, Venezuela, Vietnam, Yemen, Zimbabwe.