After two weeks of solid viewership, TGL experienced an expected drop in its third week. The tech-infused simulator golf league founded by Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy’s TMRW Sports averaged 682,000 viewers Tuesday night on ESPN, marking a 32% decline from the previous week when Woods made his debut, and a 27% drop from the league’s opening week.
Despite the significant decrease compared to its first two weeks, TGL appears to be maintaining a steady viewership against ESPN’s usual programming in the same time slot. Tuesday’s clash between New York Golf Club and Atlanta Drive GC outperformed last year’s comparable window, which featured a Texas-Oklahoma college basketball game that drew 456,000 viewers, up by 50%. Through three matches, TGL averages 869,000 viewers, also a 50% increase over last year’s three comparable college basketball games, which averaged 580,000 viewers.
Next week will be a crucial test for the league as its biggest stars — Woods and McIlroy — face off on Monday, marking McIlroy’s debut for TGL. Interestingly, TGL has successfully attracted a younger demographic, with 43% of its audience falling in the advertiser-coveted 18-49 range, slightly higher than the NBA (42%) and significantly more than the NFL (35%).
In a way, TGL has accomplished what LIV Golf aimed for but has struggled with: appealing to young viewers, with the average TGL viewer being about 12 years younger than the average LIV viewer (51 vs. 63). Overall, the league has a compelling narrative after three weeks. If 682,000 can serve as a baseline for TGL — even without the consistent draw of Tiger Woods — Year 1 will undoubtedly be considered a success when compared to ESPN’s other programming.
The key question for the remainder of the season will be whether this level of viewership is sustainable. As college basketball interest ramps up leading to TGL’s season finale in late March, will basketball overshadow the new league, or will TGL benefit from stronger lead-ins and lead-outs? Regardless, ESPN must be pleased with the excitement injected into this otherwise dull period in the sports calendar, as TGL’s performance will ultimately be judged on its ability to outpace competitors on Tuesday nights in January — and so far, it has succeeded.
