TGL sees expected drop in viewership for Week 3

After two weeks of solid viewership, TGL experienced an expected drop off 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. That is down 32% from the previous week when Woods made his playing debut, and 27% from the league’s opening week.

Though down substantially versus its first two weeks, TGL still seems to be holding steady versus what ESPN would otherwise be airing in the time slot. Tuesday’s match between New York Golf Club and Atlanta Drive GC was up 50% versus last year’s comparable window, a Texas-Oklahoma college basketball game that drew 456,000 viewers.

Through three matches, TGL is averaging 869,000 viewers — also an increase of 50% versus last year’s three comparable windows (three college basketball games averaged 580,000 viewers).

Next week will be a true test for the league as its two biggest stars — Woods and McIlroy — tee it up against each other on Monday. It will be McIlroy’s playing debut for TGL.

Perhaps the most surprising data for the league thus far is its ability to attract a younger demographic, something that can’t often be said about the sport of golf. Through TGL’s first three matches, 43% of the league’s audience falls in the advertiser-coveted 18-49 demographic. That’s a smidge higher than the NBA (42%), a league known for its young demographics, and much higher than the NFL (35%).

In some ways, TGL has done what LIV Golf sought to do, but has so far failed at; that’s appeal to young people. The average age of a TGL viewer is some 12 years younger than the average LIV viewer (51 vs. 63).

Overall, the league has a good story to tell through three weeks. If 682,000 can be a baseline for TGL — without relying on the needle-mover himself, Tiger Woods — then Year 1 will be an undeniable success given how it compares to ESPN’s other programming.

The question for the rest of the season will be whether that type of number is sustainable. Naturally, interest in college basketball will continue to increase as TGL moves towards its season finale in late March. Will hoops begin to overshadow the new league then? Or will it actually benefit from stronger lead-ins and lead-outs?

Either way, ESPN has to be pleased with the injection of excitement into an otherwise dull part of the sports calendar. And ultimately, that’s the metric by which TGL will be judged by. Can it beat its competitors on Tuesday nights in January?

So far, it can.