Rory Mcllroy recently made headlines for his Dublin-based firm Symphony Ventures’ partnership with TPG Inc. The Northern Irishman appeared on the CNBC Squawk Box on Friday along with TPG President Todd Sisitsky to discuss the same.
Mcllroy talked about his recent investment in the creation of TPG Sports, other investments in sports, and his recent Masters win. At one point, Andrew Ross Sorkin asked Rory Mcllroy about his and Tiger Woods’ TGL.
Mcllroy was open about his reaction following the first season of the indoor Golf League at SoFi Stadium and said (quoted by CNBC):
“I think we were thrilled with the first season of TGL. I think when you’re, you’re creating a new concept and, you know, you’re putting it out there into the world for the first time, you’re, you’re apprehensive. You don’t know what the reaction is going to be. But what we’ve seen is trying to bring golf to a different audience in prime time.”
As per Front Office Sports, TGL achieved a median viewer age of 51.9. This meant the indoor golf league had the second youngest audience among the major sports leagues, trailing behind the NBA. The golf league also outshone comparable shows by 12%, when TGL matches aired on prime time slots on ESPN, recording an average of 686,000 viewers.
Rory Mcllroy further explained how the audience of TGL differs, adding:
“The demographic that watches TGL is way different than the demographic that watches regular PGA Tour golf. I mean, the, you know, the audience is skewing way younger, which is a great thing for the game because, you know, the criticism of golf is. It’s an old, it’s an old person’s sport.”
Rory Mcllroy also admitted in his statement how important it is to shift the target audience and change the course of viewership.
“So to try, to sort of bring the age down of the viewership I think is really, really important. And then hopefully have those fans, you know, as they grow up and they, they get later on in life,” he added.
Josh Carpenter, the assistant managing editor at Sports Business Journal, shared a small snippet of Mcllroy’s CNBC session on X. Take a look:
It is also worth noting that TGL has recorded some noteworthy numbers in terms of viewership, which indicates the succesful launch of the tech-driven golf league.
Rory McIlroy and Tiger Woods’ TGL’s Viewership explored
In its inaugural season, Rory Mcilroy and Tiger Woods’ Tomorrow Golf League managed to pull off almost impossible numbers. For an indoor golf league, this puts a promising note for their next season.
As reported by Front Office Sports, the regular season of Tiger Woods and Rory Mcilroy’s TGL has an average of 513,000 viewers (on ESPN). Compared to the programs that were replaced to stream TGL in the slot, the league’s viewership steadily increased by around 21%. The opening week’s first match drew a record-breaking 919,000 viewers.
Tiger Woods and Jupiter Island GC debuted in the second week, which drew 1.05 million, which is the peak viewership number for TGL season 1. Rory Mcllroy’s match against Woods in the fourth week recorded an attendance of 864,000 viewers.
