Tiger Woods's Return Scored Big Ratings for Golf Channel

Golf Channel has released the ratings of their Hero World Challenge and it’s safe to say that the Tiger Woods effect is big.

It’s quite telling when an insignificant tournament in December with only 18 players out draws every tournament on Thursday and Friday since the Open Championship in July, and every tournament except the majors on the weekend.

While golf itself may not “need” Tiger, we the media certainly benefit from having him back.

Via GolfChannel:

"Below are final numbers for Golf Channel and NBC: Thursday (Golf Channel) – Round 1 coverage delivered a .86 coverage rating / 782,000 viewers: +190% year over year and +74% over 2014, the last time Tiger Woods was in the field at this event. – Most-watched Thursday Round 1 since The Open Round 1 in July. – Most-watched Round 1 at this event on Golf Channel (2007-16). – Excluding Ryder Cups and Presidents Cups, most-watched 4th quarter Round 1 in Golf Channel history (2006-16) Friday (Golf Channel) – Round 2 coverage delivered a .83 coverage rating / 768,000 viewers: +135% year over year and +50% over 2014. – Most-watched Friday Round 2 since The Open Round 2 in July. Saturday (NBC) – Saturday’s live coverage on NBC delivered a 1.38 US HH rating / 2,049,000 viewers, +115% year over year and +86% from 2014. Most-watched PGA TOUR Round 3 since the Memorial Round 3 in June, excluding the Majors and Ryder Cup. Sunday (NBC) – Sunday’s live coverage on NBC delivered a .96 US HH rating / 1,397,000 viewers, +67% year over year and +35% from 2014. Digital – A total of 7.4 million minutes were streamed digitally. The 6th most-streamed golf event this year on Golf Channel/NBC behind The Open, the Olympics, the Ryder Cup and THE PLAYERS Championship."