DP World Tour defies worrying viewership trends

The DP World Tour has reported huge viewership spikes across its ‘Back 9’ events.

The final swing consisted of nine tournaments, which saw their average peak live TV viewership on Sky Sports increase by 13% on 2023.

It comes after blow to TV ratings at the Presidents Cup, the PGA Tour play-offs and the LIV Golf Individual Championship in recent months.

Meanwhile, the FedEx Cup Fall Series has suffered from concerning blowouts, too.

The Procore Championship in September had an average of 69,000 people tune in on Golf Channel. According to Golf.com, that was over 75% down on the event in 2023.

Similar can’t be said for the Wentworth-based circuit, which has, at large, been praised for its competition recently.

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And the numbers back it up. The Alfred Dunhill Links Championship saw a 60% increase in peak viewership on Sky Sports, while the BMW PGA Championship’s three-hole playoff saw a 65% rise.

The FedEx Open de France saw its live peak viewership increase by a remarkable 126% against 2023, and the Estrella Damm N.A. Andalucia Masters enjoyed a 14% spike.

Guy Kinnings, CEO of the Tour, said: “The DP World Tour has enjoyed impressive growth in our fan base in recent years, mirroring the increased interest in golf participation globally.

“We revamped our season structure this year to reinforce our position as golf’s global Tour, with a series of global swings building towards the Back 9 and then the season-ending play-offs.

“There has been tremendous value in staging some of our most historic tournaments and long-standing national Opens at this time of year, on globally admired golf courses, with a mixture of international stars and local heroes coming together to produce incredible drama.

“These statistics show that our popularity is on a strong upward trajectory and with the Play-offs about to start, our fans are in for a further treat as star names head to Abu Dhabi and Dubai to battle it out for the coveted Race to Dubai crown.”

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Fans steamed into the events in person, too, with record numbers flocking to host venues.

Over 400,000 fans attended the ‘Back 9’ tournaments in 2024, a 7% increase in attendance compared to last year.

At Wentworth, the BMW PGA Championship enjoyed a record number of sell-out days and saw a 4% increase in total spectators.

Other highlights include the Estrella Damm N.A. Andalucia Masters (29%), the acciona Open de España (4%), the FedEx Open de France (6%) and the Genesis Championship (164%).

John Turnbull A graduate of the University of Stirling, John joined the bunkered team in 2023 as a Content Producer, with a responsibility for covering all breaking news, tour news, grassroots content and much more besides. A keen golfer, he plays the majority of his golf at Falkirk Golf Club. Top of his 'bucket list' is a round of Pebble Beach... ideally in the company of Gareth Bale.