Tiger Woods announced today he’s returning to golf at the 2010 Masters at Augusta National. No surprise there. Robert Lusetich of FoxSports.com reported the same thing last week. I think he’s returning at Augusta because Comcast and IBM are broadcasting the tournament in 3-D.
Tiger’s announcement is great news for ESPN and CBS. Nielsen and CBS are predicting record ratings.
Woods’ first tournament since publicly admitting to adultery could shatter the final-round Masters numbers of 1997 when his victory drew an average of 20.3 million viewers and a record 14.1 rating, according to Nielsen.
Woods’ comeback could rank with President Barack Obama’s inauguration as the “biggest media event” of the past 10-15 years, said Sean McManus, president of CBS News and Sports, according to Sports Illustrated. ESPN has early round coverage; CBS televises the Saturday and Sunday rounds.
What they’re not taking into account are the number of bimbos that won’t be watching now that they know the Tiger party is over. I’m not a gambling man but seeing Tiger posted as a 3-1 favorite to win the Masters makes me want to put a grip on the field.
