By any measure, the launch of TGL was a rousing success. Media pundits and viewers across social media touted the innovative gameplay, the exceptional integration of cutting-edge technology, as well as the brand new in-stadium atmosphere. Beyond that, Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy and the team at TMRW Sports put the sports world on notice and subsequently birthed the blueprint for how other professional leagues can innovate their brand and product into new revolutionary fan experiences.
If you haven’t noticed, the sports world has been systematically undergoing a renaissance. For decades the fan experience leveled up to purchasing a ticket and going to a game or sitting on the couch and turning the TV on. However, leagues, teams and brands have discovered the changing times are pulling viewers and fans in multiple directions. In order to create a greater share of attention (and by extension how that attention then leads to revenue) from their fans, these groups started investing in technology and creative ways to elevate the experience of fans, both in-stadium and at home. And fans have taken notice and are developing a new expectation surrounding what their favorite sport or team or providing them.
For instance, the Minnesota Twins partnered with augmented reality company ARound to create in-game AR games, thus creating additional touchpoints during downtime and allowing new opportunities for brand sponsorship. Media rights holders like ESPN and Amazon have created alternative broadcasts (like the Manning Cast and Prime Vision, respectively) to cater to the interests of new and niche audiences looking for something beyond the traditional play-by-play telecast. And most notably, Steve Balmer and the Los Angeles Clippers, developed, arguably, the most fan-immersive experience at Intuit Arena; rethinking everything from the scoreboard to technology in the seats to the bathroom experience.
In addition to this small sample of fan engagement implementations, leagues have always been looking for ways to improve the game to keep fans, viewers and advertisers interested in the larger product. While these changes don’t happen overnight, rule changes are always a hot topic. The NBA instituted the 3-pointer in 1979 which created more opportunities to score. The MLB shaved an average of 24 minutes per game through the implementation of a pitch clock in 2023. And the NHL added the shootout in 2005 to add excitement and reduce the need for ties after the public relations nightmare of the 2004 lockout year.
But TGL is different. It’s golf, but beyond any imaginable previous form of it. TGL goes beyond tinkering with the fabric of the game or adding an engagement, content or gaming app for fans at one of the PGA’s weekly tournaments. It’s one of the first true moments highlighting how leagues can create a related but completely new product to reengage current fans and cultivate new audiences.
TMRW Sports looked directly at what has soured fans about the PGA for years – slow pace, stodgy and uptight, tough to follow, long teleplay on television, lack of interesting individual storylines and completely flipped the script. The first 2-hour broadcast fused the best of technology, data and analytics, entertainment and celebrity, and true athleticism, all in one unique package. The proof is in the pudding. The first broadcast garnered almost a million viewers (919,000), had more viewers than its Pitt-Duke basketball lead-in, and outshined by more than 200,000 viewers over the same timeslot a year ago. It’s golf, but fresher.
In addition to creating a new product and fan engagement platform, TGL now creates a completely unique and separate revenue generation tool for golf and the PGA on a new scale. In addition to longtime sponsors, new advertisers and market verticals may see an opportunity to tap into this new audience. There is now a new market for content and content creators that didn’t exist before. Within the team format, fans will be looking to purchase team-oriented merchandise because they love the players. In the past, a fan may have purchased a Puma shirt because they liked Rickie Fowler, or they bought a Titleist hat because Justin Thomas wears one. Now the team merchandise will be uniquely identifiable to fans because Fowler is on the New York Golf Club and Reps the Atlanta Drive GC. Which then opens up new opportunities for local and corporate sponsors for those individual teams. While the shift of rules to accelerate gameplay and individual fan engagement elements like AR and alternative broadcasts are important to the evolution of fandom, the scale of TGL’s new platform is monumental.
The only real recent comparison to the launch of the TGL is the opening of the Sphere in Las Vegas. The Sphere was the fusion of creativity and technology into a never-before-seen experience. More than a year later, the Sphere is continually generating news, acclaim, buzz, influencer content and sell-out after sell-out show making it THE destination in music. It’s a concert venue, but different.
Will the NFL, NHL, MLB and NBA take notice? They should. The world’s most inflexible sport just put the entire market on notice with how innovative it is, how far it could push the envelope and made it the talk of the town.
