Neville Hobson

The $220m effect of Tiger Woods’ fall

Neville Hobson

Tiger Woods†personal life may be out of the prime time news headlines at the moment but the financial consequences of what he allegedly did are now becoming clear.

Iâ€m talking about the effect on business, not only the value of the many sponsorship contracts Woods has but also predictions on the effects on the sport of golf itself resulting from these events and Woods†withdrawing from the sport entirely for the foreseeable future.

Quoting a Bloomberg report, Brand Republic reports today that the cost of the Tiger Woods scandal to TV networks and sponsors will be more than $220 million in lost revenue.

According to that report, Woodâ€s decision to take a break from golf could reduce tournament crowds by 20 per cent. TV audiences could shrink by up to a half, with Nike – the only major Woods sponsor to publicly state its commitment to the golf celeb – standing to lose up to $30 million in sales.

[…] CBS Sports executive producer Rick Gentile said: "It is not so much a ripple effect as it is a tsunami. The aura is gone." During October, $576.4 was spent on weekend golf broadcasts, according to TNS. When Woods was out with a knee injury in 2008 and early 2009, weekend television audiences sank by 47 percent, according to data from Nielsen.

In stark contrast to Nike, main sponsor Accenture very clearly stated its reasons for cancelling its sponsorship of Woods.

To add further mud to the already-cloudy water, Brand Republicâ€s report also has this about what the consequences may be if thereâ€s a divorce:

[…] A messy divorce will likely further damage the Woods’ brand image and his value to advertisers. An unidentified source told People magazine in the US that [wife Erin] Nordegren had already met divorce lawyers to discuss her pre-nuptial agreement and she could win half of the estimated £337.5m Woods has earned in the five years they have been married.

Messy indeed.

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