Bowling vs Golf
For Years, the PGA has been much more popular than the PBA in terms of TV ratings. I'm here to ask the question: why?
Bowling is the number one recreational sport in the country. Let's look at numbers posted by USAWeekend.com in a September, 2007 article:
Last year, approximately 45 million Americans went bowling, up 32% over the past 20 years, when 34 million people a year visited bowling alleys, according to the National Sporting Goods Association. Even though more people are bowling now, the biggest rise is among infrequent bowlers, who bowl just two to nine times per year. In 1986, infrequent bowlers made up 27.5% of those who bowled; last year, there were 43.6% infrequent bowlers. There were 2.7 million bowling league members in the United States.
The following information was obtained from a Market Analysis Project done at the University of Oklahoma:
Last year there were 23 million golfers. There are a fairly equal number of males and females that participate in bowling; however, golfers are much more likely to be male. Bowlers are generally younger (especially from 18-24), while golfers are more likely to be older (50+). Golf seems to have grown in popularity over the past several years, while bowling has received very little attention in the media during this same period of time.
That last sentence is so true....but again I ask....why? Is golf that much more of a ratings draw....or is it that no one will give bowling a chance to succeed on TV? In the 70's, before cable TV, everyone flocked to their TV sets to watch the PBA on Saturday afternoons with Chris Schenkel and Nelson Burton Jr. doing the play by play. What happened that bowling suddenly became unpopular while golf seemed to become more popular.... at least on TV? Bowling is on ESPN at 1pm on Sunday afternoons....opposite the mighty NFL. What kind of ratings do you think the PBA gets going up against the NFL? As far as I'm concerned, the PGA has a few notable golfers: Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, and John Daly. Does anyone watch any of the tournaments if those three aren't participating? I doubt it. What does the PGA have (besides those stars) that the PBA doesn't? Perhaps if the world got to know Pete Weber, Walter Ray Williams, and Norm Duke, fans would want to follow their careers as well as those of the PGA golfers. But none of the major networks is willing to give bowling another chance. Again, I will ask....why not?
Professional bowling started to lose viewers as college football started becoming more popular. The fact is that PBA bowling needed to find another time slot so that fans could watch football and bowling. Instead, bowling was pushed aside by the networks and left for dead. ESPN took bowling in, but again, the PBA finds itself up against football again...but now it's the NFL they square off against. That's not a recipe for success.
Let's look at some interesting facts. As mentioned above, 45 million people bowl, while only 23 million people golf each year. But it's golf we see on TV all weekend. Bowling is more popular among younger Americans...the same demographic that advertisers try to reach. Yet it is golf, and not bowling that we see on TV each weekend. Golf costs anywhere from $30-75 a round to play. You can bowl about ten games for the price of one golf round. That's why more people bowl than play golf. You don't have to be rich to go bowling. But it's golf we see on TV all weekend. There are 2.7 bowling league members. Are there even any golf leagues out there? In fact, there are...but nowhere near the number of bowling leagues to participate in. Yet it's golf we see on TV all weekend. In golf, a guy sinks a put, and he gives the obligatory or polite hand wave to the crowd. More often than not, it is ingenuous, and in many cases, the crowd isn't even acknowledged. In bowling, you've got the fist pumping, the loud crowds, and the bowlers actually have and share their personality on the lanes. Bowling, along with tennis and boxing, are the only sports that pit athlete against athlete. Why doesn't bowling appeal to network executives as golf does?.
Unfortunately, until a network or cable station takes a risk, PBA bowling may be stuck, and eventually become extinct. The PBA Public Relations staff has to step up and do more to increase the exposure of bowling. Pulling in new sponsors here and there helps...but simply won't cut it. They need to find a way to work out something with ESPN, so that PBA bowling will be as publicized as the BASS professional fishing has been over the past few years. ESPN sure put much more into promoting fishing than professional bowling. When Sunday's Football Countdown ends at 1pm, and bowling is about to go on the air, Chris Berman usually has a wise-ass crack that almost puts the PBA down. How wrong is that? When is the last time you've seen a bowling highlight on SportsCenter? Bowling is an event that is televised on ESPN, yet the same network won't show highlights or results on their own sports highlight show. I'm sure the PBA was grateful that ESPN took them in when no one else wanted them, but times change, and it's time for the PBA to look for a new TV partner...one that won't mind and in fact, help promote the sport. There was a network out there that took a chance with WWE wrestling, and that seems to have worked out pretty well. Why not take a chance with bowling? And I find it difficult to believe that people across the country would rather watch American Gladiators than a professional bowling tournament.
Unfortunately, it's not just television that has hurt the PBA....it is bowling centers as well. How often have you walked into a bowling alley...and instead of seeing professional bowling on TV, you see a football game or a Nascar race...or worse yet: golf? What's wrong with that picture? Are bowling alleys showing the results from each weekly televised tournament? Are they even promoting the tournaments? The answer to that question is no. More people are buying bowling equipment each year, yet sporting good stores such as Dick's or Sports Authority are catering to golfers, with a quarter of their store being used to sell golfing equipment and clothing. At a local Dick's Sporting Goods store, there was half of one aisle that had bowling shoes and towels, and that was it. Even the local Walmart has stopped selling bowling equipment.
The PBA needs an overhaul from top to bottom. The PBA owners are trying to make the sport work, but they clearly need PR help...and an infusion of cash. That's not an easy accomplishment. Perhaps a Bowling channel would work, just as the Golf Channel has worked out, but no one would dare attempt such a project with bowling. Advertisers may be missing the boat, but we'll never know unless the PBA moves to another TV spot/channel. I believe bowling can once again be as popular on TV as golf. It simply won't be given an opportunity, which is a shame.
