There were plenty of disc golfers watching, but were there others?
September 3, 2020 by Charlie Eisenhood in Analysis, News with 0 comments
While we all know disc golfers flocked to watch the CBS Sports Network coverage of the 2020 Dynamic Discs Open (and share their opinions on social media), we wanted to see what kind of impact the broadcasts had with an audience from outside the sport.
We checked on Twitter to see what outsiders were talking about, good and bad. Take a look at what people had to say:
Turned on CBS Sports Network ahead of Sparks-Sun and found myself watching competitive disc golf.
Free idea for podcasts: Play some play-by-play from obscure sporting events and see if your guest can guess the sport.
— Chantel Jennings (@ChantelJennings) August 29, 2020
@AdamZuckerCBS I saw your tweet about disc golf airing on CBS Sports Network so I watched it the 1st night and kind of got hooked on it. Paul McBeth made some incredible shots! I’ve never played but looks really fun. May have to try it someday.
— Amy Hildebrand (@AmyHildebrand6) August 31, 2020
My family began playing disc golf during the pandemic. So cool to see it on CBS!
— David Scott 🇺🇦 (@elshagon) August 29, 2020
I cant watch a second game…I'm switching to disc golf on cbs sports network..and drink heavily
— Anthony (@antbronxnyc) August 28, 2020
Very cool sport!
— Ryan Petrea (@RyanPetrea) August 29, 2020
I think CBS Sports is replaying a frisbee golf tournament. Sorry…. priorities.
— JSlow (@PATScoachjw) September 1, 2020
Haven’t seen the neighbor kids pick up a basketball in months…but they spend HOURS a day playing disc golf. Seems to be a pretty fast growing sport based on this and seeing it more on tv?
— Jason Peck🚵 (@JasonPeck) August 31, 2020
Tried watching disc golf. I wanna run my head through the tv.
— BABA YAGA 💀 (@jbdridgebacks) August 29, 2020
Yesterday was rough but today the idea of a general strike is gaining momentum and the only sport on tv is disc golf, everything's coming up Milhouse.
— Nick Coleman™ 🎼🎹🎤🔪🍳 (@neckcoolman) August 27, 2020
I heard there was some #discgolf on tv tonight or something??
— Jarek (@jlshernit) August 26, 2020
Of course, we can’t judge the impact of the cable TV broadcasts just from Twitter, but this gives a sense of some of the reactions of people who aren’t experts in JomezPro coverage or the Pro Tour.
It will not be possible to determine the shows’ overall viewership: CBS Sports Network does not have publicly released Nielsen ratings. We contacted CBS Sports Network directly and they declined to share the ratings.
Overall, the CBSSN coverage for disc golf did not have much social media engagement from outsiders, compared to other televised disc sports events (like the USA Ultimate US Open finals on ESPN2). While there was widespread enthusiasm from disc golfers tuning in to watch the sport on TV, there is little evidence that the coverage reached a large number of people who don’t already play the sport.
