Woods’ return a gift for CBS, ESPN

Tiger-WoodsWith the initial two rounds airing on ESPN and the final two rounds airing on CBS, the announcement of Tiger Woods making a comeback on April 8 for the 2010 Masters Tournament will be a boon for both the sports broadcasters.

The tournament is scheduled to be live on air from the April 8-11; analysts believe a boost of more than 20% in the ranking after Woods makes a return after a long gap due to his personal problems. According to ratings tracker Nielsen Co., the tournament captured a mind-boggling 14.3 million viewers in the last season.

Keeping in mind that the golfer is the most famous, most recognized, most accomplished athlete in the world, analysts are of a view that the return of the Tiger will be the most awaited event after the Obama inauguration in the past
15 years. There is no denying that Woods has always been able to garner high viewer ship for the broadcasters but after he fell into multiple affairs, the popularity quotient has jumped drastically. Nielsen further added the fact that almost 6.5 million viewers tuned in to catch his public apology on February 19.