Turner Sports’ “The Match: Champions for Charity” became the most viewed golf telecast in the history of cable television, with an average of 5.8 million viewers tuning in.
The charity event saw Tiger Woods and NFL legend Peyton Manning team up to take on Phil Mickelson and six-time Super Bowl champion Tom Brady in match play at the Medalist Golf Club in Florida. The match raised $20 million for COVID-19 pandemic relief funds, including one set up by the American Red Cross, and ended in a one-hole victory for Woods and Manning.
“The Match” was aired on four Turner networks — TNT, TBS, TruTV and HLN – and, in a testament to Americans’ thirst for live sports, peaked with an average of 6.3 million viewers across those networks from 5:45-6 PM ET. Turner Sports’ Bleacher Report social and digital media platforms recorded 38 million video views before and during the broadcast.
Brian Anderson hosted the event with commentary by “NBA on TNT” analyst Charles Barkley and Masters champion Trevor Immelman, with on-course interviews by Amanda Balionis and Justin Thomas. Turner Sports’ top play-by-play announcer, Ernie Johnson, declined to attend out of concern for his son, who is diagnosed with muscular dystrophy and is at risk of contracting COVID-19.