Rich Tradition,
Mass Appeal
The granddaddy of all made-for-TV golf shows was, of course, The Skins Game. It aired for over 20 years, AKA a lifetime in television years. Don Ohlmeyer of Monday Night Football created The Skins Game in 1983. He didn’t invent the game, nor did he create the name. The term supposedly originated centuries ago at St. Andrews when furriers visiting the port would play golf on the old course – literally for skins.
After 20 years, Skins finally ran out of gas. Now, we’re watching a new generation of made-for-TV golf events prominently featuring The Match, a series of challenges featuring pros vs. pros, pro-amateur teams, and all-amateur teams. Previous airings have featured world-class golfers such as Tiger Woods competing against celebrity athletes like Patrick Mahomes, Josh Allen, Tom Brady, Aaron Rodgers, Stephen Curry, and Peyton Manning. With 6 televised events under its belt, The Match has proven to be very successful with a long future ahead of it.
“The Turner Sports live broadcast also delivered tremendous television ratings, averaging 5.8 million viewers across TNT, TBS, TruTV, and HLN. That makes it the most watched golf event in cable television history, topping the first round of the 2010 Masters on ESPN (4.9 million viewers).” — Turner Sports
“Like its predecessors, this year’s edition of The Match has sold out all of its sponsorship positions and the attendant commercial inventory. In addition to title sponsor Capital One, the roster includes presenting partners Corona Premier, Blockfolio by FTX, and Progressive Insurance. DraftKings is returning as a content integration partner, while AT&T Inc., Apple Inc., Callaway Golf, HBO Max, E-Z-GO, Taco Bell, Wheels Up, UKG, and ZipRecruiter have secured associate partner positions.” — SPGlobal
The Next Generation
of Made-for-TV Golf
Image by Randy Oliver via DailySnark
Image by Stan Badz via Golf Digest
Meet TV’s Next
Big Thing
For most golfers, there is a far more interesting game that would be natural for TV – the Wolf Game. Elliston Productions proposes to produce a television series under the same name. To that end, our team has secured the trademark of the name The Wolf Game, and secured a copyright of the associated rules. We invite you to join us at the ground level as we assemble our team to bring The Wolf Game to the international world of televised sports. The upside potential for this event is massive.