I am sure there are a number of people willing to buy content of any sort. I can't see that I would ever spend money on disc golf coverage. I will buy discs, the occasional players disc but other than that I can't see paying for coverage, heck, I dropped ESPN 3 years ago.
I see disc golf coverage as a hobby and not a scaleable business at this point, it could change but not anytime soon. Live coverage captured a few thousand people this past week on YouTube, edited coverage on the same venue on the captures 10-40 times that many views and had much better product IMO. The money of which there is not a bunch is in the edited product at this point. Eyeballs translate in to dollars and there is not a huge number of eyeballs across the country watching disc golf coverage.
Some thing to think about is last estimate I saw in a business journal was 530K(PARKED 2017 estimate)in the US for organized players. These would be players that take it fairly seriously. 530K is not a huge audience unless they all watch coverage and they don't. For those of you who think the 530K US organized player population is a low number, let's do some quick math. 50 states, at 500k that's 10,000 players per state. You really think Maine, Montana, North Dakota, Alaska, Rhode Island, or Hawaii have 10,000 organized players? Not picking on those locations, I just used them to illustrate my point concerning the math, 530K is a solid guess. Some of you will point out larger numbers exist if you include the rest of the world, and you would be correct, here's the issue I see current with their eyeballs. They don't watch US disc golf productions in any real numbers. By the way in 2012 the PDGA had an estimate of 500K, not as big a jump in organized players as many might think. Keep in mind everyone does not stay in the sport for ever, there are losses every year. I added the link below in case someone wants to see my source.
My point is this, this sport is still a hobby unless you make disc. Broadcasting revenue and coverage is a hobby. It's fun hobby for those who are chasing a dream. I like watching, just not spending money on it.
https://parkeddiscgolf.org/2018/12/01/a-demographic-portrait-of-disc-golf-land/
THE QUICK-AND-DIRTY
In 2017, the U.S. disc golfer population stood at roughly 530,000.
The number of women (15 percent) and racial minorities (9 percent) exceeded previous estimates, but these groups were clearly underrepresented.
The mean age of disc golfers was 33.
The percentage of disc golfers with some college education (36 percent) was surprisingly low.
Disc golf was more popular in the Midwest than in the Northeast, South and West.
LAST WORDS
Our population estimate should be treated as preliminary evidence that requires confirmation from future studies. Given the novelty of our methodology and the "known unknowns" involving lone wolves and small groups, it is possible that many more than 530,254 Americans play disc golf.
At the same time, the popular claim that millions of Americans play disc golf regularly should be scrutinized in view of the evidence provided here and common sense.
Consider, for instance, what the disc golf industry should look like if two or three million Americans played disc golf. In 2016, per the State of Disc Golf Survey, 33 percent of disc golfers spent between $200 and $499 per year; an additional 33 percent spent between $500 and $2,000. In short, the average disc golfer spends around $400 to $500 per year.
If two or three million Americans played, disc golf would be a billion-dollar industry based only on the expenditures of individual consumers.
Given the sport's lack of attention from television networks, outside investors and corporate sponsors, the U.S. disc golfer population is likely closer to 500,000 than two million.
While the 2017 estimate of 530,254 may seem low to many observers, it is not extremely low compared to some institutional estimates. For instance, the PDGA estimated that there were 500,000 "regular players" in the world in 2012. While there was tremendous growth over the next five years, a 2017 estimate of 530,254 disc golfers in the U.S. alone is not beyond reason.
To sum up the other findings of this study, the demographic data suggest that there are social constraints to playing disc golf involving the sex, race and geography of disc golfers, but that old age and low socio-economic status do not limit participation and may encourage it.
So far, I've only reviewed the demographics of the sample. In the next post, I'll talk about the "disc golf activity index" and consider how demographic categories predict players' level of involvement in the sport.
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