The showdown between Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson is coming to your TV on Black Friday at 3pm. Turner, who will produce the event for -pay-per-view television and its own B/R Live app, has set the price at $19.99.
The price is down from the rumored $25 price tag. That means Turner will have to sell a few more views in order to pay that $9 million winner take all jackpot. One of the fun aspects of the Woods/Mickelson match, cleverly dubbed “The Match,” will be the side wagers. The two players will be allowed to make side bets on individual holes. Whatever winnings they earn from those bets will go to charity.
It seems like there is a lot going against this being a success. First, Black Friday is a time where people tend to be out of their houses in the morning and asleep in the afternoon. Next, those that are home and awake have a lot of options for sports. In college football alone there will be top 25 matchups between Central Florida and South Florida, Washington and Washington State, and Oklahoma and West Virginia. All of them have the added advantage of being on free television. There will also be college and NBA basketball on that day as well.
Many of those other events don’t start in the same time window, but it is a matter of how people will prioritize their day, particularly if there is Christmas shopping to do or family obligations. Two golfers well beyond their prime on pay-per-view can’t reasonably be expected to compete with football and basketball, which will both be on for free.
