There has been a lot of media focus dedicated to the alleged Tiger Woods scandal – even so much that when examined quantitatively, it overshadows more serious issues.
So what will the net result of this media scrutiny be for Tiger? CNBC's sports reporter, Darren Rovell, took at crack at answering that on the Dec. 10 broadcast of “Squawk Box.”
“It's 12 straight days in the [
The clip, from Warner Brothers' syndicated show “Extra,” showed real-estate mogul and enthusiastic self-promoter Donald Trump making the case that Tiger Woods would be bigger and better than before.
“Tiger is going to be hotter than ever before, mark my word,” Trump said. “I think what's important for Tiger right now – get back onto the course and start winning tournaments and he'll do that. He's going to be just fine.”
Rovell cited the precedent of Kobe Bryant's problems with sexual assault charges. Dallas Mavericks owner and billionaire Mark Cuban said at the time that Kobe Bryant would come back bigger as well. As Forbes magazine showed earlier this year, he has for the most part,
“People say, 'Oh, it's Donald Trump, who will say anything,'” Rovell said. “Six years ago, Mark Cuban said this about Kobe Bryant, who was of course charged with sexual assault. The criminal case was dropped, the civil case was settled. 'From a business perspective, it's great for the NBA. It's reality television. People love train-wreck television and you hate to admit it, but it's the truth. That's the reality today. Notoriety sells in this day and age. I can't think of anyone who is going through a legal problem who doesn't get high attention. Is that cold-blooded? Yeah, but it's the bottom line of reality.'”
As for sponsorships, according to Rovell, Woods will likely hang on to his golf deals.
“You look at Nike golf, they're not going to drop him,” Rovell said. “They're an $800-million business because of him. There are things that are in the sport, like an Upper Deck for collectibles.”
But as for the more corporate, non-golf brands, Woods will struggle because companies will struggle to show a direct return for their investment.
“Accenture or AT&T, when it's more of a branding thing – I think that's where it's more of an issue,” Rovell said. “There's not the one-to-one dollar return on investment and that's where it's questionable.”
Like this article? Sign up for "Culture Links," CMI's weekly e-mail newsletter, by clicking here.
