PGATOUR.COM Leads the Field with Strong 2009 First Quarter Traffic Numbers

PGATOUR.COM, the online home of the PGA TOUR, reported significant first quarter gains with strong traffic increases for the first quarter of 2009 including a 22% increase in page views (657 million) and 6% increase in average monthly unique users (3.4 million). Also, PGATOUR.COM saw a 341% increase in videos streamed (54 million) which included record setting traffic upon Tiger Woods’ return to golf in February. In addition, PGATOUR.COM was the No. 1 golf site for the month of February in terms of unique users based on Nielsen//NetRatings, up 31% from last year. According to Omniture, the months of February and March each garnered four million unique users. The site had its best quarter ever in terms of videos streams and its best first quarter ever in terms of unique users and page views.

The first quarter featured compelling competition, including the return of Woods to PGA TOUR competition as well as two victories each from elite players Phil Michelson and Geoff Oglivy and the arrival of talented new international stars Rory McIlroy from Northern Ireland and Japan’s Ryo Ishikawa.

“Fans know that PGATOUR.COM provides unparalleled golf coverage with innovative and diverse ways to follow live action of all PGA TOUR events, ” said Matthew Hong, vice president and general manager of sports digital for Turner Sports. “The site’s multiplatform experience gives fans an up-to-the-minute inside-the-ropes view no matter where they are, be it at home, at work, or on the move with their mobile devices. ”

“We are pleased with the significant growth in PGATOUR.COM and our new media content platforms, ” said Lee Bushkell, vice president and general manager for PGATOUR.COM. “We have had a terrific start to the season, and are committed to providing our fans the most in-depth professional golf coverage in the market today. ”

PGATOUR.COM also provides Yahoo! Sports with video highlights, scoring, editorial coverage and partners with the site for its official fantasy golf game, Fantasy Golf ’09. Other new media highlights include:

• PGATOUR.COM’s mobile platform with video capabilities and customization opportunities has recorded more than 2 million visits year to date and more than 9.1 million page views.
• PGATOUR.COM’s social media platforms continue to grow with significant increases in Twitter followers, Facebook fans and viewership on the official PGATOUR.COM YouTube channel.

The official Web site of the PGA TOUR, PGATOUR.COM was launched in 1997 to serve the growing needs of golf fans. In 2007, the PGA TOUR partnered with Turner Sports to co-produce the site. With an international fan base following the action of the PGA TOUR, Champions Tour and Nationwide Tour, PGATOUR.COM is the number one site in golf. PGATOUR.COM features official real-time scoring, world-class editorial content, exclusive LIVE@ multimedia coverage and its complete PGA TOUR archive of stats.

Turner Sports, Inc., a Time Warner company, presents some of the best and most popular sporting events worldwide and is a leader in televised and online sports programming. With events airing on TBS and TNT, Turner Sports’ line-up includes NASCAR and NASCAR.COM, the NBA, Major League Baseball, professional golf, PGATour.com and PGA.com. Turner Sports also manages operations for NBA Digital, which includes NBA TV, NBA.com, WNBA.com, NBADLeague.com and NBA League Pass.