Tiger Woods' Knee Injury Worries Network Execs

Tiger Woods' Knee Injury Worries Network Execs

Network executives and sponsors were not visibly panicking Wednesday that Tiger Woods would be gone from golf for the rest of the year as he recovered from reconstructive knee surgery. But their disappointment was palpable.

They know that ratings and attendance fade without his otherworldly success.

They are aware that on Sunday, when Woods tied Rocco Mediate to force a playoff at the United States Open, NBC had the highest final-round rating in six years, and that when he won on Monday in sudden death, he fueled the highest golf rating on a Monday in 30 years.

"It's a real loss," said Ken Schanzer, the president of NBC Universal Sports. "You hope as we go forward that new stories emerge. We have two other majors to be played, and it could be that someone becomes hot and important stories happen through them."

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