The Ryder Cup 2025 highlighted how premium global sporting events are reshaping their commercial models, combining record ticket pricing with experiential value, stable top-tier sponsorships, and sharply contrasting broadcast outcomes across markets. The tournament underscored the growing importance of fan experience, brand alignment, and regional viewership dynamics in determining returns for rights holders, sponsors, and broadcasters worldwide, reports GlobalData, the data and analytics company.

GlobalData’s Post Event Analysis – Ryder Cup 2025 report revealed that in the UK, 5 million viewers in total watched the three-day event, held in September at Bethpage State Park in Farmingdale, New York, on Sky Sports. Almost 250,000 fans attended the tournament across the practice and match days.

Olivia Snooks, Sport Analyst at GlobalData, commented: “For team sponsors, Team US named Swag Golf as the official bag supplier for the 2025 Ryder Cup, while Team Europe did not agree any new sponsorship partnerships ahead of the 2025 edition, G:tech only served as a team sponsor for the 2023 edition.”

The key broadcasters for the 2025 Ryder Cup included Sky, BBC Sport, and NBC. In the UK and Ireland, Sky acquired live broadcast rights for the 2023 and 2025 editions of the Ryder Cup, while the BBC secured TV highlights, audio commentary, and digital clips on the BBC Sport website, app, and social channels through 2029. In the US, NBC holds a long-term agreement for the Ryder Cup and has been holding the US broadcast rights since 1991.

Snooks continued: “The tournament revealed a striking contrast in TV viewership on either side of the Atlantic. Europe’s dominant lead going into the final day drove UK viewers to Sky Sports in record numbers, while the lack of a close contest in the US resulted in weak ratings for NBC.”

The tickets for the 2025 Ryder Cup went on sale in November 2024. Practice-round tickets were priced at approximately $255, Thursday tickets at $424, and matchday tickets for Friday, Saturday, and Sunday at about $750 per day—the most expensive single-day price in Ryder Cup history. When it came to food and drink, the tournament adopted a distinctive approach. All food and non-alcoholic beverages were included in the ticket price, giving fans access to unlimited hot dogs, cheeseburgers and chips. In contrast, alcoholic drinks were sold at a premium, with beers starting at around $14 and cocktails priced between $17.50 and $19.50.

Snooks concluded: “The inclusive food and non-alcoholic beverages functioned as a strategic value-add to help justify the premium ticket prices and enhance the overall spectator experience, even as alcohol remained a significant additional expense.”

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Tags: BBC, globaldata, golf, NBC, sky sports