Report: Netflix Full Swing Sees Viewing Figures Drop In Season 2
The Netflix docuseries going behind the scenes of the PGA Tour has reportedly not held up as well with viewers in the second season as it did with the first
There was excellent news for golf fans earlier in the month when Netflix confirmed that its docuseries following the lives of players on the PGA Tour, Full Swing, would be returning in 2025 for a third season.
However, while the only question now remains exactly when it will premiere next year, and not if, there is more concerning news over the performance of the second season, with Sports Business Journal reporting that the viewing figures were sharply down on season one.
The report states that the latest season secured 4.8 million views and 28.5 million hours watched between January and June, down significantly from the 53.1 million hours it racked up during the first season over the same timeframe a year earlier.
One mitigating factor is the timing. Season one had a near three-week headstart on the second season, premiering on 15 February 2023 rather than 6 March this year, when season two was made available.
The second season also covered a period that arguably wasn’t quite as controversial as the opener. In particular, in 2022, which the first season documented, the golf world was shaken to its foundations by the emergence of big-money PGA Tour rival LIV Golf.
The show's second outing followed life on the PGA Tour in 2023. That period still provided plenty of talking points, not least the news that the PGA Tour and the Saudi Public Investment Fund behind LIV Golf had opened peace talks, while it was also a Ryder Cup year.
However, it could be argued that the initial furore following the emergence of LIV Golf had subsided by that point, which may have contributed to the reduced viewing figures when it aired earlier this year.
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Whatever the reasons for the drop-off in numbers, it had been hoped long before figures were available that the series would return for a third season.
Days after season two premiered, producer Chad Mumm told Golf Monthly that he hoped it would be given the green light, saying: “We haven’t announced any official confirmation of that yet. We’re waiting with bated breath as I hope the rest of the world are.”
The report also states that, compared to a similar Netflix docuseries dedicated to tennis, Break Point, Full Swing held up well. Break Point accumulated just 13 million hours of viewing in its second season (or 2.7 million views) over the first half of 2024.
Sports Business Journal also reports that last November’s Netflix Cup, which featured stars of F1 taking on Full Swing players including Rickie Fowler and Justin Thomas, would not be returning after it drew only 700,000 views, or 1.7 million hours watched.
Mike has over 25 years of experience in journalism, including writing on a range of sports throughout that time, such as golf, football and cricket. Now a freelance staff writer for Golf Monthly, he is dedicated to covering the game's most newsworthy stories.
He has written hundreds of articles on the game, from features offering insights into how members of the public can play some of the world's most revered courses, to breaking news stories affecting everything from the PGA Tour and LIV Golf to developmental Tours and the amateur game.
Mike grew up in East Yorkshire and began his career in journalism in 1997. He then moved to London in 2003 as his career flourished, and nowadays resides in New Brunswick, Canada, where he and his wife raise their young family less than a mile from his local course.
Kevin Cook’s acclaimed 2007 biography, Tommy’s Honour, about golf’s founding father and son, remains one of his all-time favourite sports books.
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