Golf telecasts and the divide between the young and olds

[nevets88]

We've seen this conversation a million times before and I'm going to fall somewhere in the middle, but definitely favoring the youngs. You'll have to open the tweet to see the reply from Kostis, he's definitely not showing any attempt to adapt to the changing landscape. I don't watch any regular season events anymore unless Woods is in it and even then don't watch the live broadcast or am streaming. Eventually a majority of the audience will be those who have grown up with Netflix and I think networks will have to adapt.

 

[boogielicious]

I don’t have a problem with the sponsorship and commercials. It seems they are favoring showing action now while they are running  commercials in a split screen. This keeps the action going. 

My gripe is when they do interviews or have the CEO come to the booth and completely leave the action. They could do a brief facetime then show action while the interview is the audio. 

[Patch]

Most of my pga viewing is done on You Tube. They show just the highlights of a some of the players, with no breaks. I do watch 3 of the 4 majors on TV, but not the whole 4 days of them. 

I don't pay any attention to commercials, or commentary from the talking heads.

[Piz]

I have fewer problems with the young vs. old divide now that I find myself on the older side of the line.  I remember being younger; but I don't recall being stupid.  Chances are I was...that isn't for me to decide.

[nevets88]

22 minutes ago, Patch said:

Most of my pga viewing is done on You Tube. They show just the highlights of a some of the players, with no breaks. I do watch 3 of the 4 majors on TV, but not the whole 4 days of them. 

I don't pay any attention to commercials, or commentary from the talking heads.

This is what I'm talking about. This is where the 18-35 demo is going.

Right now, it feels like that broadcast is geared to be shown in corporate environments. 

[Vinsk]

40 minutes ago, boogielicious said:

My gripe is when they do interviews or have the CEO come to the booth and completely leave the action. They could do a brief facetime then show action while the interview is the audio. 

Exactly. This is painstaking. And not just the CEO, but really any ‘guest’ who comes with his/her rhetoric. Keep it on the golf and let them blab away. 

[RFKFREAK]

1 hour ago, Patch said:

Most of my pga viewing is done on You Tube. They show just the highlights of a some of the players, with no breaks. I do watch 3 of the 4 majors on TV, but not the whole 4 days of them. 

I don't pay any attention to commercials, or commentary from the talking heads.

Which youtube channel do you watch that on?

[Buckeyebowman]

Again, many of these responses seem to reflect the attitude that the PGA Tour is for the sole benefit of PGA Tour players, and viewers! They are not! They are also held for the benefit of the sponsors!

[Vinsk]

18 minutes ago, Buckeyebowman said:

They are also held for the benefit of the sponsors!

Well, it all exists because we love golf. We love to watch it. I’m watching to see the very best golfers on the planet, not to see a sad wiener dog get a new home with his own yard where dogs are allowed. 😀

[Golfingdad]

3 hours ago, boogielicious said:

It seems they are favoring showing action now while they are running  commercials in a split screen. This keeps the action going. 

I’m seeing this more and more now too and realize it benefits everybody.  We don’t have to wait for commercial breaks and we are also “forced” to watch the commercials.  Win-win.

They even do this on American Ninja Warrior - which is kinda funny considering it’s not even a live event.  (That’s where it dawned on me that the sponsors might also benefit from the split screen concept) :)

[Shindig]

3 hours ago, RFKFREAK said:

Which youtube channel do you watch that on?

I think the PGA Tour channel has them.

[dennyjones]

12 hours ago, boogielicious said:

I don’t have a problem with the sponsorship and commercials. It seems they are favoring showing action now while they are running  commercials in a split screen. This keeps the action going. 

They have done this in some soccer games or at least displayed the sponsor's logo on the screen.   I like the split screen instead of a regular commercial.   

My son was in town this past week (35 years old).   His major TV and his kids's viewing is Youtube.  Forget regular TV, they aren't interested.   

[nevets88]

I should find a broadcast on YT in the 70s or 80s. You'll see much fewer interruptions. Like tv shows, there used to be 10 minutes of commercials for one hour now it's over 20. People are used to it because the networks increased it gradually, like a frog being slowly boiled in a pot. 

Like one of the tweets in the timeline said, yes, there's the prerogative to make money, but there's a point where it crosses the line. Those CEOs, the video essays, the tv show promotions, the this stupid f*%ing highlight moment bought to you by Acme sports drink, the intrusive graphics. It's too much. Don't you notice the screen is starting to look like a subway car full of ads even when no ads are playing? I voted with my viewing habits and will come back when they figure out a better way. 

[DeadMan]

The amount of commercials wouldn't be so bad if the broadcasts showed more golf. But it seem like in an hour stretch of watching golf on TV, you get at most 30 minutes of actual golf. It's frustrating, and there are better things to do with my day for most tournaments. I'll tune in for Tiger and the first 3 majors, but that's about it at this point.

The worst example from this year was from the Masters: Speith's 2nd shot on 13. There was a long conversation between him and Greller about whether to go for it. He did, and pulled it off. CBS showed it about 3 minutes after it happened because they went to commercial - in a limited commercial event! - and then didn't show the conversation, which was the most interesting part. This is a microcosm of why golf coverage is so bad.

This isn't just limited to golf, by the way. Watching college football can be like pulling teeth with commercials and the offensive style of play. It's pretty much all sports. Soccer is so nice to watch in comparison, because you know how long it will take, and you're not getting constantly interrupted for commercials. Soccer still gets multi-billion dollar TV contracts despite that.

Edited July 30, 2018 by DeadMan

[3jacker]

Guys.  If it weren't for all the commercials, where'd you think these players would get all their $ from?

You really thing a guy like DJ would do this if say, instead of $45M earned since his appearance on the Tour he had only made $20M? 

These guys need to eat too, you know.

[DeadMan]

I also don't think this is a young vs. old thing, either. I doubt you'll find many people saying there are too few commercials in golf telecasts.

[nevets88]

I would pay extra, and not a trivial amount, for a no-ad option, that's one way to drum up even more money.

[Moxley]

15 hours ago, 3jacker said:

You really thing a guy like DJ would do this if say, instead of $45M earned since his appearance on the Tour he had only made $20M? 

I'd hazard a guess that he would do. What do you think he would be doing that would earn him more than $20m?

I think you reach a point where the additional money available to sportsmen no longer has any significant influence on those entering the sport - once they can make a living (with the best able to make an exceptional living), the rewards, which included fame and a privileged lifestyle, are sufficient to attract almost all of those with the talent to make it. 

Even a PGA tour journeyman can earn $500k in an average season without getting near to winning. I totally get that they can't put this on for free, but there's clearly enough money in the sport already.