How Come There Is No Mention of Seniors Golf On The BBC?

[Deleted member 29109]

While I DO think BBC's Golf coverage (and 'non-key' sports in general) has declined, there seems to be a couple of fundamental reasons for this.
1. This year is dominated by the Olympics, so resources for other, concurrent, events (and there were more than normal last week) are likely extremely stretched for those limited resources. That, imo, explains the lack of 'normal' coverage of The Senior Open.
2. The entire setup of BBC Sport is simply under-resourced compared with 'competitors'. Sky, for example, charges something like 3-4 times as much for 'subscription' (equivalent) and gets an enormous amount of additional income - that BBC (generally) doesn't from intra-program ads.
So, imo, it's simply a case of lack of resources - and Golf coverage is expensive!
I'm certain the same folk who whinge about lack/decline of BBC coverage would also complain about BBC coverage that they had to subscribe to/pay for! Or would be early moaners about an increase in the License Fee!

BBC Golf coverage has been terrible for years. Especially compared to Cricket that has much smaller participation numbers.

I already pay for the BBC, despite using an increasingly small amount of the service they provide. The licence fee is worth paying simply not to have to deal with the harassment from not paying for it.

 

[Swinglowandslow]

No idea. Seniors maybe more, but in any case the numbers will be pretty small for both.

Not so. How many Seniors play the game compared to younger players?
Quite a lot, I suggest. So too, I imagine there would be interest in Seniors golf on TV more than might be originally thought.

 

[r0wly86]

Not so. How many Seniors play the game compared to younger players?
Quite a lot, I suggest. So too, I imagine there would be interest in Seniors golf on TV more than might be originally thought.

really? I know a lot of seniors play golf, but not sure they are particularly interested in senior pro golf, in my experience they want to see the normal tour, the best players on the planet. Just because you get older doesn't mean you want to watch people your age, otherwise over 50s football would be a massive thing

 

[Deleted member 15344]

BBC Golf coverage has been terrible for years. Especially compared to Cricket that has much smaller participation numbers.

I already pay for the BBC, despite using an increasingly small amount of the service they provide. The licence fee is worth paying simply not to have to deal with the harassment from not paying for it.

The BBC rarely cover golf beyond highlights ?‍

You pay £130 a year - Sky paid a significant amount for the Open coverage amongst all the other events.

BBC won’t challenge those bids because of budget restrictions

I don’t know what people expect the BBC to do ?

It seems people want the Sky coverage without pay the Sky fees

 

[Deleted member 1147]

It seems people want the Sky coverage without pay the Sky fees

That's exactly what I want

But I don't think it's available unfortunately

 

[SteveJay]

BBC Golf coverage has been terrible for years. Especially compared to Cricket that has much smaller participation numbers.

Don't think participation numbers have any real relevance.
Watching cricket is popular amongst many who don't play, as is football, rugby, tennis, etc.etc.. I don't know many who watch golf if they don't actually play (apart from maybe the Ryder Cup).
Team sports tend to be more popular for spectators than individual sports in my opinion.
Angling remains one of the most popular participant sports yet rarely gets a mention.

 

[Foxholer]

BBC Golf coverage has been terrible for years. Especially compared to Cricket that has much smaller participation numbers.

I already pay for the BBC, despite using an increasingly small amount of the service they provide. The licence fee is worth paying simply not to have to deal with the harassment from not paying for it.

There was no (or at least very little) reason to quote my post to make those comments!

But FWIW (re the bold bit)...It's not ALL about participation numbers - in fact, it's very little about that; more a case of balancing viewing numbers against cost of rights/production. It's much more about numbers interested in(watching)/fans of the sport. In that regard, Cricket (especially) and Tennis seem far more popular than Golf!

 

[arnieboy]

I didn't expect to see any reports on the Seniors golf at the weekend but had hoped that they would have posted the latest scores on the BBC Sport website.

 

[Tongo]

Unpopular opinion probably, but is their tennis coverage any good? I find their Wimbledon coverage cliched and elitist not unlike their cricket coverage before Channel 4 revolutionised it.
Channel 4 made cricket cool and got people interested in the sport and I'd wager they could have done this for tennis if the Wimbledon monopoly was theirs.

Yep, BBC's Tennis coverage is embarrassingly stuffy compared to what ITV4 did with the French Open. Jim Courier was a brilliant, insightful analyst for instance.

 

[jim8flog]

Bowls? https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/bowls

You obviously do not watch bowls. Most of the guys in the top rankings are hardly seniors.

 

[Crumplezone]

Seniors golf is definitely extremely low on the list of priorities of any organisation reporting sport. Who on earth is Stephen Dodd anyway? The LPGA only really gets a mention when it's a major or a British woman is doing well. The LET is largely ignored too. Football is a far more popular game, yet until I looked it up, I didn't even know there was such a thing as international senior football. Should we be complaining about lack of coverage of that too?

The BBC is between a rock and a hard place. The government hate the BBC and are squeezing their funding at every opportunity. They are increasingly limited in the quality of their coverage and output and that leads to further resentment of the licence fee. This is of course an entirely deliberate strategy by the government. They will always be outbid by SKY for any sport that anyone actually wants to watch. Although thankfully they still have Open golf, PGA, Masters and Premier League/FA cup highlights etc. Without these, those unwilling or unable to pay SKY's astronomical subscriptions wouldn't be able to see any top level golf or football at all. I think this is certainly to the detriment of participation in golf in the UK.

 

[arnieboy]

Seniors golf is definitely extremely low on the list of priorities of any organisation reporting sport. Who on earth is Stephen Dodd anyway? The LPGA only really gets a mention when it's a major or a British woman is doing well. The LET is largely ignored too. Football is a far more popular game, yet until I looked it up, I didn't even know there was such a thing as international senior football. Should we be complaining about lack of coverage of that too?

The BBC is between a rock and a hard place. The government hate the BBC and are squeezing their funding at every opportunity. They are increasingly limited in the quality of their coverage and output and that leads to further resentment of the licence fee. This is of course an entirely deliberate strategy by the government. They will always be outbid by SKY for any sport that anyone actually wants to watch. Although thankfully they still have Open golf, PGA, Masters and Premier League/FA cup highlights etc. Without these, those unwilling or unable to pay SKY's astronomical subscriptions wouldn't be able to see any top level golf or football at all. I think this is certainly to the detriment of participation in golf in the UK.

Even though Stephen Dodd may be unknown to some he was being challenged all the way by Darren Clarke, Jerry Kelly, Bernhardt Langer and Miguel Angel Jiminez so it may have been worth a mention. The LPGA scores are shown on the BBC website.

 

[JonnyGutteridge]

Seniors golf is definitely extremely low on the list of priorities of any organisation reporting sport. Who on earth is Stephen Dodd anyway? The LPGA only really gets a mention when it's a major or a British woman is doing well. The LET is largely ignored too. Football is a far more popular game, yet until I looked it up, I didn't even know there was such a thing as international senior football. Should we be complaining about lack of coverage of that too?

The BBC is between a rock and a hard place. The government hate the BBC and are squeezing their funding at every opportunity. They are increasingly limited in the quality of their coverage and output and that leads to further resentment of the licence fee. This is of course an entirely deliberate strategy by the government. They will always be outbid by SKY for any sport that anyone actually wants to watch. Although thankfully they still have Open golf, PGA, Masters and Premier League/FA cup highlights etc. Without these, those unwilling or unable to pay SKY's astronomical subscriptions wouldn't be able to see any top level golf or football at all. I think this is certainly to the detriment of participation in golf in the UK.

I imagine any half decent semi pro team would be able to match up to the international senior footballers, because fitness and age is a huge factor in footballing ability. Whereas golf doesn’t have the same divide, those seniors could (and do) compete with the very best in the world and the standard is very high - hence why it is a popular event and receives coverage, and is not really comparable to senior football at all.

 

[Backsticks]

I wouldnt fault them really, as seniors golf is effectively a handicapped competition and there is enough 'open' real deal golf going on anyway. While it is certainly competitive and not just a demonstration or celebrity competition, is is still an artificially limited field and more akin to 'legends' or blast from the past type nostalgia. From a pure sporting aspect, its like junior Wimbledon, or U20s soccer tournaments - a niche rather than mainstream sporting event and as such, debatably reportable by mainstream media. I presume seniors golf has its own website, or at least that tournament did for those who follow it.

 

[Slab]

I guess if you rely on a generic broadcaster (one as diverse as the bbc) for sports news there’s going to be lots of gaps whether its senior golf or (assuming you don’t follow one of the biggies) it’s the same story if you want news from your fav footie team, you just wont get it

I use the bbc sport app every day of life, its good for the headlines but that’s about it. If I want more than that I use one of dozens of other golf sources, there’s lots of places. Same for football club news etc, we all know where to get it

But its not just bbc though, its often been the case that if sky didn't show it then as far as reporting it goes… it didn’t happen

 

[Sports_Fanatic]

I didn't expect to see any reports on the Seniors golf at the weekend but had hoped that they would have posted the latest scores on the BBC Sport website.

Can I ask why? Given the scores are posted quite clearly on European tour page with a whole host of additional detail, what does BBC adding a more basic leaderboard provide? It just seems a massive waste of time to me.

We have to accept that we are inside the bubble on this one. Seniors Golf is interesting for us but it's not the a major viewing experience for general public at large nor should it take resource away from either main tours in golf or any other mainstream sport or event (Olympics currently). If you were pushing BBC then rather than expanding on golf they should focus on other sports like hockey as a sport close to mainstream with little coverage.

As far as I'm concerned BBC are there to comment on high profile sports or sporting events and even then as a snapshot/highlights as they can't cover it all. Same goes for things like music, film, and any other mainstream hobbies people have as well as covering news and information pieces (e.g. health, tech) that may keep people informed.

If you want detailed coverage on anything then go to the specific websites for that thing, they're not hard to find these days.

 

[SwingsitlikeHogan]

Can I ask why? Given the scores are posted quite clearly on European tour page with a whole host of additional detail, what does BBC adding a more basic leaderboard provide? It just seems a massive waste of time to me.

We have to accept that we are inside the bubble on this one. Seniors Golf is interesting for us but it's not the a major viewing experience for general public at large nor should it take resource away from either main tours in golf or any other mainstream sport or event (Olympics currently). If you were pushing BBC then rather than expanding on golf they should focus on other sports like hockey as a sport close to mainstream with little coverage.

As far as I'm concerned BBC are there to comment on high profile sports or sporting events and even then as a snapshot/highlights as they can't cover it all. Same goes for things like music, film, and any other mainstream hobbies people have as well as covering news and information pieces (e.g. health, tech) that may keep people informed.

If you want detailed coverage on anything then go to the specific websites for that thing, they're not hard to find these days.

One of the main criticisms of the BBCs web presence is that it covers too much and undermines the viability of specialist commercial websites.

 

[Foxholer]

One of the main criticisms of the BBCs web presence is that it covers too much...

Given its budgetary constraints, 'Covers too much' = 'Is spread too thinly'. Which is demonstrated by what prompted this thread!

One of the main criticisms of the BBCs web presence is that it... undermines the viability of specialist commercial websites.

That may be a 'problem' for those sites, but that (imo non-)issue should have been a startup consideration for those sites, not for BBC!

 

[Doon frae Troon]

Unpopular opinion probably, but is their tennis coverage any good? I find their Wimbledon coverage cliched and elitist not unlike their cricket coverage before Channel 4 revolutionised it.
Channel 4 made cricket cool and got people interested in the sport and I'd wager they could have done this for tennis if the Wimbledon monopoly was theirs.

We don't see any 'seniors' cricket, tennis, cycling or horse dancing on TV.
So why golf.

 

[GB72]

The BBC rarely cover golf beyond highlights ?‍

You pay £130 a year - Sky paid a significant amount for the Open coverage amongst all the other events.

BBC won’t challenge those bids because of budget restrictions

I don’t know what people expect the BBC to do ?

It seems people want the Sky coverage without pay the Sky fees

I suppose that the counter argument is that the BBC may be cheap but that fee is payable by every TV owning household in the country. As such, they have an almost guarnateed 'subscription' level wih little choice but to pay. I suspect that sky woulb be a bit cheaper if it was compulsory for every household in the UK to at least have a basic Sky subscription

The BBC Sport website has alwasy hidden away sports it has no coverage of. Most golf tournaments only link to external sites for the leaderboard, most rugby aside from the 6 Nations and the Lions never appears on the opening page.