GB72
Money List Winner
Just being welcoming to non golfing family members and their kids would be a start.
Lack of golf on terrestrial TV - Golf Monthly Feature
- Thread starter TomC
- Start date
Hacker Khan
Yurt Dwelling, Yoghurt Knitter
I would not say there is a direct correlation between easy exposure to the game on TV and participation, but then again I can't see how it would hurt to get the game exposed to potential players. I like I imagine many, remember watching The Masters, Open and Ryder Cup live on TV growing up. But if I was trying to do that now, with the exception of some of The Masters, I couldn't do that now without someone paying for it.
But I also think that 72 hole strokeplay is mostly very difficult to televise in an exciting way as it just does not lend itself to exciting TV. Stick the Ryder Cup back on the BBC and you'd get some buzz around the game and people talking, stick the vast majority of European and PGA tournaments on and I don't think that will appeal now as times and peoples watching habits have moved on.
But I also think that 72 hole strokeplay is mostly very difficult to televise in an exciting way as it just does not lend itself to exciting TV. Stick the Ryder Cup back on the BBC and you'd get some buzz around the game and people talking, stick the vast majority of European and PGA tournaments on and I don't think that will appeal now as times and peoples watching habits have moved on.
Wolf
Well-known member
Another point on golf on terrestrial TV what really would they broadcast that supposedly would appeal to fans or younger people.
Majority of big events are in the US meaning timezone wise they either have to take off programmes that are already Staples for viewers that do well in ratings to risk chancing golf or merely its to late to get the figures they'd need for sustainable TV viewers.
ET events a lot are on during middle of the day when people are at work or school so again that limits exposures and doesn't have stellar names that people who don't know the game will even consider watching.. Factor in then perhaps that only leaves them majors for viewing, they already won't pay for them, but Masters is normally a late(ish) finish but as its same place each year parents may let kids stay up, but PGA and US Opens can finish in early hours of the morning, even a lot of avid golf fans don't stay up for those so your possible maybe dip in viewers definitely won't. That merely leaves the open of which most kids and non real golf fans want to watch 15hrs wall to wall coverage of guys being blown around, in the wind and rain when they could be out doing something better. It's not exactly the sort of TV sport that people will tune into thinking this looks great, I'd love to be blown around and get soaked for 5 hrs on my day off.
Golf a unless your a golf fan doesn't lend itself to being an avid must watch spectator sport as it can at times be boring, long winded and not have the real instant gratification most viewers want.
Majority of big events are in the US meaning timezone wise they either have to take off programmes that are already Staples for viewers that do well in ratings to risk chancing golf or merely its to late to get the figures they'd need for sustainable TV viewers.
ET events a lot are on during middle of the day when people are at work or school so again that limits exposures and doesn't have stellar names that people who don't know the game will even consider watching.. Factor in then perhaps that only leaves them majors for viewing, they already won't pay for them, but Masters is normally a late(ish) finish but as its same place each year parents may let kids stay up, but PGA and US Opens can finish in early hours of the morning, even a lot of avid golf fans don't stay up for those so your possible maybe dip in viewers definitely won't. That merely leaves the open of which most kids and non real golf fans want to watch 15hrs wall to wall coverage of guys being blown around, in the wind and rain when they could be out doing something better. It's not exactly the sort of TV sport that people will tune into thinking this looks great, I'd love to be blown around and get soaked for 5 hrs on my day off.
Golf a unless your a golf fan doesn't lend itself to being an avid must watch spectator sport as it can at times be boring, long winded and not have the real instant gratification most viewers want.
D
Deleted member 15344
Guest
My early memories of golf were watching the Masters late and being allowed to stay up late , then watching the Open and just transfixed by Seve and Faldo , then it was Ryder Cup a little bit but late summer was the Matchplay at Wentworth - that’s what got me into watching golf - I couldn’t play it due to other sports going on.
Sky for years have had loads of events but the Open has been left free to air because of protected status - it hasn’t affected the other events. The best step imo would be to make the Open protected again and have it free to air along with all the other major sporting events. Golf will not lose anything by having the Open on Terrestrial telly - Sky will still have every other event going just like they did before hand ( the deal for the Open is seperate from the one they have for the Majors in the US and the Ryder Cup )
It will be not be negative to golf to have the Open on FTA - but it has the potential to be positive by reaching out to more people
Wolf
Well-known member
I haven't said anywhere it would be negative toward golf Phil.. Are you reading what you want to read again instead of the actual post.
My comments are as to why having it free to air makes no difference in answer to the question of will it help promote the game at a grass roots level and get more people interested.. Simple answer is no it won't.
Golf suffers many other issues that prevent people trying to play the game as newbies and free to air TV is not the answer to solving it. The Open lost its protected status and I see no point bringing it back, its not the answer to solving why people don't take up the game.
As for potential to be positive for reach more people again having it broadcast doesn't mean more people will play, they still have to overcome the other far more important obstacles and they have to actually be interested in the sport enough to spend out the cash to try it.
GB72
Money List Winner
But it is the exclusivity that attracts the bigger deal and makes golf appealing to Sky. You take away a big event and the offer they make goes down expeditiously as does the attraction of covering European tour events. If you could pick and choose I suspect sky would only want the Open, BMW and the desert events that attract the bigger names.
D
Deleted member 15344
Guest
I never said you did say it was a negative ? You can point it out where I have said “YOU†said it was ?
Maybe you are doing exactly what you accusing me off
Yes there are obstacles that do need removing and one includes exclusivity in both the clubs and in the broadcasting
D
Deleted member 15344
Guest
But it’s two seperate deals - one with the R&A for just the Open and one with the ET for everything else including the Ryder Cup - do you really think that Sky would stop the deal for the ET and Ryder Cup if they didn’t have the Open ?
Wolf
Well-known member
My apologies in this instance LP if you infer that ðŸ‘
I agree about clubs exclusivity needs removing, but I don't for one minute think access to the game has absolutely anything to do with the broadcasters. Golf is not a fun sport to watch especially if you get an open in bad weather though that may appeal to the likes of us golf fans, Non golfers will not see that as any sort of fun worth doing.
GB72
Money List Winner
Maybe not the Ryder cup, which is an attraction in itself, but the European tour May be at risk. How many events are actually of much interest. The general aim is to hoover up rights until you are exclusive and then those who want to watch golf enough subscribe. Remove any chance of that and the package becomes less interesting.
As I have said before, the BBC could have the Open if they wanted it, just cut back on the obsession with over priced football rights packages.
SwingsitlikeHogan
Major Champion
I doubt very much that more golf on terrestrial TV will do anything to draw youngsters in to the game - in fact it might do the opposite. So much about golf is superficially boring and apparently fuddy duffy. And nothing seems to happen in a short watch that screams out 'WATCH THIS! A kid switches on golf - evaluates what they see - and switches off - quite possibly never to be seen with a golf club in hand.
If a viewer - any viewer - knows little or nothing about golf then they just won't watch it. If education and introducing folks to golf happens through other comms channels then TV can ride on top of that.
If a viewer - any viewer - knows little or nothing about golf then they just won't watch it. If education and introducing folks to golf happens through other comms channels then TV can ride on top of that.
hines57
Challenge Tour Pro
the wider the availability of coverage of golf, the better exposure of the game to all.
Reports say that total TV households in the UK are around 27M whilst only around 11M have payTV. That means that over half of households miss out on live pay TV sports coverage.
Add content that is likely to draw in those that don't currently play. Create content that draws in younger folks and shows more of the potential that the game has to offer. Continue to dispel the fuddy-duddy, privileged image that some still propagate in the media - plenty of opportunity to do more to open up the game to a wider participation.
Just my 2c to add to the discussion
Reports say that total TV households in the UK are around 27M whilst only around 11M have payTV. That means that over half of households miss out on live pay TV sports coverage.
Add content that is likely to draw in those that don't currently play. Create content that draws in younger folks and shows more of the potential that the game has to offer. Continue to dispel the fuddy-duddy, privileged image that some still propagate in the media - plenty of opportunity to do more to open up the game to a wider participation.
Just my 2c to add to the discussion
duncan mackie
Money List Winner
Another for whom around with Allis was the introduction & the hook....
After that you really do make your own choices (most of my kids have sky sports - but don't watch golf)
After that you really do make your own choices (most of my kids have sky sports - but don't watch golf)
Dan2501
Tour Winner
The thing you're missing though is that the terrestrial TV channels don't want it. BBC not only lost the TV rights to Sky, but gave them away a year early. This isn't Sky taking it away from FTA, it was actively given to them because the BBC no longer wanted to support it. It's not going to be made protected again if the FTA channels don't want it and aren't willing to pay for it.
Also, I seriously doubt the claims that having it on terrestrial TV is going to get kids watching it, I doubt there are many kids watching terrestrial TV nowadays. If we were talking about streaming the Sunday broadcast FTA on a platform like YouTube, like BT did with the CL Final, then that could potentially be a very good move, especially with a stacked leaderboard or a Stenson-Mickelson-esque final round scenario, but sticking it back on the tired old BBC with Allis droning over it is not going to get kids interested in the game and isn't going to happen.
Be interesting to see a poll amongst those that play golf like everyone on here who actually [enjoy] watching golf on the TV irrelevant of how it’s screened. By this I mean every day of a tournament when time allowed, even everyday of a major?
I struggle to watch it on the TV, period, and I love the game!
I’ll have it on in the background and look up when something great happens, but I can’t watch it blow for blow. I’ve observed this at the club when it’s on the big television and everyone is chatting to each other then looking when the crowd reacts, nobody is glued to the screen.
The only difference is a last day last few holes scenario when it’s close, if it’s a done deal very early I’ll have little interest watching the closing holes, I’ve witnessed this at the club also.
So if televised golf can’t encapsulate [golfers] to watch, how on earth will it catch the casual viewer who comes across it and starts to watch it and makes then think, you know what, I think I’ll look into this a bit more and give it a go?
I struggle to watch it on the TV, period, and I love the game!
I’ll have it on in the background and look up when something great happens, but I can’t watch it blow for blow. I’ve observed this at the club when it’s on the big television and everyone is chatting to each other then looking when the crowd reacts, nobody is glued to the screen.
The only difference is a last day last few holes scenario when it’s close, if it’s a done deal very early I’ll have little interest watching the closing holes, I’ve witnessed this at the club also.
So if televised golf can’t encapsulate [golfers] to watch, how on earth will it catch the casual viewer who comes across it and starts to watch it and makes then think, you know what, I think I’ll look into this a bit more and give it a go?
Foxholer
Blackballed
Perhaps you could work in reverse....
Determine whether there was a decline in participation following the 'demise' of Free2View Golf - or at least whether the demise caused a greater reduction in participation.
Wolf
Well-known member
Brilliant point that. I have Sky sports but how often I actually watch golf by sitting and viewing the action isn't often. It'll often be on if nobody is home or Mrs has gone to bed, but even then I'll be doi g something on the Internet, reading a book or playing a game. Actually sitting watching it has been restricted to Last day of the Masters, bits of the PGA and most US Open as I like the event. As for the Open I watched bits sporadically as it just didn't interest me, that's nothing to do with the broadcaster just the event itself, watching people struggle in the wind isn't entertaining and the last day whilst brilliant for Lowry from a non golfer spectator point of view it was dull nothing particularly interesting happened.
D
Deleted member 15344
Guest
How do you know “they don’t want it†? Are you sure it’s not because they can’t match the bids due to budget constraints- BBC bid for the Open but Sky trounced the bid
BBC would love the Open but they are priced out of it
And how many kids are taking it up now because it’s on Sky ? With the sport being on Sky is it attracting people to play ? No because the only people who will pay to watch golf are people who are already into golf
Who gets more viewers when the BBC shows the final two rounds of the Masters- the BBC do , their highlights package gets more than the Sky live coverage does - just because you don’t like Allis and co doesn’t mean everyone does
I think there is a poll on Facebook - 80% say it should be FTA
The Olympic events being FTA encouraged a lot of people to take up a good number of sports - you can’t just dismiss the ability of FTA sport having the potential to attract people to the sport
Right now the level of viewing figures watching golf is poor maybe it’s time to redress that
I can’t see how that’s measurable, there’s far too many other factors that could be a cause for any reduction in participation than just what golf is televised on, as has been covered within many posts already.
And there’s a huge difference in [participation] and new blood starting or returning, as an example, we have been attracting many new members of late, and we are full, but most are from other local clubs or people who have relocated to the area, but those newbies have mainly replaced those who have contributed to our flag being at half mast almost everyday or have other commitments and the cost of golf has been put on the back burner.
I don’t think clubs like mine see [new starters] unless they have a family member at the club, or they bring along a friend. So looking at membership numbers isn’t key, because member clubs have been removing joining fees more and more lately making golf more accessible, so many move around now for variety, and cost, as the difference in membership in my area can have a variable of around £800 or more!
I read only recently in an England Golf news bulletin that memberships in clubs across England were up and there wasn’t a decline overall, there maybe an imbalance in age groups, but hasn’t that always been the case?
Because as he stated, they, the BBC, handed it over a year early, if it was such an ace in the pack they’d have hung on to it until the last day of their contract and squeezed every bit of benefit out of it, but they didn’t! So let’s be honest here, they have the money as can be seen with what they pay out for other sports and commentators (Lineker) and god knows what else, but golf doesn’t appeal to them. And as for polls and numbers, they’re mainly completed by ‘golfers’ so it’s irrelevant to the case in point.
