Petition: Make The Masters and The Open free-to-air

[elliottH]

Hi all, our Senior Content Editor Tom Clarke has created a petition titled: Make The Masters and The Open golf tournaments Category A free-to-air

If you'd like to sign it the link is below and please share it around, thanks!

https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/300427

 

[HomerJSimpson]

Popcorn time. Hope its not all been panic bought

 

[Robster59]

I've always said The Open should be one of the events that is protected as free-to-air. When this was first announced I believed it was short-sighted, and I still believe that to be the case.
The fact it is free-to-air means that it is more accessible for all. Not everyone has access to pay TV and not all the time. Many clubs can't afford Sky because of the way Sky works it's fees out for commercial use.
It used to be that people could watch The Open in the club after a game but if the club don't have Sky then potential extra revenue has gone.
Also the fact that no major golf tournaments are not on free-to-air means that less people see it and get an inclination to play. The game is running out of young blood and needs all the help it can get.
I'm not saying making The Open free-to-air would solve the problem, but I do believe it would help.

 

[Deleted member 21258]

Hi all, our Senior Content Editor Tom Clarke has created a petition titled: Make The Masters and The Open golf tournaments Category A free-to-air

If you'd like to sign it the link is below and please share it around, thanks!

https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/300427

I thought GM from its articles were firmly not in favour of this and they believed that demand on view or like, was the way things are now(I don't agree with that yet).

So why list a petition, if you don't believe in it or have you changed your minds ?(or maybe I missed read the articles)

Martin Slumbers, the Chief Exec of the R&A, recently stated that 10.2 million people played golf each year in the UK. The loss of live coverage of these Majors, and the inspiration that it gave to those that watched, means that golf will forever lose generations of future stars.

Also am I missing something here on the petition, aren't they the people who are in charge of placing the Open to pay to view and can change it at the end of the contract(or do they want out of the current contract but cant get out for a few years?? and are somehow trying to blame someone else, for their decisions) ?

So why don't they do something about it for the UK major.

All very Weird and I don't follow.

 

[Deleted member 1147]

I understand the issue with The Open as it's a British event, but the Masters has nothing to do with the us, it's an American event with some British participation..

 

[Imurg]

Would I like to see them on free to air ....?
Yes.
But only if they're going to do it properly
Show the whole thing, put the top pundits and commentators on it, make it worth watching.
If they're not going to do that then I'd rather pay for it and watch on Sky via Now TV.
Because Sky do a decent job of it.

 

[Deleted member 16999]

Agree with The Open, not with The Masters.

 

[sunshine]

Many clubs can't afford Sky because of the way Sky works it's fees out for commercial use.
It used to be that people could watch The Open in the club after a game but if the club don't have Sky then potential extra revenue has gone.

If you're at a golf club you're already a golfer. It's the kids and the casual fans who no longer have the exposure to golf on tv, so a huge number of potential future golfers are being missed.

To be fair, the BBC had a decent highlights programme every evening during last year's event, which is probably better suited to their remit, but the drama is missing when it's not live.

 

[IanM]

Would I like to see them on free to air ....?
Yes.
But only if they're going to do it properly
Show the whole thing, put the top pundits and commentators on it, make it worth watching.
If they're not going to do that then I'd rather pay for it and watch on Sky via Now TV.
Because Sky do a decent job of it.

Agree completely, but subscription only marginalises sport..... so I can see both sides of this.

 

[Wolf]

I don't get the demand or the thinking its a right for it to be free to air. Its a pretty minority sport compared to other games and to the providers of the event a business and as such they will go with the highest bidder which is fair enough. We as consumers don't have a right to any programming or sport but do have the option of paying for a broadcast service that has the sports we want to pay for.

 

[Crow]

I thought GM from its articles were firmly not in favour of this and they believed that demand on view or like, was the way things are now(I don't agree with that yet).

So why list a petition, if you don't believe in it or have you changed your minds ?(or maybe I missed read the articles)

Not sure if it's still the case but Sky were a major advertiser/partner at GM not so long ago....

 

[Deleted member 21258]

I don't get the demand or the thinking its a right for it to be free to air. Its a pretty minority sport compared to other games and to the providers of the event a business and as such they will go with the highest bidder which is fair enough. We as consumers don't have a right to any programming or sport but do have the option of paying for a broadcast service that has the sports we want to pay for.

Do not disagree with what you say. Personally would like to see it free to view, just purely to try to keep as many watching the sport as possible, which hopefully would lead to more income for golf clubs.

When thinking about ones that are protected, why is Wimbledon protected and some others, tennis is more of a minority sport than golf, see a rough breakdown of sports :-

https://www.statista.com/statistics/975115/sport-participation-england/

Should horse racing, tennis, rugby, Scottish cup final etc You make an interesting point should they be for minority sports or maybe why any.

Heres a list of all the sports protected (and on what basis):-

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ofcom_Code_on_Sports_and_Other_Listed_and_Designated_Events

 

[Deleted member 21258]

Not sure if it's still the case but Sky were a major advertiser/partner at GM not so long ago....

Never knew that.

You will have to spell it out for me, what are you suggesting

 

[Robster59]

If you're at a golf club you're already a golfer. It's the kids and the casual fans who no longer have the exposure to golf on tv, so a huge number of potential future golfers are being missed.

To be fair, the BBC had a decent highlights programme every evening during last year's event, which is probably better suited to their remit, but the drama is missing when it's not live.

What I mean at the club is that if the golf is on the TV in the clubhouse, people may be more inclined to stick around for a pint/coffee/sandwich for an hour or so and so bring in extra revenue for the club.

You're right about the drama, having it on continuously gets people more involved. They could potentially put it on BBC 4 as that is not used in the daytime or live stream it as they do with some other programmes and BBC 3.

 

[duncan mackie]

What I mean at the club is that if the golf is on the TV in the clubhouse, people may be more inclined to stick around for a pint/coffee/sandwich for an hour or so and so bring in extra revenue for the club.

Alternatively those same people might decide to stay at home and watch the available free coverage rather than go to the club at all...

IMO people who don't have the cost option at home are more likely to sit somewhere that does (and consume as appropriate) but if they do have it at home, or it's free to air, they will watch at length at home, if at all.

Just another way of looking at it.

 

[GB72]

I suppose that the first question is, do any of the free to air channels actually want the rights. The Masters is less of a tricky point in that it is on later at night and so does not absorb as much of the schedule but would any of the free to air channels want to clear their daytime schedules for 4 days and pay not only for the rights but also the cameras, coverage team, expenses etc at a time when the fill the time with cheap to produce but populist programming.

You also have the image issue. Golf, despite its best efforts is seen as white, middle class and elitist and to remove people's favourite programmes for that is not going to go down well.

There is also the issue of the game as a whole. Watching one or 2 tournaments months apart will not do much to attract attention, especially with net to no other media coverage of golf throughout the year. Furthermore, Sky bases its coverage on having exclusivity. If you suddenly dilute that, is it still going to want to put money into the European tour. Equally, and I have said this on rugby and other threads, I feel that getting rights to a major event should come with an obligation to at least have a weekly highlights show of the rest of the season.

Just my opinion but then again I have never been a massive fan of watching golf.

 

[IanM]

Surely the whole point is growing (or maintaining) the game by maximising access to it and awareness of it. That's The Masters, The Open and The Ryder Cup.

No golfers in my family, I got interested watching Seve win in 84 at St Andrews and that was cemented by watch the 85 Ryder Cup.......... if those had been on Sky, I wouldn't have seen either.

Sky are paying the cash and doing a grand job, but they are only preaching to the converted!

 

[casuk]

I understand the issue with The Open as it's a British event, but the Masters has nothing to do with the us, it's an American event with some British participation..

No actually it's a Scottish event that was hijacked by the English and rebranded as the British open, and yes the open should be free to air,

 

[Kellfire]

I assume Golf Monthly magazine is about to become free?

 

[Dan2501]

I assume Golf Monthly magazine is about to become free?

Start the petition.