The Open 2016 - TV Coverage

[GB72]

Thing is the BBC could show live sport but they just want the crown jewels. Bring back Grandstand on a Saturday afternoon and show lower level sport, support grass roots sport directly. Thing is there is no glamour in that, no prestige, no excuse to send countless dozens of unrelated presenters from other shows on a jolly and so no sport. Sky may have a monopoly but they show nearly every event from the sports they cover and that deserves access to the big events. How many niche sports and events do sky show and you only get that by being funded by those who sign up to watch the big events

 

[freddielong]

So you like the coverage not the commentary.

I like gof, its that or nothing, Sky has you over a barrel.

 

[BrianM]

Sky are doing a great job, there is always going to be the argument about the bbc.
Most people must have sky these days, whether you enjoy it or not is a completely different argument.

 

[Imurg]

5-6 million Sky Sports subscribers according to figures from March.
So I'd replace the word "most" with "some"...

 

[Slab]

Plenty hours for us to devour and while you cant blame them Sky were a bit like a kid at Christmas wanting to show you all their new toys (even though some were still in the box) like bunker cams, pointed at a low sun with no player in the bunker!

'Yeah yeah I'm sure it's very nice son, just show it to me again once you unpacked it, built it and stuck batteries in it'

At home last night I was able to watch the feeds from my local satellite company so got the last couple of hours with no 'Sky branded' features
Much is a mirror but there's always differences on things like ad break quantity & duration, which golfers are chosen to get more air-time etc

 

[Slab]

5-6 million Sky Sports subscribers according to figures from March.
So I'd replace the word "most" with "some"...

Any idea if that includes or excludes the sky sports viewers on virgin, talk talk, & BT platforms etc?

 

[Snelly]

I saw the BBC highlights. So much emphasis on showing putts which is as dull as ditchwater. It looks as though it is produced and editors by people that just do not understand golf.

Peter Allis in fine form though....

 

[BTatHome]

Any idea if that includes or excludes the sky sports viewers on virgin, talk talk, & BT platforms etc?

I believe that's all platforms, but you can be sure that's not the number that watches golf. Based on previously figures I doubt they will get even a fifth of them watching the golf at any one time .... even the Ryder cup figures don't get close to that.

 

[Imurg]

Any idea if that includes or excludes the sky sports viewers on virgin, talk talk, & BT platforms etc?

No, that was a quick Google...
I have Virgin and although I get some Sky channels, to get the Sport would cost another huge chunk..I guess other platforms would pay loads extra too, so if you want Sky Sports you're probably better off going Sky first...
The amount of sport I would make it uneconomical
When The Open was on BBC I could dip in and out as I was able - today I can barely watch any, almost nothing tomorrow too. Probably going for a Now TV day pass for Sunday

 

[Hickory_Hacker]

Loving it and I'm enjoying the coverage but David Livingstone ... What a prat 😠

Other than him, pay per view gets my vote :thup:

Different rain in Scotland, players having to warm up? It's tropical up here this morning and there's players out there wrapped up like sair fingers, 14 deg and a warm wind, pussies!

Hang on, here comes 'the failed' expert Nick Dougherty, I'd pay another fiver a day to get him replaced.

 

[Slab]

No, that was a quick Google...
I have Virgin and although I get some Sky channels, to get the Sport would cost another huge chunk..I guess other platforms would pay loads extra too, so if you want Sky Sports you're probably better off going Sky first...
The amount of sport I would make it uneconomical
When The Open was on BBC I could dip in and out as I was able - today I can barely watch any, almost nothing tomorrow too. Probably going for a Now TV day pass for Sunday

Yeah out here we need to choose between naff all sport, DSTV or canal+ (or streaming)

Since canal+ is all in french that rules one out and I tried the naff all sport option for the first couple of years in-dispersed with streaming but with 2016 being such a huge year for sport (& golf) I relented and went with DSTV (based in South Africa I guess its our equivalent to Sky & like sky they like to charge their wad for sports/movies etc)

I wouldn't say I get full VFM but after missing out on Medinah (saw squat until I got the DVD shipped out!) and patchy Gleneagles viewing I didn't want to miss any more big golfing landmarks, now I'll happily sit through 5 hours of minor ET event on a Sunday or whatever PGA, LPGA, Sunshine tour event happens to be on

A generation ago we never got the sheer volume of golf we do now and it would be nice if FTA tv could still get the big events but this is also the cherry on top for all the broadcasters that slog it out week in-week out so i guess why should they share it when BBC & others aren't interested on a normal week tour event

 

[Sponge1980]

Any idea if that includes or excludes the sky sports viewers on virgin, talk talk, & BT platforms etc?

I have it through talk talk, costs £30 to add it to your package but it is a rolling contract and you can remove it after 1 month. I just add it for the majors, the Ryder Cup and the darts at Christmas time.

 

[BrianM]

Really enjoying Ian Poulter in the commentary box, comes across really well.

 

[Matty6]

Really enjoying Ian Poulter in the commentary box, comes across really well.

Was just about to post the exact same thing. Great addition to the commentary team.

 

[woody69]

Was just about to post the exact same thing. Great addition to the commentary team.

Ha... Was just about to post how dull he is. Why is he telling me stuff that is obvious? It's ended up in a bowl on the left? Yeah, I can see that Ian, how about telling me more about why that shot, best approach etc

 

[Region3]

Ha... Was just about to post how dull he is. Why is he telling me stuff that is obvious? It's ended up in a bowl on the left? Yeah, I can see that Ian, how about telling me more about why that shot, best approach etc

I agree he does tend to state the obvious a little too much, but it's early days for him as a commentator and overall I think he's doing a good job. Plenty of time for him to improve.

 

[big_matt]

Attendance looks very poor. Weather will be a factor but grandstands were pretty empty yesterday in the sun. Time to rethink the ticket structure and prices. In these times, how many people who arent fanatical about golf have a spare £85 or whatever for a days play during the working week?

 

[Lambchops]

Yeah out here we need to choose between naff all sport, DSTV or canal+ (or streaming)

Since canal+ is all in french that rules one out and I tried the naff all sport option for the first couple of years in-dispersed with streaming but with 2016 being such a huge year for sport (& golf) I relented and went with DSTV (based in South Africa I guess its our equivalent to Sky & like sky they like to charge their wad for sports/movies etc)

I wouldn't say I get full VFM but after missing out on Medinah (saw squat until I got the DVD shipped out!) and patchy Gleneagles viewing I didn't want to miss any more big golfing landmarks, now I'll happily sit through 5 hours of minor ET event on a Sunday or whatever PGA, LPGA, Sunshine tour event happens to be on

A generation ago we never got the sheer volume of golf we do now and it would be nice if FTA tv could still get the big events but this is also the cherry on top for all the broadcasters that slog it out week in-week out so i guess why should they share it when BBC & others aren't interested on a normal week tour event

Get yourself an android box and a sportsmania subscription mate - 50quid a year and all sports channels in HD

 

[ArnoldArmChewer]

I saw the BBC highlights. So much emphasis on showing putts which is as dull as ditchwater. It looks as though it is produced and editors by people that just do not understand golf.

Peter Allis in fine form though....

I loved his comment about the chap walking his dog on the beach, hope it wasn't a forumite !!

 

[FairwayDodger]

During my lunch break, I've been watching the hole 6,7,8 coverage on the open website. Which is fine apart from all the banal whittering on the commentary.