First Masters Question: Is Augusta Live Undermining CBS's Credibility?

In reading reviews of the CBS coverage, most focus seems to be on the announcing and how they followed the Tiger-Phil drama. Bradley Klein charted these numbers:

The first commercial break didn’t come until 66 minutes into the telecast, and all told, by my count, we saw only 20 minutes of ads. That left time for golf, 378 shots in all shown live or “a moment ago.” Those shots comprised 57 drives; 96 full approaches into greens; six pitch-outs; 35 chips, recoveries or sand shots; 52 long putts, 83 short putts and 49 tap-ins. As for the common argument that we see too much putting, the evidence shows that 49 percent of all shots shown took place on the green.

Michael Hiestand in the USA Today really doesn't say much at all, but I thought I'd link it anyway. Kind of following in that Rudy Martzke tradition, isn't he? 

Chris Zelkovich picks on some of the sappier CBS comments in entertaining fashion. Don't worry, PK, he doesn't mention you!

Unmentioned in these reviews is the impact of Augusta Live, the amazing online bonus coverage that DirectTV subscribers also had access too.

On the live blogs here, we were consistently astonished just how few live shots CBS shows in comparison to what we were seeing in the online coverage of Amen Corner and the 15th/16h holes. Our friends watching BBC reported comments from post round interviews we never would have gotten and several other observations based on seeing actual golf shots instead of pre-packaged material.

For instance, we live blog participants knew all about Anthony Kim's historic round Friday as well as Rory McIlroy's disastrous finish and his ruling controversy, all thanks to Augusta Live or tips from viewers overseas. Yet for CBS, it was if they had a set script and no golf was going to get in the way.

Also disastrous was the 12th hole sequence Sunday. Every year the 12th tee caddy-player discussions provide us with the ultimate pressure moment. When Phil and Tiger arrived there, Ian Baker Finch and Nick Faldo talked over way too much of the club selection discussions. Now, I admire both as announcers and Faldo was particularly strong last week. So part of me wonders if they are told to talk viewers through things because there are so many non-golfers watching.

But I couldn't help noticing that Ian Eagle and Matt Gogel, announcing on Amen Corner Live coverage, went silent as Tiger-Stevie/Phil-Bones made the all-important 12th tee decision. (In hindsight, I should have muted my CBS feed.)

So my question: Is Augusta Live undermining CBS's credibility by exposing just how few live shots we see and golf shots period? Or is this merely the future of the broadcasting the Masters, where a network feed is an excessively-produced, almost documentary-style telecast for the masses while we viewers at home select feeds we want to watch, ala Augusta Live?

Comments

[Hawkeye]

That's an interesting thought. Newscasts over here have taken that route - since most people know the important events of the day by nine o'clock after reading online newspapers, the nine o'clock news show has adopted a more in-depth approach to their reporting, with only two or three stories being focused on in its thirty minutes. If more people get access to online golf, that may well be the way to go for the networks.

[Four-putt]

When Kenny Perry putted for birdie at 16 Sunday, Verne Lundquist decribed the putt but failed to mention mentioned the ball struck something on the way to the hole, it hopped sideways, moving it even farther offline.

In fact, not once in four days do I remember anyone saying a player had a bad lie (except in the pine straw). Apparently, CBS announcers do not criticize the conditioning.

And as usual, Jim Nantz poured more syrup Sunday than a Waffle House waitress.

4p

[MacDuff]

Agree with you there 4p, Pastor Nantz is a big turn off, even the Masters music is starting to grate on me. I got ESPN for first time this year and thought their early week coverage more fresh than CBS at the weekend (still like Faldo, Feherty, and IB-F though.) Looks like direct feeds are the way to go...do they work with dial-up? (irony font)

[Brad Ford]

No. CBS credibility is shot by pretending, all day long, on Saturday that Tiger was in contention. While ignoring the actual leaders, we saw every single one of Tiger's shots.

Even on Sunday, they refused to follow the leaders in case Tiger finished 17 and 18 in a combined score of 2.

[pitman55]

I was rooting for Kenny Perry but the one good thing about Cabrera winning is that it Jim (funeral director smile) Nantz couldn't ask his usual sappy questions to the winner..The ones where he tries to get the winners to cry or get emotional..Questions like that get lost in translation..Nantz should check and see if he can get that operation in Young Frankenstein..Him and Kelly Tilghman can each get on the table and they can switch their brains and bodies..She would be better as a man and he would definitely be better as a woman..and he coud get that announcing job on the Womens Entertainment Channel that he craves..

[Average Golfer]

Nantz is well into his quest to be bestowed an honorary green jacket. It's obviously a lifetime pursuit.

[Golf Curious]

Geoff ... go back to the Masters' green on the site! This blue business is too reflective of our mood after a week of Masters' addiction! Great job on the live blog ... a lot of work for you and much appreciated ... and a lot of new site fans now, I'm sure.

[JohnR]

Any chance the USGA was paying attention and there will be something similar at the US Open? I don't know if there are any hole/tee configurations like Amen corner though. Could be done at the Player's at 16 and 17 though (by the Tour).

I've always thought one channel for golf fans, and another for those who like "production values" was the way to go.

John

[al p]

Geoff
I believe we have seen the future, and I like it.
Assuming that I can get my laptop working with wireless internet connnection.

I think the ultimate goal is to allow us to be our own producer. Cameras on every hole and we get to pick what hole we get to watch. If we want to follow Phil and Tiger the whole time, just point and click. If we want to see Todd Hamilton ( he was in the tournament wasn't he?) just point and click.

The key is who makes money and how do they make it.

[Jordan]

On-line feed was awesome. For example, Mike Weir nearly made double eagle on 13 on Friday. Never would have seen it but for the live feed. And that's but one example of stuff you didn't see on CBS. Unfortunately, the obsession with Tiger, by all the networks, is just something we probably have to live with. But the live feed was wonderful, and maybe it will catch on.

Unless I missed it, CBS never used Shot-Tracker. Maybe because Augusta bans it. But I think that would have added to the coverage.

[Wisconsin Reader]

Like many readers of this site . . . I watched the CBS coverage while also following the Masters.org live feeds. . . Went back and forth between the two for audio. . . They work just fine together . . . While Nantz is not my favorite (too late now to get Vin Scully?) it makes no difference to my enjoyment if he is too mushy or CBS shows something live or 1 minute later.

I am very appreciative of Augusta National's efforts to bring so much of the tournament to us. Fascinating how the Club has embraced technology - Bill Gates is a member - right?

[harold]

I kept up on the internet as I don't have a TV and enjoyed the coverage of 11-13 and 15-16. On Sunday we caught some of the oversees coverage online and I really enjoyed it. They had a couple of interviews that seemed to add to the coverage for me. I will be doing the same for the other majors as well.

Harold

[Smolmania]

Objection, your honor. The question as posed assumes a fact not in evidence.

Loved the on-line coverage on Thursday and Friday (thank goodness the boss was in Florida so there was no one here to beef me for watching the computer for six hours a day rather than working/billing).

[OWGR Fan]

4putt....

Kenny Perry nearly aced 16 on Sunday. He putt was all of 6 inches.

[RadioGolfShow]

Discussion of the putrid ota (over the air) coverage by ESPN/CBS is COMPLETELY lost on the 'PTI' sports fan. You know, the ones that think Chris Berman is funny and that PTI is a great show.
Yet, getting access to the masters.com (no longer 'org', eh?!) coverage was an eye opener to serious GOLF fans (you know, the goof balls that read geoff shack, etc...).
What it really did was reveal the tough decision a director for CBS must continually have: appeal to the common denominator or cater to the serious, knowledgeable golf fan. What a good topic for my show this Saturday.
Unfortunately, I am leaning toward growing the game of golf...and in doing so, that means more Tiger coverage while he is 6 shots out, and less Todd Hamilton coverage 3 shots out. Being a Sooner like Todd, that hurts to say!

[Ian C]

It is actually possible to increase the amount of Tiger coverage while he is 6 shots out short of the camera following him around after he finishes his round?

[Ky Laffoon's Ghost]

So my question: Is Augusta Live undermining CBS's credibility by exposing just how few live shots we see and golf shots period?

Yes. This has been another edition to "Simple Answers to Simple Questions."

[Former S&T Convert]

The future is multiple feeds, you are the director, each hole has a feed or channel. I would pay "pay per view" price to be able to self direct a big event. Masters, Super Bowl, Final Four, Olympics etc.

[JimJax]

Anyone notice the poor technical quality of the Sat. & Sun. CBS telecast? The director would not give us decent close-ups of the putts. It was not possible to see the ball or hole on some occasions. Once the putt was struck, a grudging mini zoom was all that we got. Multiple angles - forget it! The worm cam view was seldom used. This was no place for on-the-job training for cameramen.

Combined with soft and slow greens, this was the least challenging putting weekend for the players that I can ever recall seeing over the past 25 years. Augusta is supposed to famous for their firm & fast greens. This year they were neither.

CBS used to provide great coverage of the Masters. The quality of their regular tournaments as well as the Masters has slipped to an all-time low.

[Fotherington Thomas]

The network coverage was marvelous. The winner won in the end. Everything about Augusta was wonderful, as always, as it should be. Hello clouds! Hello sky!

[Ted Cahill]

I watched the Amen Corner and 15 and 16 coverage on my IPhone. I am astounded at how well it actually works. Technology finally seems to be catching up to the promise. I loved the camera angles from this coverage- very wide that showed you the whole hole as players were making their approach shots. Is this kind of coverage exclusive to the Masters- or will the other majors provide the same?

[Buck]

RGS, it's already been proven that Tiger coverage has not helped golf growth.

[Aunt Blabbie]

The Masters has become my least favorite major. Too much tinkering with. And certainly, too much talking about.

[Peter Gompertz]

Bradley Kline might have 'charted the numbers' for US viewers but down here in Australia it was a completely different story. On both the first two days we had an Augusta commiittee man in a green jacket solemnly telling us that, 'in co-operation with our television company partners there will be 56 minutes of golf per hour and only 4 minutes of advertisements' ( cue hollow laugh ). Australian golf fans were getting a regular dose of 10 to 12 minutes an hour of ads; even more went Perry started losing it.

Does this mean that Channel 10 taking a feed from ESPN or CBS is not bound by the contract that Augusta has with the TV companies ? - we should be told. Anyone got the postal address for Billy Payne? so that I can take it up with him.

[Tim]

Not wanting to drone on or anything, but BBC has the magic red button, so during the Open, not only do we get 11 hours of commercial free coverage a day, we also can hit the red button, and get one of four other feeds - a fixed hole, or follow Tiger around, or do the summary to date, or main channel. It's been like that here for 5 years since I got here from Canada. Why does north america have such a technological backward approach? Must be ' follow the money.'

[ChiGtr]

I will start by saying I am an admitted and unapologetic Tiger fan. That being said, by following a few of the links provided and doing some basic math, I determined that CBS showed 95.7% of Parry's shots and 90.1% of Cabrerra's, not including sudden death, while showing 89.7% of Tiger's and 85% of Phil's. Campbell did get the short shrift with only 75.4% of his shots shown.

Of course, up until they got to 17, TIger and Phil were the only big names doing anything. Parry didn't do anything until late (after Tiger and Phil were off the course) and Cabrerra was all over the place. So, if you take the names out of the equation, CBS went with the best, most compelling golf. Not only were the numbers low, but many of the shots were incredible and worthy of seeing.

While CBS wasn't perfect, and Tiger and Phil are at the very least, polarizing, most of the complaints about coverage and air time seem to be inaccurate.

I enjoyed the coverage immensely; although it may be more of a case of "I don't know art, but I know what I like" syndrome.

[OWGR Fan]

Who is Kenny Parry?? Is he Craig Perrys brother?

[Randy Dodson]

Yes!

[thusgone]

tim: what is this little red button of which you speak? sounds perfect to me. the us telecom markets are dominated by a few monopolists/oligopolists. that is why we lag behind in such consumer friendly things as little red buttons and cheap broadband. the lack of competition and/or regulation means that there is no incentive for the providers to provide them.