Golf Channel Gets New Head

According to this Multichannel.com item he's Mike McCarley, NBC Sports' head of marketing/branding/communications. Whew! I was worried NBC might bring in someone from the production side or worse, with a background in golf!

According to this SBJ item from his last promotion, McCarley gave us "Sunday is football night."

True to his word, Ebersol promoted McCarley in August 2006, giving the executive oversight of the network’s sports advertising and promotion department.
 McCarley responded with advertising and marketing campaigns unlike anything NBC had ever tried before, such as his “Sunday night is football night” tag line for “Sunday Night Football.”

“That’s an approach that we had never come close to doing before, to create a brand that was an integral part of the American mosaic,” said NBC Sports President Ken Schanzer. “There’s a palpable difference between what we were doing in the past and what we’re doing today. ... That’s largely through his enterprise.”

And since 90% of Golf Channel's programming consists of promos for their shows, we can only dream of more American mosaic masterpieces!

Comments

[rmppia]

What a joke.

[RickABQ]

The Golf Channel appears to be following the MTV model - show less and less of what your channel is supposed to be about while copiously adding celebrities. I actually just want something apparently strange from them - golfers playing real golf in real tournaments, with the occasional SportsCenter type update (or Sports Night update, for those old enough to have seen that show) thrown in. Not contrived golf, not a love affair with Haney or The Donald or some homeless guy. Just various levels of competitive golf, maybe some travel features thrown in. Not. gonna. happen.

[RM]

McCarley was particularly impressive when he headed up the GE Microwave Division.

[Carry The Grant]

Tuesday night is golf night! Wait, that's not working. Let's try, Wednesday night is golf night! How's that? No? Ok, try the Thursday night is golf night! strategy.

[jjshaka]

Wow- what a great move! This guy is a genius for what he did on Sunday Night Football.
Because we all know that getting an exclusive time and the best 2 teams every Sunday night was a ratings death sentence.

[rb]

``McCarley was particularly impressive when he headed up the GE Microwave Division. ``

I know a couple of Golf Channel announcers I wish he would nuke!

[Wisconsin Reader]

Geez . . . From Geoff on down . . . What pessimism . . . Are you afraid this guy will screw up current golf channel programming. . . Oh wait - you already think it is awful now. . . How about giving the guy a chance - he got this job because he has been successful in sports television . . . Maybe Billy Ray will get his own show?

[Jordan]

I'm sorry, but the title, "Golf Channel's New Head" makes me think they bought new toilets.

[Alex]

Just as long as they show Tiger all the time, 24 hours a day. During tournaments, if Tiger is not in the field for that tournament, they should cut away to old footage of another tournament that he was playing in and show those shots of his.
And mike him up too!

[Vwgolfer]

Turn it into Tiger Channel:

1. Mistress Mondays: exclusive interviews, this last weeks!
2. Tiger Tuesdays!
3. Wreckless Wednesdays. Pictures and interviews of Cadillacs involved in crashes!
4. Time outs Thursdays! Tiger and the kids, Mac and cheese recipes from the driving range.
5. freaky Fridays, get your freak on with Tiger, learn exclusive tips from the man himself.
6. swing change Saturday's. Video and discussions of ALL the changes.
7. Short interviews Sunday's. Video of all 15 second interviews with Peter Kostis explored and dissected

[Bar Fedora]

Vwgolfer, you need a hobby!

[smails]

ebersol didnt come from sports and hes the best. most fo the guys doing golf now are really football guys doing somethign in the off season.

arent the highest rated shows on TGC stuff like big break (where are you Vince Cellini) and Haney?

[SteveC]

I don't know what's highly rated, but the idea that one episode of Hank Haney and Rush Limbaugh didn't include these two mega-watt personalities together was hyped to no end. How pathetic that they have a six show run and couldn't even get them together for six shows!

[Zenyatta HOY.]

RM--and the Sheinhardt Wig Co.

[LiquidKaos]

@Wisconsin Reader -

I get the feeling sometimes amongst this learned group that NOTHING will make them happier, lol. Just BASH BASH BASH, HATE HATE HATE. Gets old and tired and doesn't help me when trying to think of new ways to attract friends to the game.

Maybe this guy will do good? He can't hurt the channel right now - unless it sinks lower and goes away completely, which I personally don't want.

A few suggestions from me, a reformed pessimist and new-ish golfer, love the history of the game, light video production background...would sacrifice a body part to work in TV Golf Production...(in no particular order):

#1. Acquire rights to re-run the tournaments that people may have missed.
#2. Rights to shoot alternate coverage of the events that are broadcast by another company (special expose on: <insert weekly "young gun" here>)
#3. Mobile live streaming/replay coverage
#4. New "run-n-gun" visual style on-course shooting...(would go into more detail here, but don't need the idea ripped off too quick, lol)
#5. Hole descriptions accompanied by strategy graphics/voiceovers
#6. More full shots
#7. Less putts
#8. Less blimp - more "horizontal plane" shots, where the hole plays by the viewer in a left->right fashion
#9. Improved use of shot-tracker
#10. Historical footage of old tournaments - not one-off displays, but actually show something in sequence at set times to drive viewership at that time
#11. Other historical footage (documentary, Shells Wonderful World, etc.)
#12. NEW "Shell's Wonderful World of Golf"....a fantastic vehicle to CREATE some names. I'm sure a bunch on here would laugh at another "Battle at Bighorn" - but people would watch it.
#13. Rights to air all golf movies
#14. Proper discussion panels...I would love to hear some people discussing the merits of Dave Pelz vs. Paul Runyon, for instance.


That's it for now....I gots a lot kicking around in the noggin', lol. Negativity ain't gonna fix this! :)



-LK

[RM]

LK, McCarley's first order of business should be to hire you...with all body parts intact!

[cutter]

Golf channel definitely needs a shot in the arm... i'm now reduced to 'taping' the golf due to constant self-promotion and that ever-annoying Kelly Tilghman (please take her off tournament coverage/host). Upside for TGC is golf is even more global and the non-PGA tour players are better than ever. Bottomline more golf and less promo's/reality tv.

[LiquidKaos]

@RM -

lol, thanks...if I could apply somewhere, I would.

-LK

[Mashie]

Totally agree about rerunning previous week's tournaments for those who missed them the first time around. Also, have loved watching some places like Australia/New Zealand/Singapore/Hong Kong during late night hours when the weather is bad here. Far away places.

[LiquidKaos]

@Mashie -

Good points - the "faraway" aspect is a big selling feature, I think. That's where my plan (here's hoping Geoff's new connection to Golf Digest gets me a job, lol) to design a new treatment of "Shell's Wonderful World of Golf" would come into play...one of the best aspects of that show (in my opinion) was the fact that they were always playing on nifty courses around the globe.



-LK

[Amen Coroner]

LK you need to develop some content. Forget working for them and just supply them. Any one ever watch The Wandering Golfer? That was a decent show until they replaced the dude with the pretty face from Jersey. The content that TGC produces is either crap reality or a cheap imitation of another show. The Golf Fix is trying to be Mad Money. The Morning Drive is trying to be Mike and Mike. Stuff smells like a dead hippo!

[Colin MacGillivray]

LK
I have retired to "faraway" Borneo and am a member of two courses:
One KGS, http://www.kgswak.com/ has 36 holes and is close to home, Kuching, Sarawak
the other Damai http://www.damaigolf.com/ is an Arnold Palmer design course on the coast 40 minutes drive away.
Both are mature and empty during the week.
Each cost me about US$700 a year for me and my wife- unlimited golf.
Come and visit.

[GolfGuy57]

Don't worry folks if the Back Nine Network can ever get off the back porch they might give TGC a run for their money when it comes to offering programming about "golf."

[Tom McC]

Really looking to the Back9Network to give us some decent programming that is entertaining and informative at the same time. TGC is good for the tournaments and those of us that like to watch great golf shots in a competitive situation across the world. My bet is that Back9 will be a big hit and draw more folks to the game from a more friendly perspective.

[neyman]

I was very disappointed when it became clear that NBC Sports, the bastion of great broadcasters, was using Kelly Tilghman as a golf
announcer. What has happened to professionalism in the broadcast booth?