Tour Championship Ratings: 1.6 Overnight, Down 27%

From SportsMediaWatch (thanks reader Irwin):

Final round coverage of The Tour Championship, the final event in the PGA Tour FedEx Cup, earned a 1.6 overnight rating on NBC Sunday afternoon — down 27% from last year (2.2), but up 14% from 2011 (1.4).

The 1.6 overnight is the third-lowest for final round coverage of the event since the FedEx Cup began in 2007.

In addition, the 1.6 is the third-lowest for any FedEx Cup telecast on broadcast this year (eight telecasts). Only Saturday’s third round (1.4) and last week’s Sunday rainout coverage of the BMW Championship (0.9) earned lower overnights.

Speaking of Saturday’s third round, the 1.4 overnight marked a 36% decline from last year (2.2) and a 27% increase from 2011 (1.1).

For some context, the Aberdeen Asset Management Scottish Open, which probably cost the sponsor 1/4th of what the Tour Championship costs Coca Cola, delivered a 1.3 on a Sunday morning in July!

At least they aren't Houston Astro numbers.

Holly Pitches First Pitch At Rays Game

Unfortunately with the team mired in a thrilling pennant race that meant another miniscule crowd was on hand for a Rays game.

Thankfully we have video to see Golf Channel's Holly Sonders re-inventing the first pitch. Well done!

Update on 2013-09-17 17:49 by Geoff

**The Big Lead posts a live-changing GIF of the occasion along with some pre-game photos.

Golf Channel Producer Loses Gigs Over Tell-All Book

Martin Kaufman reports that Golf Channel removed longtime producer Keith Hirshland from his assignment to produce the 2013 Walker Cup telecast after the release of his self-published memoir. The move took place two weeks ago and also covers upcoming work on PGA Tour coverage, though his future status with the network is unclear.

Not to worry though, Hirshland could land at Fox Sports soon enough. You may recall it was his wife, Sarah, who engineered the USGA's television contract move to Fox Sports. 

In a brief email exchange, a Golf Channel spokesman indicated the USGA’s decision had no bearing on the decision to remove Hirshland. The spokesman said the reason was based on “100 percent book.” He declined further comment.

Reached by Golfweek, Hirshland declined to comment.

Johnny Thinks NBC May Be Grooming Johnny-Type Replacement

Alex Myers with more from Johnny Miller on Tiger's game, the USGA's move to Fox Sports and the future at NBC for himself and his Johnny Miller-type replacement.

"It's not going to really impact my decision on what I do as an announcer," Miller said of NBC losing the U.S. Open. "I really don't know what NBC/Golf Channel has in store for me after two years. I would think they are starting to think about grooming a new Johnny Miller-type announcer but I don't know who it is, and I'll probably do some things, I just don't know how much. We'll just have to see."

Ed Sherman has more from Johnny's chat to promote next week's playoff from Chicago, not that you needed any reminder!

Must Read For American Sports Fans: NY Times' "Remote Control: Inside The Power Of ESPN"

Outside of the USA I can't imagine the three-part NY Times story on ESPN to be of much interest, but in light of the recent Fox Sports deal to acquire USGA events along with ESPN's role in broadcasting the Masters and The Open, and Golf Channel's place in the cable "bundling" world, this three-parter is a must for sports business fans.

Parts one and two of the stories by Steve Eder, Richard Sandomir and James Andrew Miller deal mostly with college football, while part three gets into ESPN's future and the potential for ending the bundling of channels that lets ESPN take in $6 billion before ever selling a single ad.

But Matthew Polka, the industry lobbyist for small cable operators, said, “On à la carte, there was no stronger opponent than Disney and ESPN.”

And ESPN has no more stubborn nemesis than Mr. McCain. This past spring, with cable rates and ESPN’s monthly fees continuing to rise, he revived an effort aimed at undoing bundles.

“Why do I pick on ESPN?” Mr. McCain said in an interview in May. “I’m not picking on them. But they are the most glaring example of what people are required to watch — I mean pay for — even if they never watch it.”

And there was this, which could either be seen as justifying the overpaying for sports rights, or...

Meanwhile, companies like Google, Sony and Intel are planning virtual cable services that would be delivered on the Internet. They could lure consumers from traditional pay television as low-cost alternatives to traditional pay TV while also competing for major sports properties when ESPN’s contracts eventually expire. Mr. Skipper said he would make deals with these upstarts, but only on ESPN’s terms: they must take all of ESPN’s offerings, not just the ones they want.

With the rise of new competition come questions about the fate of existing customers.
Consumers are fleeing pay TV at a quickening pace: 898,000 in the past year, nearly twice the number in the previous year, the analyst Craig Moffett said. And in the past two years, ESPN has lost more than one million subscribers.

What’s more, ESPN ratings plunged 32 percent in the quarter that ended in June.

Mr. Skipper’s task — very different from that of predecessors who built ESPN into a powerhouse — is to negotiate a deeply uncertain future.

“It’s a high-class problem,” he said.

Hicks Thinks Johnny Will Stick Around Post-2014 U.S. Open

Ed Sherman interviews Dan Hicks about taking over announce duties for Notre Dame football and also addresses the "kick to the stomach" of losing the US Open to Fox starting in 2015. But on the minds of most is sidekick Johnny Miller's status, whose passion for the US Open was undeniable.

From the Sherman Report where he posts the interview, and Sherman's Tribune column.

I feel worse for (Johnny Miller) than anyone. He gives so much emotion to that championship. After I talked to (producer Tommy Roy), I called Johnny. You could hear the emotion in his voice.

Miller will be 67 next year. Is there any chance he does one final Open in 2014 and rides off into the sunset?

I don’t know. I don’t think so. I think Johnny is too good to just walk away because we’re not doing the Open anymore. He still wants to do some golf. Our team is tight. If the crew was breaking up, then I could see him leaving.

Sherman's Look At Golf Channel's Player-Analysts

I know as Golf World subscribers you've already opened your magazines or your digital editions to Ed Sherman's behind-the-scenes look at Golf Channel's player-analysts, but just in case you haven't seen it here's the link.

Sherman has all sorts of fun behind-the-scenes detail and info on the cast of characters who, because of golf's longevity, are the expert analysts even though they haven't won majors. Also interesting in the story is learning why Golf Channel won't be leaning on the superstars that sports like the NFL or tennis can look to: golfers have much longer careers. The story also features backstage images from Bob Croslin and Dom Furore.

Oh, and you get to find out how much money they make! Only in Golf World!

No Evidence Of Back9 Network's "Build-Out"

Thanks to reader Brad for Dan Haar's Hartford Courant story on Ahmad Rashad joining the BackNineNetwork as a personality and investor, but even the local paper is skeptical about the golf lifestyle network's planned 2014 launch.

Back9 renovated a floor of the "Boat Building" on Constitution Plaza in downtown Hartford and took space nearby on the plaza, formerly occupied by Spris restaurant, with plans to spend $8 million on a buildout. But that buildout hasn't happened yet, as the fledgling network seeks a deal with a major cable carrier.

Ahmad To Continue Off-Radar Activities, Inks Back 9 Net Deal

Absent from his two-day-a week Morning Drive role at Golf Channel for some time now, it turns out Ahmad Rashad must have been in high-level negotiations to take his earring to Back9Network's vast online audience.

Happier times? Little did I know that it's been reported Ahmad and Kelly Tilghman were not getting along, a report from The Big Lead said back on July 24 and missed by yours truly while vacationing). I've heard it was not true and the two got on fine.

Well there's no Tiger to fight over at Back9Network. And no airwaves yet, either.

For Immediate Release:

Ahmad Rashād Joins Back9Network as Executive Producer and On-Air Host
in Partnership Aimed at Changing the Face of Golf
 
HARTFORD, CONN., August 20, 2013:  Back9Network, the golf lifestyle multiplatform media network, announced today that Emmy Award-winning broadcaster, Ahmad Rashād, will join the network as executive producer and on-air host.  Rashād is leaving behind a co-host role at Golf Channel’s Morning Drive.
 
“We are delighted to welcome Ahmad to Back9Network,” said James L. Bosworth, CEO of Back9Network.  “Ahmad’s personal style, love of golf, and desire to grow the game aligns perfectly with the mission of Back9Network.  In addition, Ahmad brings a unique dimension to our network’s programming with his vision and relationships within both the golf lifestyle space and professional sports.”
 
“Back9Network is a special opportunity that I simply could not pass up,” said Rashād.  “I’m excited for the many possibilities that lie ahead.  Co-hosting Morning Drive was a great experience, and I would like to thank Molly Solomon and the Golf Channel for the past year.”
 
After a successful NFL career that included four Pro Bowl selections, Rashād  covered a variety of sports for NBC, ABC, ESPN, NBA TV, and Golf Channel.  In his new position with the Back9Network, Rashād will perform a number of roles that will help shape the new network’s identity and programming, including creative and executive team membership, on-air hosting, and the production and execution of special lifestyle event coverage around golf majors and other venues around the world.  Rashād also will continue his executive producer and host roles for the NBA.
 
Back9Network, which made its online debut in 2012, is focused on all the things golf fans love about playing and living the game.  Back9Network’s state-of-the-art TV studio and digital video production facility is located in downtown Hartford, Connecticut, which is quickly becoming the sports media capital of the world with ESPN, NBC Sports and YES Network also based in the state.  Back9Network plans to launch its television-programming lineup via cable and satellite in 2014.

Fox Sports 1 Launch: "It is not a hill they have to climb, it's the Grand Canyon."

Joe Flint in the LA Times files a Calendar section front page feature on this Saturday's launch of Fox Sports 1, the future home to USGA golf starting in 2015. He analyzes "the dominant and growing role sports is playing in the modern television industry" and takes us inside Fox Sports to learn more about what the network has planned to get itself into homes (so far not going so well) and attract viewers.

I can't wait for the afternoon roundtable show when this gang--headed by 18-34 yo favorite Regis Philbin--kicks around possible Walker Cup selections, maybe with Reege wondering if any of them go to Notre Dame.

"It is a bit out of left field, but that's what we do," said Fox Sports Co-President Eric Shanks of the hiring of Philbin to host "Crowd Goes Wild," an afternoon round table that will also feature former Baltimore Raven Trevor Pryce, Wall Street Journal columnist Jason Gay and Katie Nolan, best known for her racy sports-related YouTube videos.

You know when I think left field, I think the USGA!

As for those "racy" videos, think Sarah Silverman…only even less funny, less interesting, less intelligent, but worth bookmarking in your Dry Alternatives To Waterboarding folder.

From the story it sounds like Fox hopes to innovate in the audio department--and we know this new USGA deal is all about the innovation that the USGA didn't get from NBC and ESPN. Though I'm pretty sure that short of mics on players (at USGA events no less!), NBC's award-winning and impressive sound man Larry Cirillo has already been there, done that.

From David Hill of Fox:

Hill, who ran Fox Sports for decades and now oversees among other things "American Idol" and "The X-Factor," is known as an innovative producer. It was Hill who first came up with what now seems like an obvious idea to have the score and time left in a game superimposed on the TV screen. He put microphones inside bases to bring fans closer to the action.

"We spend more time and effort on audio than anyone else," he said proudly. "Close-up audio is far more emotive than close-up video.

And this ought to go over really well when blue blazer types sit down to watch the evening highlights:

Its flagship show "Fox Sports Live" — a nightly three-hour recap of the day's highlights and news — will be anchored by Jay Onrait and Dan O'Toole, two unknowns imported from Canada, where they hosted "SportsCentre" for the TSN sports channel there.

The pair are known for their morning zoo style, poking fun at the absurdities of sport with an ironic sensibility inspired by Conan O'Brien and Letterman. While some sportscasters these days are obsessed with statistics and overanalysis, Onrait and O'Toole want to keep it light.

When I think light and ironic sensibilities, I think USGA now and forever.