Shark! Greg Norman Out At Fox, Azinger In?

That's what Links Magazine is reporting on Twitter and I can confirm from a second well-placed source.

That source could not confirm, however, that Paul Azinger will be announced as Greg Norman's replacement after just a year as Fox golf's lead analyst. However, Azinger has gone very quiet of late on Twitter and has been widely rumored in recent days to be talking to Fox.

Furthermore, Azinger worked with Fox golf producer Mark Loomis when the trio of Mike Tirico-Nick Faldo and Azinger was widely revered for their fresh, fun and smart approach.

Azinger has most recently been lead analyst on ESPN's golf telecasts, but with the network down to just The Masters, his much-needed smart approach to players, championships, courses and the golf swing would be a great addition to Fox. Azinger will be an enormous upgrade over Norman, whose first year was marked largely by sounding unprepared, appearing unaware of players who were born outside Australia, and most of all, seeming very impressed with former World No. 1 Greg Norman.

If you're nostalgic, here is the Shark's first suggestion he would be Fox's lead man on USGA coverage, just hours after the announcement had been made.

Update on 2016-01-18 03:40 by Geoff

**Golfweek.com's Martin Kaufmann says the departure is essentially a firing.

During the final round of the Franklin Templeton Shootout in December, Fox put a third announcer, Brad Faxon, in the 18th tower with Norman and anchor Joe Buck. The hope, according to sources, was that Faxon’s presence would force Norman to become more engaged in the broadcast. Fox, however, apparently didn’t see a way forward with Norman.

Update on 2016-01-18 04:57 by Geoff

**Gary Van Sickle at Golf.com analyzes and offers this from a source:

Norman just wasn’t engaged in any of the FOX telecasts the way the network had hoped, the source said.

"It was tough for the whole staff because he wasn’t involved in the shows like a lead analyst should be," the source said. "Maybe he thought just being Greg Norman was enough. He's been successful in everything he's done in business but he wasn’t good at TV. He was a team player but when the cameras turned on, he just went silent."

Forward Press: Sean McDonough & Dye's Dominican Masterpiece

Other than a 1994 Shell's Wonderful World of Golf featuring Fred Couples vs. Ray Floyd, Pete Dye's Casa de Campo design hasn't been seen much on TV. Until this week.

In this week's Forward Press, I chatted with ESPN's Sean McDonough about the difficulty of working a golf broadcast featuring an almost entirely unknown field. That's the case at this week's Latin America Amateur Championship, brought to you by the Masters, USGA and R&A where a Master berth is up for grabs.

Also included are some embeds of fun "Teeth of the Dog" preview videos, including Dye reading writings about what he has said (at times) of his beloved design.

Other viewing tips include the Sony Open and a Caddyshack airing scrubbed cleaner than a Golden Globes telecast. Enjoy.

2016 Kapalua Overnights: Best In A Decade

Certainly it's nice to see that all of the young-gun hype and interest in Jordan Spieth's potentially historic trajectory is attracting viewers, though I'd contend it's even nicer to see Hyundai finally get improved ratings after a so-so run that likely ended after the 2016 Tournament of Champions. (However, the rumor mill suggests they are primed to be continuing on in a different PGA Tour event.)

Saturday's rating is probably the most impressive given the competition from an exciting NFL game.

From Golf Channel PR:

Golf Channel’s coverage of the PGA TOUR’s Hyundai Tournament of Champions posted Best Overnight Ratings in a Decade:

· Final Round Overnight Rating of .70 is Golf Channel’s “Highest Overnight Rating Ever” at the Hyundai Tournament of Champions. This more than doubled the Overnight Rating for 2015 of .34 (+106% vs. 2015)

· Golf Channel’s Final Round Overnight Rating (.70) was +35% from the overnight for any previous telecast of this event on Golf Channel (2007-16) and +52% from any prior Final Round at this event on Golf Channel (2007-16)

· World No. 1 Jordan Spieth’s 8-shot victory had significant television competition, including coverage posting a .60 Overnight Rating (6-8 p.m. ET) vs. Sunday’s late NFC Wildcard Game and posting a .81 Overnight Rating (8-10 p.m. ET) opposite the Golden Globes. Coverage peaked from 9:30-10 p.m. ET at .87.
 
For previous rounds, the Hyundai Tournament of Champions kicked off the New Year by posting “Highest Overnight Rating Ever” on Golf Channel (2007-2016):

· Thursday night’s First Round coverage posted a .33 Overnight Rating (+27% vs. 2015) from 6-10 p.m. ET.

· Friday night’s Second Round coverage posted a .40 Overnight Rating (+25% vs. 2015) from 6-10 p.m. ET, peaking at a .49 Overnight Rating from 8-8:30 p.m. ET.

· Saturday’s combined coverage on NBC and Golf Channel posted a Round 3 Overnight Rating of .74 Metered Market Rating (NBC 4-6 p.m. ET: .95; Golf Channel 6-8 p.m. ET: .52) and is “Highest Overnight Rating” for any 1st, 2nd or 3rd round at the Hyundai Tournament of Champions, matching ESPN’s coverage of the 2nd Round in 2006 (.74).

· NBC’s coverage of Round 3 (.95 Metered Market Overnight – 4-6 p.m. ET) is the “Highest Overnight Rating” for any telecast from this event in the last 10 years (2007-16). Coverage peaked at a 1.10 from 5:30-6 p.m. ET

· Golf Channel’s coverage of Round 3 (.52 Overnight Rating – 6-8 p.m. ET) is the “Highest Overnight Rating for Round 3” on Golf Channel (2007-16) and the best 3rd Round at this event on cable since ESPN’s coverage in 2005. Going into Sunday, this was also the “Highest Overnight Rating Ever for Any Round” of this event on Golf Channel (2007-16). Golf Channel’s coverage peaked at a .63 from 7:30-8 p.m. ET.

Golf Channel Matches Highest Rated Year After Slow Start

But who cares about that...millennials are watching! Well, 50% more than the previous year, no doubt thanks to a wave of millennials vying for majors.

The full release here. Some highlights for my copy and paste archiving purposes. The most notable number may be the finish to the year after a slow start:

ADDITIONAL 2015 GOLF CHANNEL VIEWERSHIP HIGHLIGHTS:
    •    Strong Finish to 2015 after Young Stars Energize (24-hour Total Day 6AM-6AM):
    ◦    First Quarter                 -14% YOY
    ◦    Second Quarter            +3% YOY – Tied Most-Watched Second Quarter Ever
    ◦    Third Quarter               +8% YOY – Most-Watched Third Quarter Ever
    ◦    Fourth Quarter             +13% YOY

Now to the only people who seemingly matter...

    ◦    “Millennial” Growth on Golf Channel (Average Viewers P25-34):
    ▪    +50% in Total Day with Persons 25-34
    ▪    +17% in Primetime with Persons 25-34
    ▪    +22% for PGA TOUR coverage with Persons 25-34

Now to the only people who actually pay the bills:

    ▪    Most-Affluent Audience in All of Television:
    ▪    Total Day: No. 1 most-affluent ad-supported television network for median household income ($77.1k) for the second consecutive year
    ▪    Primetime: No. 1 most-affluent ad-supported television network for median household income ($83.6k) for the second consecutive year

Peter Kostis' Next Post-Round Interviews With Zach Johnson And Billy Horschel Should Be Pleasurably Awkward

Peter Kostis, CBS on-course reporter, sometimes acknowledged member of Team Titleist who says the golf ball should not be blamed for distance increases, and Twitter motto-holder "Be positive, be happy," sounds really annoyed by players jumping ship to Parsons Extreme Golf.

He's even conducting a poll to confirm the sheer awfulness of the free-market at work.

Obligatory press release "these clubs r the best I've ever used".How many would be changing if $ wasn't involved?

— Peter Kostis (@peterjkostis) January 4, 2016

The news broke Monday included these press release quotes from Zach Johnson and Billy Horschel: 

“The decision to put PXG clubs in play was not one I took lightly,” said British Open and Masters champion Zach Johnson. “My entire team, from caddie to coach, was part of the discernment process. We all agree that PXG is undeniably the best equipment to help me achieve my goals on the course.”

“Being part of PXG is like being part of a very special movement in golf,” champion golfer Billy Horschel added. “What the company has accomplished in its first generation of equipment is mind-blowing. I’ve been playing some really incredible golf with PXG clubs and I feel very confident that great things are to come.”

Now, he could be also referring to new Nike man Brooks Koepka, but based on his quotes reported by Rex Hoggard or in this Nike roundup from Kyle Porter, it would appear Kostis is especially upset with Johnson and Horschel. Can't wait for those post-round interviews with two players are generally most forthright in their assessments.

A Less Rosy View Of Back9's Reorganization Attempt

Katy Stecha at the Wall Street Journal has gone through the court papers and paints a less flattering image of Back9's possible reinvention as an online website and app.

Most eye-opening is who and how much the failed network owed money to.

The five existing investors behind the $2 million offer are retired United Technologies Corp UTX +1.16%. executive Karl Krapek, private equity managing partner Denis Nayden, wood exporter Ted Rossi, KKR KKR -1.77% investment firm portfolio manager Paul Raether and Brian Furbish.

Under the purchase plan, the investors will continue to repay roughly $4.75 million in low-interest loans extended through Connecticut’s media tax credit program. The state’s decision to invest in the golf channel gave critics of Democratic Gov. Dan Malloy something to grumble about. As the Connecticut Post pointed out, Mr. Malloy’s chief of staff is married to a Back9Network employee. The network also employed former Democratic state Sen. Sanford Cloud Jr., his close ally.

The channel’s collapse stung an impressive list of more than 200 investors, including tech entrepreneurs, Wall Street executives, doctors and golf industry players. People who own small slices of the channel include New Jersey Devils part owner David Blitzer and UConn women’s basketball coach Geno Auriemma.

Here is the full list of those owed money by the failed network.

Back9 Network Planning Online Return, Expansion

Stephen Singer reports for the Hartford Courant on efforts by the failed television network Back9 to continue on as a website, app and email property, according to bankruptcy filings and confirned by CEO Charles Cox.

Singer writes:

Cox and co-founder Reid Gorman tapped $2 million from a group of investors, including Karl Krapek, former president and chief operating officer of United Technologies Corp., and Denis Nayden, managing partner of Oak Hill Capital Partners and former chairman and chief executive officer of GE Capital, the one-time financing unit of General Electric Co. They did not return calls seeking information on their roles in the return of Back9Network.

Back9Network executives acknowledged in the filing in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Hartford their failure to launch a profitable television network. They're now forming a "compelling online platform" of websites, a golf app and an email newsletter with 1.7 million subscribers, they said.

Anyone use the app cited by the network as key to its growth?

Fox Age Discrimination Lawsuit Cites Hiring Of Holly Sonders

Sports reporter Colleen Dominguez is suing Fox Sports over age discrimination and the sometimes-golf, sometimes-NFL reporter citing 28-year-old Holly Sonders as evidence of the network putting someone with less experience ahead of her. Dominguez's issues with Sonders relate to football telecasts, not golf.

Sean Zak at golf.com with the details.

In the lawsuit Dominguez alleges that "[Sonders] has no experience with the NFL, yet FOX has assigned Sonders to cover the 2015 NFL season. Dominguez is not receiving any NFL assignments although she has substantial experience covering the NFL."

When reached by GOLF.com, Sonders declined to comment about the lawsuit.

2015 In Golf Television

Golfweek's Martin Kaufmann lists his ten biggest stories of golf on television for 2015, with David Feherty's move to NBC/Golf Channel finishing second to Fox's "uneven" debut.

He sees Fox's innovation pushing the other networks. However I've yet to see CBS or NBC putting a mic in a cup or employing some of the architecture-friendly camera angles and animated flyovers that stood out. I sense Kaufmann is still trying to convince himself that his predictions of Fox innovation spreading like wildfire will come true.

The newcomer's Open effort was uneven, and certainly hindered by the USGA's regrettable decision to hold the event at Chambers Bay. Fox has big issues to address on its announcing crew in 2016. But it is pushing innovative technology, forcing CBS and NBC to follow suit, and it already is doing a better job than competitors at capturing on-course audio. In the long run, the new competition will make the industry, and the consumer experience, better.

Mark Rolfing Will Be Back

Great news from NBC/Golf Channel reporting that longtime course reporter and all-things-Hawaii has recovered from his cancer battle to return for next month's Hyundai Tournament of Champions at Kapalua.

"Debi and I would like to thank everyone for their overwhelming support during these past several months, including our Golf Channel and NBC Sports family, friends in the media, players and fans," Rolfing said. "The medical staffs at the University of Houston and MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston have been amazing. I'm excited to rejoin my colleagues in January in welcoming the PGA Tour back to Hawaii."

David Feherty's Rolling Stone Interview...

Wow.

"I've never been sure about the whole drug-testing aspect of the Olympics," says David Feherty, 57, a former European Tour player from Northern Ireland whose training regimen once included weed, cocaine and a daily dose of 40 Vicodin and two and a half bottles of whiskey. "If they come up with a drug that helps you play golf better, I am going to be so pissed – I looked for that for years."

Faldo, Nantz & Buck Prevail In Golf Digest TV Survey!

I'm not entirely sure what to make of the results given that Joe Buck and Greg Norman were runaway winners in their respective divisions for least liked while Fox didn't register on the least favorite network voting (TNT excelled despite doing only one event a year and mostly with CBS production values, so go figure). This may come as a blow to Norman, who continues to suggest folks were paid to Tweet negative comments about Fox's U.S. Open coverage.

Alex Myers sums up the results and makes some comparisons to the last survey, where it was all about Tiger Woods. This time around Nick Faldo and Jim Nantz cruised to victories, while there was little dislike for CBS and Golf Channel, but a real hatred for TNT. And Joe and Greg.

In fact, Buck and Norman were named least favorite in their respective categories, with Buck widely criticized for a perceived lack of golf knowledge and Norman getting knocked for a surplus of arrogance. It wasn't quite a Brent Musburger level of disdain—the former ABC golf announcer received 43 percent of our worst-host vote in 1996—but 39 percent named Buck their least favorite, and a quarter of those polled gave the Shark a biting review.

There was good news for Fox...they weren't included in the best/worst network balloting!

Forward Press: No Shortage Of Spieth & An Apology To Readers!

This week's Forward Press previews the unofficial Jordan Spieth week, as the 22-year-old Texan shows up Down Under all week and on Fox Thankgiving day.

That, plus news of a Australian Masters replay and my deepest apology for a huge oversight last week. Huge! I hope I can win back your trust.

Reminder: Day 2 Of Bones And Woody From St. Simons Island!

As mentioned this week in the Forward Press, this was an opportunity for fresh voices. And a new energy they brought!

Jim "Bones" MacKay and John "Woody" Wood immediately delivered a different vibe than the usual former golfer-turned on-course reporter. Day two starts at 1 pm ET on Golf Channel as the two loopers hit the course for RSM third round coverage.

Bones and Woody assessed day one with Steve Sands.

There was also a fun bit set up in advance where Bones told a story from the 1993 Ryder Cup involving Davis Love.

Oh No: Big Break Is President Obama's Guilty-Pleasure Show

I'm not sure what's of more concern: that President Obama tells Bill Simmons that watching the occasional chip-off from The Big Break is his treadmill guilty pleasure viewing, or that some poor aid is going to have to break the news that the show is on a hiatus of the permanent variety.

From the Simmons GQ interview hitting newstands.

Probably the guiltiest pleasure—and this is kind of lame—is Big Break. You know, on the Golf Channel? Which is kind of a silly show. [laughs] But I find it really relaxing.

So you watch it on the treadmill or something?
Yeah, when I’m working out sometimes late at night. I never see all the episodes, but if they’ve got some chipping contest or something… [laughs] It’s pretty lame. I do love Game of Thrones.