PGA Ends Up As Season's Least-Watched Major Final Round

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Paulsen breaks down the final ratings of the 2017 PGA Championship and he says the PGA Championship's ended up as the least watched final round.

Sunday’s telecast was also the least-watched final round of any major this season — narrowly trailing the British Open on NBC (4.910M) and the U.S. Open on FOX (5.1M). It fared better in ratings, tying the British Open and ahead of the U.S. Open (3.1).

Third round action on Saturday pulled a 2.2 and 3.2 million, down 21% and 24% respectively from 2015 (2.8, 4.2M). Last year’s third round was rained out, earning a 1.3 and 1.8 million. Excluding rainouts, it was the lowest rated and least-watched third round since 2012 (2.0, 2.8M).

He also reports double-digit declines for TNT's coverage.

3.6: 2017 PGA Ratings Lowest Since '08: What's Up?

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We have an off-season in golf to now explore the reasons for ratings slides in majors. With SBD's Austin Karp sharing the 2017 PGA overnight, we have a matching 3.6 final round average for the U.S. Open, The Open and PGA to ponder.

I have last year's final round number at 3.4, but I'll defer to Karp with his claim of lowest since '08:


Some eyeballs went to cable news coverage of the events in Charlottesville.

That the U.S. Open and PGA drew the same final round number as The Open's morning telecast is fairly remarkable, unless you factor in changing viewing habits, the broader appeal of Jordan Spieth and the marketing approaches of the three networks.

As for this PGA my theory on why the numbers were poor for what, in the last 90 minutes, was very compelling viewing with many players making a run at the title:

1. Lack of incentive: Brutal Saturday viewing and lack of mega-star power on leaderboard did not make Sunday appointment viewing.

2. Long telecast lowers the average audience size.

3. Commercial breaks. There was little incentive to sit in front of the television and watch due to relentless interruptions.

3. Eyeballs elsewhere: streaming coverage, cable news viewing

There is one other element raised here before but it again begs the question: is there a kumbaya effect? Do people find things less compelling when the protagonists like each other? My Golfweek colleague raised this point:

Media Roundup: The PGA Of America's Turner Problem

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Martin Kaufmann of Golfweek addresses the good and bad of PGA Championship day one and he's understandably pleased to see more tracer and hole graphics incorporated into the broadcast.

Not so pleasing, as many of you noted on Twitter and in messages, were issues with crashing app's every time the ad ran. And the traditional commercial overload was noted by many of you along with Kaufmann:

The big problem with the PGA Championship, with the exception of the bigger technology package, is that it often feels less like a major than an extended version of the Quicken Loans National. The PGA Championship has a great field – arguably the best of the year – but its stature is lessened by the way it is presented on TV. It’s difficult for a tournament to feel like a major when the network has a commercial break after every four or five shots.

It’s easy to criticize CBS for this, but I suspect the PGA of America, as the rights holder, has some responsibility. At the Masters, CBS’ agreement is to air no more than four minutes of commercials every hour. At the PGA, we might see that many commercial in the space of 15 minutes.

It should be noted that Kaufmann and I had better luck with TNT's app. The PGA app, which I received numerous crashing complaints about, is supported by Turner's technology.

Alex Myers noted what TNT was showing instead of morning golf. 

The frustration with TNT and CBS commercial/promo inventory is an annual affair at the PGA Championship, and because of current (ironclad) contracts, won't be remedied until a new deal begins in 2020.

CBS All In On Technology At The 2017 PGA

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If you listened to this week's ShackHouse, you know we're excited to learn from guest Amanda Balionis that CBS is emptying the bucket and giving us lots of technology on this week's PGA Championship telecast.

Martin Kaufmann explains at Golfweek.com what to expect, including this:

For the first time CBS will have Trackman on all 18 holes, cranking out data such as ball speed and curvature, and wireless Toptracer technology to track approach shots.

“I’m most excited that we can use the technology on all 18 holes,” Sean McManus, chairman of CBS Sports, said during a conference call last week.

CBS also plans to use: ARL Virtual Eye, which shows Trackman tracing of ball flight over a hole graphic adjacent to live shots of players hitting tee shots; bunker cameras; a cable-mounted camera tracking action on the practice range and 4K coverage on DirecTV of the final three holes.

This is clearly a response to good feedback the network has received to its efforts this year, and even if some of the technology is useful only to a hardcore fan, the high-tech look helps modernize the telecast. It's also no coincidence that CBS's contract for the PGA is up after the 2019 event at Bethpage, and discussions about the next deal are expected to start later this year.

Breakfast Viewing Trend? Ricoh British Highest Rated Women's Major Of The Year

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For the first time the men's Open Championship edged the U.S. Open in a once unthinkable occrence. And while the 2017 KPMG LPGA was not a morning show, it also beat the U.S. Women's Open ratings.

While the Ricoh Women's British Open had its moments and there may be a Michelle Wie bump, I.K. Kim still held a huge lead heading into the final round. Translation: not the recipe for ratings success.

But are we seeing more evidence yet that sports and golf fans are preferring their golf in morning or prime time hours now that we learn the 2017 Women's British was the season's top rated broadcast?

Remember, all of the events in question are network broadcasts (NBC or Fox), so this is not a cable vs. broadcast network story. And maybe there is no story yet, but the interest in morning golf is a trend worth noting.

For Immediate Release:

HIGHEST-RATED OVERNIGHT TELECAST FOR WOMEN’S GOLF IN MORE THAN A YEAR

The RICOH Women’s British Open Final Round coverage on NBC yesterday posted a .86 Overnight (11:30 a.m. – 2:30 p.m. ET), +15% YOY, making it the highest-rated overnight telecast for women’s golf in more than a year (2016 U.S. Women’s Open; .98) and the highest-rated women’s golf telecast on NBC since 2014 U.S. Women’s Open (1.67). Final Round coverage, which saw I.K. Kim (South Korea) win her first major championship, also became the highest overnight rating at the event in more than 10 years (2006 on ABC; 1.30).

This is the first time in the history of the Women’s British Open that it reigns as the highest-rated women’s golf telecast of the year, to date, despite its morning/early afternoon telecast window. 
The comparable final five hours of the RICOH Women’s British Open’s Final Round coverage across Golf Channel and NBC was a .64 (9:30 a.m. – 2:30 p.m. ET), which makes it the highest overnight rating for a women’s major 5-hour telecast in 2017 (FOX, U.S. Open Final Round, 2-7 p.m. ET; .63). And the comparable final three hours of broadcast television coverage makes the RICOH Women’s British Open the highest rated ( 11:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m. ET; .86), +21% vs. U.S. Women’s Open on FOX (4-7 p.m. ET; .71) and +25% vs. KPMG Women’s PGA Championship (3-6 p.m. ET, .69).

Next up in women’s golf will be Golf Channel and NBC’s coverage of the Solheim Cup, the biennial team match play event featuring the United States vs. Europe, being contested in Des Moines, Iowa, Friday, August 18 – Sunday, August 20.

Golf Channel Acquires Revolution Golf

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Erik Matuszewski reports at Forbes on Golf Channel's purchase of Revolution Golf and its 2 million subscribers.

He explains how this could be an Amazon Prime-inspired play:

Five years ago, Revolution Golf launched a premium subscription offering for which members pay up to $124 annually to access a library of exclusive video content, special offers on training aids, equipment, and exclusive member-only events. Two-thirds of the business's subscribers play golf at least once a week during the season. That participation is part of what makes golf unique – the sport’s fans are also passionate players.

Golf Channel is serving that passion. And not just via TV, but also through its continually growing digital businesses: playing, instruction, travel and now e-commerce.

As Golf Channel’s McIntosh says -- “We want to connect the world to golf.”

PGA Tour Misses "Golden" Opportunity: Steph Curry Shoots 74, No One Sees It Live

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Steph Curry, with his nine million Twitter followers, his MVP statue, his two championship rings and rare crossover talent he's willing to show off on a Web.com Tour stage, posted a first round 74 in the Ellie Mae Classic.

No one saw it live.

No one could. They had to follow social media postings like it was 2008 all over again.

On a busy day of golf that included the Women's British, a WGC in Akron and a secondary PGA Tour stop in Reno, the Ellie Mae was never on Golf Channel's schedule. Yet, as one of the world's most beloved and fascinating athletes in his prime attempted something bold, Curry's appearance on an exemption understandably got the most social media attention despite the lack of television coverage.

Imagine if The Logo, Jerry West, had decided to put his scratch handicap up against the pros in 1972 after winning 33-straight and the NBA title? It would have been an epic attention-getter but there was no option to televise such an event then. Now there is, and the PGA Tour missed a chance to show it's serious about becoming a broadcaster and serious about its minor-league equivalent, the Web.com Tour.

Golf Channel was criticized on social media for not showing Curry's round, but this one wasn't on them. So what an ideal opportunity for the PGA Tour, partners with Twitter and eager to show The Valley that pro golf is a product worth streaming on their burgeoning PGA Tour Live, right?  Imagine the chance to stream the Web.com Tour to the hoodie set, who could watch their beloved Golden State Warrior play in a professional golf tournament as they sip Philz and cranked out world-changing code?

Yet the PGA Tour passed up a, gulp, "golden" opportunity to show that they are serious about getting in the broadcasting business. Was it cost? Was it too much work? Was it an oversight? Or some rights issue?

Those should not be stumbling blocks since the Tour has made clear it wants, at minimum, an ownership stake after 2021 while opting out of its network deal very soon. The goal, apparently, is to either move some tournaments to the burgeoning PGA Tour Live or bring in new bidders, perhaps Amazon or YouTube.

Lofty and ambitious dreams!

And it's a fantastic concept to focus on streaming until you tell a CEO paying $8-12 million for a tournament sponsorship that they'll be reaching 171,000 folks via streaming. Oh, and yourr logo will be hard to see because the viewer is watching on a tiny screen. One last negative? Those eyeballs who are currently seeing golf in the 19th hole grill or the local Yard House? Not happening (yet) when you go to streaming.

The possible erosion in already eroding audience sizes by moving some events to digital has not deterred the Tour from sending out signals that they are somehow a wronged party under Deane Beman's brilliant model. After all, they help networks sell 80% of their ads without lifting a finger while possibly making less than they should if they were owners of the airwaves. And the Tour makes clear on a daily basis they are in the millennial business with PGA Tour Live as the way to this future. 

Commissioner Jay Monahan has wisely tried to walk some of this talk back by reiterating the importance of the "linear product" (network TV), while still dangling his fascination with new media. But way too many of his lieutenants and players haven't gotten the message: it's nice having people write you rights checks instead of writing the checks yourself as owner of the product. 

Which brings us back to the Ellie Mae Classic.

With no way out of its Golf Channel arrangement until 2021, the tour started PGA Tour Live as their way of carrying action during earlier hours or to create a "product" to possibly break free from the Comcast-owned network. At the very least, PGA Tour live would help them negotiate an ownership stake that they once reportedly passed on when they originally negotiated the 10-year Golf Channel deal. The "they" in that sentence no longer work for the PGA Tour.

The PGA Tour Live app gives them both leverage in the next negotiations, but also, theoretically, a way to cover action not currently in Golf Channel's rights windows.  So I can't fathom a more opportune moment than Steph Curry's Web.com Tour appearance to show Featured Group coverage of the Warrior and his playing partners, Sam Ryder and Stephan Jaeger. Talk about a chance to reach the supposedly young and influential digital audience paying $39.99 a year.

Or, what a swell chance to join forces with San Francisco-based Twitter on coverage since they are a new PGA Tour partner and, presumably, big Warrior fans.

Instead, we got video highlights:

 

Live televised golf is expensive and difficult. Especially when you know the player in question is only likely to play two rounds. But there are new and cheaper ways to provide something that would have been enough to get the job done for those wanting to track this very unique appearance in a pro golf tournament.

And yes, the egos of other Web.com Tour players would have been bruised having a special broadcast of non-member Curry's round, but it might have also brought in new fans or generated intense buzz had he done something special. The failure to capitalize on this situation should be noted the next time the PGA Tour tells us how serious they are about getting in the business of entertaining paying customers.

(End of rant.)

There was some nice coverage of Curry's admirable performance, starting with the SF Chronicle's Ron Kroichick Tweets and his game story on Curry's opening round.

A great image gallery from the Chronicle's Michael Macor accompanies the piece.

Chronicle columnist Scott Ostler wrote "our Little Steph hung with the big boys" and noted:

Bad news for the Warriors. One more good day out here, even if Curry misses the cut after Friday’s round, and the Warriors are going to have to drag him off the golf course when training camp opens.

Make no mistake: For Curry, playing the Web.com Tour event — the pro golf equivalent of triple-A baseball — was no lark. He’s realistic, he knows he can’t really compete with full-time pro golfers, but Curry does not lack for quiet confidence. He’s closer to these guys than logic would dictate, and he’s got something to prove.

So there was tension all around Thursday. On the practice range before the morning rounds, I could see a thought balloon over the head of every golfer: “Beat Curry.”

For 155 golfers, their honor and dignity was at stake.

For Curry, there was something to prove, and a huge opportunity for embarrassment and disappointment.

BTW, fun note: Curry's caddie is Jonnie West, son of Jerry.

The Web.com Tour's Twitter account may have sensed the lack of live coverage and went all out on Twitter, with this nice video and also a great retweeted photo after that.


Here is part of Curry's post round interview courtesy of GolfChannel.com, discussing how he could barely feel his hands on the first tee:

And great comments here from Sam Ryder, playing partner and recent Web.com Tour winner who was a shot worse than Curry.

Last note: Curry beat ten Web.com Tour players Thursday, including three winners of Web.com Tour events in 2017!

Latest Twist In UK TV Deals: BT In Talks To Carry Masters

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Sky Sports lost the PGA Championship on short notice and appears headed toward also losing the Masters, and as James Corrigan explains in this Telegraph exclusive, BT is now in talks to carry the Masters.

Not only is it an issue for Sky, but as Corrigan explains, could have ramifications for the European Tour and USGA.

BT sees this as the ideal avenue to enter golf, but there are nervous faces not only at Sky but also the European Tour.

Without Sky’s backing the Tour would not operate its present guise, if at all, and the last thing the powers that be at Wentworth HQ would want is for Murdoch Towers to become disillusioned with the sport and walk away.
Yet any sense of ingratitude on Sky’s behalf would be totally understandable, especially with rumours circulating that the USGA, which runs the US Open, is ready to look elsewhere in the quest for bigger viewing figures when its deal runs out in 2018.

Ratings: Strong Overnights For 2017 Open At Birkdale

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SBD's Austin Karp shared some overnight ratings for Jordan Spieth's win at The Open and for the first time, it may exceed the U.S. Open in total viewership.


Adweek also reported the total interactions on social media. What this means, I have no idea:

 

On the sports side, the final round of the 2017 Open Championship on Golf Channel and NBC drove and putted its way to 433,000 total interactions across Facebook and Twitter.

BBC To The Rescue! PGA Wants Eyeballs On Its Championship

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That was quick!

The PGA Championship appears headed to the BBC even after Sky Sports just started a dedicated golf channel. However, with few eyeballs and rights situations about to become golf's big battleground, Ewan Murray reports for The Guardian that this year's PGA will be on the open, free airwaves of BBC.

Sky losing the Masters and PGA surely must make the R&A uncomfortable given its long term deal with Sky. You may recall the debate from a few years ago involving the R&A moving to pay television and away from longtime partner BBC.

**In Wednesday's state of the R&A press conference Chief Executive Martin Slumbers took a swipe at the BBC coverage approach:

I think when we moved last year we took what was frankly a fairly tired and outdated broadcast and turned it into absolutely world class and raised the whole level of the way it was shown. And I think that was a combination and a partnership of those organisations with the R&A that I think has truly improved how people are watching golf.

And a testament to that was that we won, or Sky and ETP, won a BAFTA for sport. And they were up against the BBC's coverage of the Olympics and Paralympics, and also the Six Nations. So I think that was a fantastic testament to what we did last year at Royal Troon, and really shows what you can do with TV. We're building on that this year.

The world of media has changed out of all recognition in the last 20 years. I think the world of TV has changed and is going to change even more, and I don't think anyone knows exactly where it's going. But we're very comfortable working with a partner that really understands the technology, they understand golf, and they understand how they can help us showcase this fantastic championship to the world.

**This Tweet sums up the Slumbers take.

2017 Open Championship: American Viewing Schedule, Options

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For U.S. audiences, The Open viewing options are plentiful: Thursday and Friday you can watch via cable or your Golf Channel and NBC Sports apps (with subscription login).

The weekend will continue that coverage on NBC only, with news and programming surrounding the telecast on Golf Channel.

New this year is even more first day coverage with "Midnight Drive" lead-in coverage that starts at 9 pm Pacific Wednesday (yours truly will be there bright and early so tune in!).There is also exclusive digital coverage of the 1st and 18th holes (details below), Marquee Groups and Featured Holes (12, 13, 14).

Here goes:

Tournament Airtimes on Golf Channel (Eastern):

Thursday         1:30 a.m.-4 p.m. (Live) / 10 p.m.-Midnight (Replay)

Friday              1:30 a.m.-4 p.m. (Live) / 10 p.m.-2:30 a.m. (Replay)      

Saturday          4:30-7 a.m. (Live) / 10 p.m.-2 a.m. (Replay)

Sunday            4-7 a.m. (Live) / Midnight-4 a.m. (Replay)

 

Tournament Airtimes on NBC (Eastern):

Saturday          7 a.m.-3 p.m. (Live)

Sunday:           7 a.m.-2 p.m. (Live)

 

NBC Sports Digital Complementary Feeds to the Broadcast

NBC Sports Group will offer several ancillary digital feeds to complement its linear broadcast, including: Marquee Group, Featured Holes (12, 13, 14) and The Open Spotlight, which will include coverage of the 1st and 18th holes, along with look-ins at players on the driving range, press center interviews and highlights. Digital coverage will include Golf Channel hosts Ryan Burr, Cara Robinson and Damon Hack, along with analysts Justin Leonard, Colin Montgomerie, Curt Byrum, Tom Abbott, Billy Ray Brown, Jerry Foltz, John Cook, Trevor Immelman and Billy Kratzert.

Golf Channel and NBC Sports digital platforms also will provide fans will full round replays, made available within the NBC Sports and Golf Channel Apps immediately following live coverage.


DirecTV to Simulcast Live Broadcast, Ancillary Feeds

DirecTV will simulcast the live tournament broadcast on Golf Channel / NBC throughout the tournament via their Mosaic, which also will include the feed from the Marquee Group, Featured Holes and The Open Spotlight. Other offerings on the Mosaic include an expanded leaderboard function, detailed player scorecards, and an ability to create a “favorites” list top the Mosaic leaderboard. The Mosaic Channel and interactive menu will be available to DirecTV subscribers during broadcast hours all four days, Thursday-Sunday.


News Coverage:

Wednesday, July 19  6-10 a.m.      Golf Central Live From The Open
                                            
10 a.m.-Noon                               Morning Drive

Noon-2 p.m.                                Golf Central Live From The Open


Thursday, July 20 

Midnight-1:30 a.m.                       Midnight Drive

4-5 p.m.                                      Golf Central Live From The Open

Friday, July 21                      

4-5 p.m.                                      Golf Central Live From The Open


Saturday, July 22                  

3-4 p.m.                                      Golf Central Live From The Open


Sunday, July 23                    

2-4 p.m.                                      Golf Central Live From The Open
                                            
7-9 p.m.                                      Champion Golfer of the Year (highlights show)

Sky Sports And The Masters: Are Golf's Governing Bodies About To Cut The Cable Cord?

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In the week Sky Sports has introduced a dedicated golf channel here in the UK for its extensive golf offerings, we learned they have lost the PGA Championship rights held since 1992.

Now Ben Rumsby reports exclusively for The Telegraph that Sky did not get is Masters contract renewed, while weekend and highlight rightsholder BBC did following the Masters.

This latest news, while not immediately affecting American viewers, suggest we are on the verge of seeing a major shake up in how golf tournaments are seen.

It's hard to see where The Masters goes except either to BBC for four days or to a streaming/app only version. Or, dare I say, testing out a pay-per-view model.

Could this also be the case for the PGA of America in the long term? Perhaps, though it's still a head-scratcher to not have their UK broadcast rights settled a month out from their championship.

We've seen signs in recent years that golf's leaders believe they will have to create very different ways to reach audiences going forward, but given that golf fans tend to be five years behind on most trends, might some of their sponsors think they're getting ahead? Or is this the perfect time to test out new models on a relatively small but sophisticated market? Is that enough rhetorical questions for a Friday?

Sky Sports Loses PGA Championship TV Rights On Eve Of PGA Championship

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The Guardian's Ewan Murray reports that Sky Sports has lost the rights to next month's PGA Championship, "in what marks an embarrassment to the broadcaster just days after it announced the launch of a dedicated golf channel."

After ten years, Murray says the PGA of America is looking for a new age way of distributing the PGA in the UK. Sky Sports currently broadcasts all of the majors and PGA Tour coverage. The PGA's CCO wheeled out some big words but gave not firm hint as to the model shift, which will be closely watched given that the PGA of America will begin discussing their next television contract later this year or in early 2018.

“Broad distribution, multi-platform distribution is the key objective for us,” he said. “I’m not in a position yet to share all the details but we want the ability to engage golf fans of all ages across all platforms.

“We want the broadest distribution we can possibly have and are very excited about the plan we have in place.”

Poll: Does a lead analyst need to have a major on the résumé?

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With Johnny Miller back for another year, as he revealed to us in Golfweek, the game has another year of its version of McEnroe or Barkley.

It does not appear that there is yet a Johnny-like successor in the wings, with only Fox's Paul Azinger matching Johnny's level of frank, often critical commentary. Nick Faldo, lead man at CBS, also has his moments too but Johnny is clearly a special talent who still works at the job. And even better, works at not getting too close to players so that he can analyze bluntly.

As a two-time major winner, Miller does have a perceived advantage that someone like Brandel Chamblee does not enjoy as merely someone who played the PGA Tour.

But as a viewer, does the major championship winning gravitas matter compared to the quality of commentary?

The poll:

Does a lead analyst need to have a major on the résumé?
 
pollcode.com free polls

Ratings: Follow Up To Silliness Of Competing Golf Tournaments

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Paulsen at SportsMediaWatch.com scrutinzed ShowBuzzDaily.com's ratings roundup and noted that the KPMG Women's PGA Championshp fared well against final rounds of the PGA Tour and U.S. Senior Open.

The 0.6 rating on NBC was up slightly even though it featured a much longer telecast this year.

Final round coverage of the Women’s PGA Championship, the second major of the LPGA Tour season, earned a 0.6 final rating and 840,000 viewers on NBC Sunday afternoon — flat in ratings and up 1% in viewership from last year, when NBC aired just 90 minutes of coverage (0.6, 829K), and up a tick and 21% respectively vs. 2015 (0.5, 695K).

It was the largest audience for the tournament in at least five years, and likely further back.

The KPMG beat the U.S. Senior Open telecast but as this chart shows, all of the events on at the same time diverted eyeballs and, as noted here, would have been better served with more coordinated finish times and/or days for the benefit of all.