2020 Masters Winners, Ehs and Losers

No winners and losers column should be this long. But for a tradition hopefully unlike any other ever again? What the heck…  

Winners

Dustin Johnson – The best player in the world overcame COVID-19, had to shed his coveted green reading books for the week, and after a few Sunday hiccups validated his consistent excellence. While he played the par-5’s in -11, his brilliance elsewhere differentiated him from everyone else: -4 on the par-3’s and -5 on the par-4’s to break the Masters scoring record. A well-earned Green Jacket in a Hall of Fame career, capped off with a rare smile and red eyes. He’s human!

April – All things considered, Augusta National proved as pleasant as ever to see in November. But the springtime vibes and inability to present a firmer, faster course served as a reminder that everything about the place is geared toward springtime. Hopefully this never happens again.  

PGA and U.S. Open – The first two rescheduled majors felt like championship examinations with most demands you’d expect at a Grand Slam event. Augusta National, while prepared as well as can be in November with tough growing conditions leading up to the event, did not present the intense test we have come to know at majors.

CBS. Making up for the lack of patrons with additional cameras and aerial views, they’ve established themselves as the leader in golf television. The Masters extras delivered everything NBC’s U.S. Open coverage was lacking due to budget cuts. The drone views, the 16th hole spy cam and other beauties made up for the quiet atmosphere. Moving Dottie Pepper to on-course commentating added Masters insights we don’t normally enjoy.

The dreamy multichannel view

Historical Flashbacks – Seeing past wins provided sensational reminders of the toonamint lore without staying around too long. A half hour longer TV window filled with a few more of these artfully produced gems would bother no one. No one.

Masters.com Channels. So many options and all of them so enjoyable. There were technical issues Thursday morning on web browsers, but those viewing in the Masters app or the TV options (ESPN+, Masters TV app) had no problems. The multichannel options are both dizzying and spectacular. Especially…

Amen Corner Live – This “channel” on the Masters app and website remains the gold standard. The magic is thanks largely to  combination of visuals, architecture, scenery and non-stop compelling golf no matter who is there. The focused but still easy going commentary team of Grant Boone and Mark Immelman know every inch of the corner and Brian Crowell effortlessly stepped in to spell the lead duo.  

Young International Players Cameron Smith, Sungjae Im and Abraham Ancer – The first two aforementioned are repeatedly dubbed up-and-coming talents elevated their standing in the game with stout runner-up finishes. Smith thrived with a little smoke-and-mirrors work to become the first ever posting four-rounds in the 60s. Im with stunning ballstriking consistency. And if Ancer learns how to putt… What is it about The Masters bringing out the best in the rest of the world?

Brooks Koepka – an awful year ends with a healthy body and a -10 week at Augusta National. And his good buddy won the Masters! You know they work out together?

Drones and 16th Hole Fly Cam. Judging by the areas they covered, these huge additions appear to be doable even when the patrons return to the Masters. They provided a cinematic quality to the proceedings without getting carried away. A live channel of just the scenics might be worth considering. The Kaze Aerial team and the accountants at CBS who approved Sean McManus’s extra expenditure deserve Emmy’s.

ESPN – The historic magnitude College Gameday tie-in was overplayed—people, it’s a pre-Game show not a Papal visit—but the Worldwide Leader did a much better job integrating the Masters this year and in providing programming to keep viewers around after their broadcasts signed off. In year’s past they’ve been in a hurry to talk other sports after signing off. Overall, they finally gave the sense this was an obligation more than a privilege. Not anymore.

Bernhard Langer – The oldest player to ever make the Masters cut and undoubtedly back to the range tomorrow after picking up a few things from Bryson Sunday.

NFL – Making THE MASTERS move up tee times so some mediocre afternoon games start on time must make you feel powerfule. Where is Clifford Roberts to grab Roger Goodell’s annual dues renewal notice and donate it to the Butler Cabin incinerator?
 

Ehs

Tiger – Such a promising start, but the back stiffened up Saturday playing 20 holes and a 10 on Sunday followed by four birdies ended a mixed-bag title defense. Still, the distance was there, the swing looks as rhythmic as ever and it’s easy to see him contending a couple more times when roars are on his side.

Justin Thomas – He brings it every week and works as hard as anyone in golf. A golden opportunity missed but hardly a setback.

Rory McIlroy – He brings it every week and works as hard as anyone in golf. Another tough first day and another career Grand Slam opportunity missed. Good news? Only five months until he opens as the Masters betting favorite! 

Course Conditions – Sure, the Augusta National turf looked thin in spots. Several tees were glorified mud pads and the bent greens appeared to have come out weakened by a long summer. But credit to the maintenance staff for refusing to mask the blemishes with green sand or paint and doing all of their hard work under the cover of darkness.

Camerawork. Probably caused by the lower sun and deep shadows, but it seemed like the normally top-notch CBS crew struggled with this year’s setting.

My Group Feature. The technology behind the new AI-driven creation is mind-boggling. Well done Watson and IBM. However, the feature reset my “Favorites” a few times—first world problem alert!. My Group is a great reference tool for players, coaches, friends, fanboys and ex-wives wanting to revisit double bogies. But without the storytelling of announcers, but it was fairly tedious to watch compared with other channels.

Oddly-timed mid-round CBS interviews – Hearing about Rory McIlroy’s newborn while the leaders were on Amen Corner Saturday, Andy Ogletree while the leaders were in the back nine Sunday before he gets interviewed again in Butler Cabin as low amateur. Then Rory again with the leaders on 17.

Paulina - Great Masters green shirt, but your man has just won The Masters and has to go sign his card. He doesn’t need to know where you’ll be. I think he’ll find you when he’s reunited with his cell phone.

No Ropes Just A Line - How wonderful to not see a rope and instead keep the lucky few on site behind a painted line. Too bad a huge number of marshals couldn’t wear a mask when it a camera shot and viewers saw way too many bad legs, presumably media members. Move those lines back for April when, sadly, they will probably be in use again.

Losers

Weekend TV Windows. Even with the well-known sunset time and likelihood of threesomes off split tees, CBS did not come on the air Saturday until 1 pm ET as the leading group teed off on the fifth. Sunday we missed the leaders playing the early holes live along with all of the fun buildup prior to the opening tee shot while they were also not part of Featured Group coverage. So yes, the Masters wisely sticks to a less-is-more approach with their network broadcast while providing robust digital viewing alternatives. But given how much happened in those early holes Saturday—Tiger and Phil playing themselves out, Rory playing himself into contention—the late network arrival seemed a huge miscalculation. Informercials were airing nationally Saturday and while I understand those pay affiliate bills, the Masters doesn’t come around often.

Unbecoming rough.

Rough – The “Third Cut” looked awful, did not make the course play better and undercuts the whole defending Jones and MacKenzie narrative. Oh and a record -20 won, so par was not protected and no one wants it to be.

Whoever put Sunday’s 16th hole 31 back and four from the right – Presumably the traditional and always captivating back left pin placement was not offering turf suitable for a Masters? Or someone just wanted to make sure we were not treated to a Sunday thrill. Why oh why? 

Bryson DeChambeau - 124 into 13 was fun but the energy levels were unsustainable. Augusta requires more calm and patience than you exuded.

SubAir – For all of the mentions about how the subterranean system can magically suck moisture out of surfaces and help committees flip a switch, the 2020 Masters proved what most superintendents and agronomists already know: it can’t.

Tees strategically placed

13th tee – First, evidence surfaces of trees that appear to magically stay in place thanks to cables, might lean during Masters week (but we’ll never know). And then there were the shots of the shaded tee, looking more muddy than major. And in the saddest sight of all, a funny weekend effort to stop players from long drives by only placing makers on half the box. Lords, just lengthen it now to avoid the chintz and the apparent horror of taking a stand on distance that your esteemed co-founder Bob Jones would have wanted. But don’t complain about the ugly opening in the trees that comes with it. There were alternatives.

The Winner’s Walk Up 18 - CBS cut to a commercial break instead of watching Dustin Johnson’s walk up 18 to applause from the small gathering of members and guests. Why?

Whoever Put Michelle Wie Into A Prime Role In Year One. Grouped with Andrew Catalano and Bill Kratzert with all working from different locales, the struggles were well-documented on social media. Thursday and Friday they were constantly talking over each other (particularly Wie and Catalano), Kratzert was not heard enough, and the overall effect was painful. Wie may develop into a solid broadcaster, but putting her in such a high profile role under an awkward setup that would test even a veteran announcer, did a huge disservice to her career.

Mud ball – Apparently the new “bikini wax” for announcers to avoid, the MB words did get mentioned without the apparently offensive ball part. Players used the term regularly but Dottie Pepper averted disaster with her “organic matter” euphemism.

Nike – I’ll let Twitter do the talking.

Very cool of Nike to honor @therealstrebber with today’s scripting.

In all seriousness, the good folks @nikegolf should apologize to the entire sport for what they’ve done this week. Sartorially repugnant and reprehensible.

— Tron Carter (@TronCarterNLU) November 14, 2020

Paul Casey, Jason Day, Tony Finau, but as everyone knows, the wearer of the same #NIKE golf shirt is not decided until Sunday, at #themasters pic.twitter.com/VoBSlxWJx2

— Tguy Ormiston (@Ihveadream) November 14, 2020

Grimace and the Hamburglar had too much to drink one night and the result was Fleetwood’s Sunday scripting pic.twitter.com/5sbdi3HzFu

— Brendan Porath (@BrendanPorath) November 15, 2020

Rescheduled Masters Opening Round Averages 2.2 Million Viewers

While most major 2020 sports events have seen significant ratings declines, day one of the rescheduled Masters fared well. The 2.2 million average nearly caught 2019’s 2.5 million played in the traditional April slot.

From ESPN PR:

ESPN’s live telecast of the first round of the Masters Tournament on Thursday, Nov. 12, averaged 2.2 million viewers, airing from 1 p.m. – 5:30 p.m. ET from Augusta National Golf Club.

With the tournament being played in November after being postponed from its traditional April date due to the pandemic, the audience peaked between 5:15 and 5:30 p.m. at 2.44 million viewers. Last year’s first round, in addition to being played in April, also aired later in the day (3-7:30 p.m.) and averaged 2.5 million viewers.

ESPN will televise the completion of the second round of the Masters at 7:30 a.m. on Saturday. On both Saturday and Sunday, ESPN+ will have live feeds of Featured Groups and Featured Holes during Tournament play.

CBS's Lance Barrow Signs Off With 2020 Masters: "Just say yes."

Lance Barrow will slide on a headset one last time this week as he bids farewell producing CBS’s 2020 Masters coverage.

He’s penned a lovely Golf.com recollection of his time working for CBS. As always I suggest reading the full piece. A teaser:

My starting salary was $60 a week. You learn, and you rise, by doing, by listening, by watching — and by getting the job done. Chuck would say to me, “Humble yourself: Get me half a cup of black.”

In golf and TV, your classroom is everywhere. In my early years there were many Sunday nights when, after a tournament, I found myself on the same flight back to Dallas-Fort Worth as Don January, Lee Trevino and Charles Coody. They would all be in their sports coats, of course, so I would be, too. They would talk about the shots they hit, what the other players were like under pressure, rules disputes. All I did was listen.

A Tradition Unlike Any Other: The AI-Inspired Masters My Group

Every shot. From every player. On every hole. That’s the pledge of “My Group”, the newest feature in the Masters app and website (with a Jimmy Roberts voiced tutorial here).

Developed by IBM, the 2020 Masters rolls out the next innovation in viewing after last year’s mostly excellent debut of every shot, every player (with just a few exceptions).

The latest twist: you can build a playlist of players and artificial intelligence will put together shots and highlights for you. They are also saying you can view (almost) live coverage of only the players you want to see.

I will be most interested to see how this “sounds” given the lack of fans on site or announcers adding big picture context to what you’re seeing. That’s also a nice way of saying you might want to have your Masters music playlist on a loop.

For an overall CBS/ESPN/streaming viewing guide, you have Ward Clayton’s Masters.com summary here.

As for “My Group,” here is a setup video hosted by Scott Van Pelt featuring a distinctly pharmaceutical ad vibe with actors pretending to look at screens in places no normal person would watch golf. I’m not sure they should be encouraging viewing while behind the wheel unless, of course, AI is also driving your Tesla. Then it’s okay:

Every shot. From every player. On every hole. My Group is the newest feature in @TheMasters app, using @IBM technology to bring you all of the action this year in Augusta. Download the app now and get your My Group ready: https://t.co/AWhFwOa9pI
 #IBMSports #IBMPartner pic.twitter.com/uL70Lr0DrH

— Scott Van Pelt (@notthefakeSVP) November 9, 2020

Ratings Ouch: Champions Tour Outrates PGA Tour's Bermuda Championship

Even with a Masters invitation (somehow) on the line and of course, the all important FedExCup points, Brian Gay’s Bermuda Championship win still had fewer Golf Channel viewers than the Timbertech Championship.

That event featured Darren Clarke holding of Jim Furyk and Bernhard Langer for his first PGA Tour Champions win.

Saturday’s third round of the Timbertech “won” the weekend and averaged 43,000 in the coveted none-Villages demo.

The Bermuda Championship’s Thursday and Friday telecasts draw enough of an audience to crack the top 150 cable shows.

ShowBuzzDaily with all the numbers.

College Gameday Coming To Augusta National (And The Real News: Par-3 Contest Cancelled, Split Tees In Use, My Group Feature To Debut)

There is much to unpack here so naturally we kick off with the 2020 Masters news you needed the least: ESPN’s College Gameday will broadcast from the Par 3 course.

Can’t wait for Herbstreit’s take on Ike’s Pond, a Rinaldi tearjerker on where Clifford Roberts called it a career, Geno on the MacKenzie par-3 course never built and of course, Coach Corso making his Masters pick by in caddie coveralls.

Anyway, the important stuff comes after the Gameday news.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Fred Ridley, Chairman of Augusta National Golf Club, announced today the 2020 Masters Tournament, scheduled for November 9-15, will provide an expansive slate of content across multiple platforms, including ESPN’s College GameDay airing live from Augusta National on Saturday, November 14.

“Given the circumstances brought about by the pandemic, the delivery of quality content is as important as ever to the storytelling of the Masters Tournament,” said Ridley. “While we will dearly miss our patrons at Augusta National this fall, we are excited to showcase what promises to be a truly memorable Masters in a variety of ways for viewers around the world.”

One such way is the addition of College GameDay, which is scheduled to take place from 9 a.m. – Noon before the live CBS broadcast of the third round. The studio will be staged overlooking Ike’s Pond and the 9th green of the Par 3 course.

“When exploring ways to showcase a fall Masters, we were drawn to the concept of hosting College GameDay at Augusta National to introduce the Tournament to a new audience and provide even more anticipation and excitement to the event,” Ridley continued. “We appreciate the collaboration with ESPN, our longtime broadcast partner, for this first-of-its-kind opportunity.”

And hopefully last of its kind. Now that we’ve made up for the Par-3 Contest cancellation…

In addition, the global television audience of the Masters will experience new and enhanced views of the unique November Tournament, as Augusta National has worked with CBS Sports to showcase distinctive angles and shots from around the course.

Live drone? New camera angles? More tracer? Hmmm…guess we’ll wait to see what that means.

Throughout the week, live coverage of the Masters will be broadcast to more than 200 countries and territories. The American Forces Network will also broadcast the event to U.S. military installations throughout the world.

In the United States, live coverage of Tournament play will begin Thursday, November 12, from 1 – 5:30 PM ET on ESPN and continue at the same times Friday, November 13. CBS will again provide weekend coverage on Saturday, November 14, from 1 – 5 PM ET, before airing the final round from 10 AM – 3 PM ET on Sunday, November 15. The Par 3 Contest, which is traditionally played on the Wednesday prior to the Masters Tournament and broadcast by ESPN, has been canceled.

And there is the bad news.

“The fun and excitement of watching Masters competitors with their friends and family is what makes the Par 3 Contest such a special part of Masters week,” stated Ridley. “We know that experience could not have been replicated without guests and patrons at Augusta National, and we eagerly anticipate the opportunity to bring back this signature tradition.”

For the fourth consecutive year, the Masters will air a live 4K broadcast of the Tournament in the United States, featuring action from Amen Corner – the 11th, 12th and 13th holes of Augusta National – as well as the 15th and 16th holes.

During Tournament week, Masters Digital will feature exclusive live video, scoring, interactive player tracking, groupings, video highlights, in-depth Tournament news coverage and more. The site will also feature a new live feed in November, highlighting the action from the 4th, 5th and 6th holes. Featured hole coverage will also be available on ESPN+.

I’d have preferred the more interesting 1st, 2nd and 3rd holes, but we’ll take what they give!

Building upon the Emmy Award-winning “Every Shot, Every Hole” technology from 2019, Masters Digital will unveil the “My Group” feature for the 2020 Tournament. Similar to a personally tailored Featured Group, “My Group” allows fans from around the world to build a personalized feed of every shot from their favorite players, ensuring they won’t miss any of the action during the Tournament.

Now that will a fun toy to play with.

In an effort to share the latest news from the Tournament, the Masters has launched a free daily email newsletter for fans. Delivered directly to their inbox from Augusta National, this newsletter will provide fans with exclusive content and highlights of the day’s action, while also helping them plan their viewing schedule for the day ahead.

Returning in 2020 is the official Masters podcast "Fore Please! Now Driving..." which invites patrons and fans to follow along as host Marty Smith explores Tournament storylines and visits with notable guests across sport, entertainment and pop culture. Episodes will be published daily from this year’s Masters Tournament.

For iPhone®, iPad® and Android phones, the Masters Tournament will release free apps designed to complement the television broadcast or to be used independently to follow Tournament action.

Golf fans can also stay informed of Tournament news by following @TheMasters on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and YouTube. On Snapchat, the Masters will feature a new augmented reality experience on the platform, allowing users to scan the iconic Masters logo and bring it to life inside the Snapchat app, using Snapchat's Marker Technology, where Masters fans can use their Snapchat camera to unlock unique virtual experiences.

Snapchat? What is this 2017? TikTok is where the kids are today, FYI.

The 84th Masters is set to begin on Thursday, November 12 with Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player acting as Honorary Starters. Tee times will be announced at a later date, but players will be scheduled to start off the first and 10th tees in two waves the first two rounds.

Now that’s what you call, late lede though clearly the right move given long waits on par-5’s, modern green speeds and the potential for light issues with a 96-player field.

The Sound Of Silence: Ways To Spice Up Quiet Golf Broadcasts In A Time Of Pandemic

The Return To Golf needs to start thinking about a Return to Sound.

After taking in this week’s ZOZO Championship at Sherwood Country Club and watching how other sports have adapted to the times, it’s clear professional golf needs to keep adapting to the bizarre times. Quickly.

The PGA Tour has kept their business going but it’s begun to feel like just that: doing enough to keep the doors open and cash flowing. And I realize this will be a big ask while the main focus is on keeping things safe. But as an entertainment “product” (gulp), it’s losing ground. Broadcast enhancements are needed. Immediately.

With the ongoing pandemic likely meaning 2021 golf will be played, at best, with very limited galleries, the natural melatonin that is a golf broadcast requires immediate rethinking to retain fans and sponsor interest.

To review: pro golf was the first major sport back and without fans, managed to make a broadcast work. That was thanks primarily to CBS going all in on extras, particularly in the sound department. Credit also goes to the players who were willing to wear a microphone. Since only the last nine holes felt like golf in the time of a contagious virus without crowds, the “Return to Golf” worked.

But those return events were in July and August before the NBA, NFL, NHL and Major League Baseball came along and used recorded sound effects and other visual tricks to simulate a full house vibe. Golf tournaments have fallen behind.

From a television viewing perspective, the ambient noise piped in to offset the dystopian sight of empty seats and fan cut-outs has made sports watchable. Piped-in roars and even the boos take games back to a level of viewing normalcy that only feel strange when the camera pulls back to reveal and empty stadium.

Set against these modifications, golf telecasts now feel as uncomfortably quiet as they do in person. At best, I’d call the in-person experience at the two events I’ve been to as feeling akin to a college tournament. At worst, the vibe is funereal. (Note: both events I’ve attended as a media member were played in California with limits on volunteers, “hosted experiences” and family members, which undoubtedly added to the somber sensibility.)

Justin Thomas confirmed after Sunday’s final round that the silence impacts his on-course mojo.

“I've got to find a way to kind of just stay a little bit more focused out there,” he said. “It's crazy, but sometimes it's hard to just kind of keep the killer instinct and stay in the zone when it's as quiet as it is out there.”

After walking around Sherwood at last week’s ZOZO and August’s PGA Championship, it’s clear that outside of events welcoming back small crowds the next two weeks, any audible solutions benefitting the vibe will have to come from television. Piping in noise at the venues would be downright controversial and bizarre.

Take the first tee announcements where players have generally been introduced to silence or the kind of strained applause normally reserved for lame-duck politicians. Imagine a DJ piping in larger ovations for stars, but mere smatterings of claps for lesser-knowns? Nope.

How about going all Kelly James and creating a 21st welcome to the round?

The scenarios are uncomfortable to even ponder: would the players awkwardly waive to the non-existent crowd? Could they take a joke if James inserted an edgy line into his amazing schtick before starting out in a significant tournament?

It’d all end as soon as the first nearby player has to back off a putt.

Attempting to gauge which applause level to pipe in at the 18th green would be even trickier. Television could pull off some of these effects unbeknownst to the players. But the engineer in charge would have to be keeping up with changes to various holes or the player’s popularity. This would also require a sound effects person or two would have to be added to the team. Given the aggressive spending cuts at NBC/Golf Channel, an improbable move. 

So how about a recording of normal ambient crowd conversation around the clubhouse? Won’t work.

And music on the range—remember that European Tour experiment?—would seem weird and insensitive in a time of pandemic.

With PGA Tour players already over the wearing mic’s or doing mid-round interview ideas cooked up to improve their “product”, broadcasts have grown flatter than Matt Kuchar’s backswing. The situation has worsened since CBS ended an 11-week run where we enjoyed some great moments thanks to enhanced sound and other attempts at innovation. A few suggestions free of charge:

--Putting mic’s on players, their bags, tees and in cups (as Fox did), should continue to be a top priority. Hearing player conversations makes up for so much of the lost ambiance and almost makes us wish the crowds stayed away.

--Encourage more announcer conversations and debates centered around issues in the game to break up the rather monotonous role they play now as traffic cops and cheerleaders.  The NBC team broke off into a few chats about the way Bryson DeChambeau was approaching Winged Foot and the discussions were fascinating.

--Use on-course reporters to do a “forensic” on an incredible recovery shot we’ve seen. Encourage them to say why the would have played a certain shot differently if warranted. Again, anything to break up the quiet moving from shot to shot or showing what seems like a neverending stream of three-footers for par.

--Go to a third party source to discuss betting odds. Former players and traditional broadcasters are not well positioned to say much of interest on the topic of odds or prop bets. Even if a viewer is not a bettor or interested in the topic, betting debates can inject energy into the broadcast if they are willing to take a stance on a proposed bet.  Factors like course design and setup, or a player’s tendencies based on ShotLink data, liven up the “product” regardless of bets placed.

--Bring in third party voices to offer instruction tips. This is hardly a new suggestion, but given the spike in rounds played during COVID-19 and the sad end of most Golf Channel original programming, what better time than now to use telecasts to be more interactive for regular golfers? How about interviewing instructors who are out following their players about what they are seeing? Or asking them to give an impromptu tip?

--Birds are great and I’m sure they’ll be chirping at Augusta in two weeks. With surround sound, work those nature sounds, just make sure the mic’s are placed on property and not in the wrong region. (Years ago CBS was believed to be piping in bird sounds at Augusta and at Valhalla and it’s been a running joke ever since. Another reminder that little gets by viewers.)

—Put announcers in different places. Have them work as a range attendant, on a tee of a key hole as a marshal, as a ShotLink volunteer or as a group’s scorer. Put a microphone on them and instead of having them toss it to 16 from an on-site studio (not that towers are too expensive too), let’s hear what they are seeing and highlight the volunteer jobs that make a tournament tick. If Mike Whan can step in and work as an on-course reporter, golf broadcasters can try some different things too.

We all get that pro golf commissioners have plenty on their plates just keeping tournaments and sponsors going right now. But golf cannot afford to forget that broadcasts must evolve with the bizarre times. The Tours must demand more sound, more innovation and more creativity before its too late.

CNBC On Major Media Companies Preparing For Another 25 Million Cordcutters

CNBC’s Alex Sherman takes an in-depth look at how major media companies are preparing to lose another 25 million cable subscribers and why that may be expediting the demise of several channels.

The story is of particular note for golf given the references to Comcast (NBC, Golf Channel) and Discovery (GOLFTV). But also because all signs point to streaming becoming the required way to get your tournament viewing. Given that the platform is not the preferred way to watch for golf’s older demographic and is still remarkably clunky, it would appear golf’s major organizations relying on cable arrangements have a lot to lose.

As always please hit the link and read the entire story. Here are a few highlights for discussion purposes, starting with this

Moreover, a vicious cycle is settling in that could accelerate cable bundle defections. Distributors like Comcast and Charter no longer care that much whether or not a customer buys traditional pay-TV. The price of a video bundle has gotten so high, there’s little margin for them -- especially compared to broadband internet service.

“You get to that point of financial indifference, then you’re seeing the EBITDA margins go in the right direction and continue to increase,” Comcast CEO Brian Roberts said last month at the Goldman Sachs Communacopia Conference. “That’s one of the big pivots of Comcast the last decade.”

So instead of threatening blackouts to lower rates, pay-TV operators are accepting rate hikes, passing them along to subscribers, and accepting the fact that price-sensitive customers will cancel TV and go to internet only.

Meanwhile, media companies are shifting their best content to their new streaming services. The result for consumers is higher and higher prices for lower and lower quality.

If that wasn’t disturbing enough there is this:

And certain networks, like ESPN, which keep millions of Americans hooked to cable today, may need to pull back on programming costs if too many people cancel. That will only cause more people to cancel.

Stabilizing at 50 million (or 55-60 million, as AT&T CEO John Stankey said this week) may be a pipe dream.

“The only thing left holding the bundle together today is sports,” said former AOL CEO Jonathan Miller, who stepped down from the board of AMC Networks in July. “There is nothing any of the networks can do about it. The only question now is how far does it fall and how fast, and is there a bottom. And I don’t know if there’s a bottom.”

Regarding Discovery, home of GOLFTV…

Maybe media companies won’t have to worry about how to replace revenue from each cable subscriber with a corresponding streaming subscriber. Perhaps simply showing there’s a new growth engine that looks more like Netflix will push investors toward valuing the entire industry higher.

Right now, the market doesn’t seem to think existing media companies are capable of this. Discovery’s enterprise value/EBITDA multiple is 3.5. AMC’s multiple is 2.3. Those are terminal values. The average S&P 500 company typically has a multiple between 11 and 15. Netflix is valued at 33.5.

The possibility of cable profitability still stands a chance if some companies were to merge, though Sherman suggests that window may have passed.

Instead, what’s likely to happen in the next five years is the systematic consolidation and elimination of cable networks. NBCUniversal and ViacomCBS are both considering shuttering networks, though nothing is imminent or particularly close given current distribution deals, according to two people familiar with the matter.

“Media companies can consider consolidating underperforming networks with core channels, hoping to extract additional carriage revenue from a beefier network,” said Kirby Grines, founder and CEO of 43Twenty, a consultancy and marketing firm that provides streaming video strategy advice. “Consumers have loyalty to content and perhaps the companies they transact with. I’m not sure where networks fit into that equation, but it’s somewhere in a meaningless middle.”

Golf Channel joins NBC Sports network?

Either way, the decision will be made by the people who care the least about what viewers enjoy.

The forcing function on change will be Wall Street. If valuations keep declining, media companies will have to act.

LightShed’s Greenfield recommends a ripping-off-the-band-aid approach: Divest the networks now.

“Disney should divest its broadcast and cable networks, Comcast should divest the NBCUniversal cable networks, and there’s no reason why AT&T needs to own the Turner networks,” Greenfield said. “Cable networks are structurally broken.”

Divested and merged media companies will lead to more robust streaming services. This is why Disney agreed to buy Fox’s entertainment assets, including “The Simpsons” and movies such as “The Shape of Water” and “Avatar.”

But it may also accelerate the death of cable TV.

This would all be fine for golf’s various pro tours and majors if streaming worked better. But the same problem remains: golf watching is passive. Like baseball or tennis, it’s a sport we love to have on in the background. Basketball and football games are more active viewing pursuits where people sit down and watch most or all of the action. Each has their place in sports, but if streaming is the required platform, a move before the technology and viewers are ready will be deadly for golf viewership.

Golf Channel's Beloved Tiger Tracker Appears To Be (Another) Casualty Of Layoffs

TT has he/she/it/they have been known—aka Tiger Tracker—has become a staple of GolfChannel.com’s presence on social media. The 8-year-old account had become the go-to for fans to track Woods’s every move and could even, at times, become a tad cultish as those who questioned the anonymous Tweeter’s wisdom.

Nonetheless, at 438,800 Twitter followers, it was Golf Channel’s second most-followed account but easily its most beloved. While not profitable, TT was quite good at the whole “engagement” thing MBA types mention as vital to their businesses.

But with the channel laying off most staff and sending a small number to Connecticut to put a bare bones channel on the air until an inevitable move of PGA Tour coverage to Peacock, layoffs have apparently eliminated those behind the beloved Twitter follow.

Tiger Tracker has not posted since September 23rd and sat out Tiger’s opening two rounds in his 2020 ZOZO Championship defense. Fans have been inundating both the official account and folks like myself wanting answers.

How revered is the Tracker? Even Golf Channel’s official account briefly wondered where TT was during Thursday’s opening round before the delete button was struck.

LPGA Commissioner Whan Works As On-Course Reporter

You want something fresh and different in golf broadcasting? Of late it’s been slim pickings after CBS’s run this summer, but huge points go to LPGA Commissioner Mike Whan for working as an on-course reporter.

Whan covered round one of the LPGA Drive On Championship near Lake Oconee and pulled off a veritable miracle in modern golf: on-course, mid-round interviews.

From Beth Ann Nichols’ Golfweek report on the Whan experiment:

Whan even conducted mid-round interviews, asking players what they would do if they were commissioner for an hour.

“Hire Mike Whan back!” said Kang, who looked more nervous than usual with a mic in her face.

The video:

MorningRead.com: "Changes at Golf Channel could get a fuzzy reception"

Thanks to all who sent in John Hawkins’s Morning Read look at the pending downscaling of Golf Channel and demise of GolfChannel.com. I held off on posting the story while awaiting comment on the recent building closure and ensuing disappearance of all studio shows. While a network spokesman has not been able to give an answer about what was happening, channel listings do show Morning Drive and Golf Central returning next week. At least, for the time being. (Before a scaling back when the network moves to Stamford, Connecticut for “geographic consolidation” and tax breaks with one studio show covering pre and post games.)

Multiple sources say the headquarters, closed to ensure safe working conditions after a class action suit was filed against the neighboring Lockheed Martin facility, will reopen next week, while GolfChannel.com has received a very slight reprieve from the expected year-end shuttering first reported on by The Athletic.

Hawkins writes:

The layoffs were made public in June, to be conducted in a two-stage process, and that process is still shaking itself out. The coronavirus hasn’t made things any easier. Nor has a class-action lawsuit involving 11 Golf Channel employees and defense company Lockheed Martin, which owns a plant near the GC complex and is accused in a class-action lawsuit of instigating an “environmental nightmare” with its alleged mismanagement of hazardous toxins.

A source with close knowledge of the case confirmed today that the Golf Channel employee portion of the case has swelled to “about 100” plaintiffs from the 11 originally reported by the Orlando Sentinel.

I repeat: about 100 from 11 just since the Sentinel revealed the suit less than a month ago.

Thoughts and prayers.

Anyway, on a lighter note…

At least one industry insider will tell you that the company began reaching beyond its core audience at a time when its TV rights would come at a substantially higher price, which apparently was the case when the PGA Tour completed negotiations with all of its suitors this spring. ESPN was awarded the digital/streaming rights through 2030, a coveted property, given that so many viewers have taken to watching pro golf on something other than a television.

One correction here and it is a mistake commonly made: ESPN+ will have the rights to what is now PGA Tour Live coverage and miscellaneous featured hole and group feeds. GOLFTV, for those who insist it is a real thing, handles international streaming rights.

However, when Golf Channel’s opening round coverage is on cable Thursdays and Fridays, they retain those digital rights through 2031.

When CBS and NBC are televising, their digital platforms own those rights exclusively as well, not ESPN+.

From a fan and business perspective, NBC’s interest currently lies in its Peacock streaming service—home apparently to 30 Rock reruns in case you had not heard 400 times—as it winds down cable channels. Nothing suggests a large part of golf’s core audience is even remotely prepared for such a move.

Golf Channel ended up paying more for something it already had – something that could be worth less in nine years than it is now. Without live golf as the nucleus of its programming, however, the network’s value would be greatly diminished. It had little choice but to meet the Tour’s financial demands.

True. The real question is how the PGA Tour, the R&A, PGA of America, LPGA, European Tour and now the USGA, feel about handing over coverage hours to a channel where they’re barely turning on the lights and have had late-blooming digital strategy?

Then again, the PGA Tour world has shown a belief in their “product” strength that far exceeds common sense wisdom which says viewers invest in players, courses and weeks in part because of the storytelling around those events.

2020: Golf In The Context Of Pandemic Era Sports Ratings

Paulsen looks at the declines in 2020 sports ratings and golf enjoys a split decision, with a big win for CBS Sports.

CBS’s “return” events are among the few sports up in the ratings, as was the PGA Championship (though I’d argue a surprising mere 3% given the fantastic finish and west coast prime time slot).

The U.S. Open’s move back to NBC/Golf Channel/Peacock and from Father’s Day to September proved deadly in the ratings department. Although comparable to other declines in the NBA and NHL.

Paulsen does not include NBC’s other playoff events, but they were flat to down.

The updated chart: pic.twitter.com/fJXFanuKOQ

— Sports Media Watch (@paulsen_smw) October 16, 2020

Ratings: On Busy Sports Weekend, PGA Tour And KPMG LPGA Get Few Eyeballs

I’m not sure there is much to analyze in the dreadful golf ratings last weekend given the confluence of MLB playoffs, NBA finals, college football and NFL.

Showbuzzdaily.com has the 2020 Shriner’s and KPMG LPGA numbers, with golf easily the lowest on their list of weekly sports ratings.

Golf Channel Headquarters Closed For "Investigation" Out Of "An Abundance Of Caution"

A class action lawsuit joined last week by eleven Golf Channel employees has prompted the closing of the network’s Orlando headquarters. The campus is slated for permanent demise this December, with a small number of jobs moving to Stamford, Connecticut where NBC Sports is currently located.

In a late Friday email to staff shared by multiple sources, Golf Channel president Mike McCarley cited the lawsuit in announcing the need to investigate.

“In light of the allegations, we are thoroughly investigating the matter to ensure that our campus environment is safe,” McCarley wrote. “While we do so, out of an abundance of caution, we ask that you continue to work remotely as has been the case during the pandemic. Over the next few days, we will communicate with the limited number of employees currently allowed on-site to further limit access, involving moving our production off-site beginning Monday.”

Another sources says a traditional Monday email to staff offered no follow-up news but did highlight National Cyber Security Awareness Month, Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and a reminder for staff to get flu shots.

The channel faces at least two known lawsuits but none directly related to the Lockheed Martin class-action suit announced last week and reported on by the Orlando Sentinel.

A request for comment has not been answered but will be added should I hear back from NBC and Golf Channel spokespersons.

Some have already taken to social media wondering if they have set foot in the building for the final time:

Our beautiful studio...hoping & praying this wasn't the last time we will walk through this door, and work in this space together. Just a farewell...for now. #MakeupDept #MastersArtistry #Makeupteam #NBC #GolfChannel #Studio #justdimmingthelights

Golf Channel Enjoys Its Best September Ever As NBC Winds Down Its Orlando Operation

From Golf Channel PR

Yes, it’s a pandemic where the U.S. Open moved to September and, out of no where, NBC/Golf Channel reclaimed the rights earlier this year.

Still, it’s quite bizarre to read about the channel enjoying its best September and strong showing among sports channels as Comcast/NBCUniversal eliminates most Golf Channel jobs and moves a very limited operation to Connecticut.

From NBC Sports PR:

• GOLF Channel’s Total Day viewership in the quarter (118,000) ranked #1 among all single-sport networks, posting a 33% increase from the same time period in 2019.

• Among viewers in the Adult 25-54 demographic, GOLF Channel’s third quarter marked its most watched quarter in Total Day viewership in two years (Q3 in 2018, which featured The Open, Tiger Woods’ win at the TOUR Championship and the Ryder Cup), and delivered a 40% increase from last year’s third quarter.

Wow, cable’s still got it!

• The conclusion of the PGA TOUR Playoffs combined with the return of the U.S. Open to NBC Sports Group led to GOLF Channel’s second most-watched September ever (124,000). GOLF Channel also delivered its most-watched August (113,000) since 2017.

Cable still has it since I last interrupted!

• Early round coverage of the 2019-2020 PGA TOUR season after the restart on GOLF Channel was the most-watched for these events vs. the same/comparable 12 events since the start of the FedExCup format in 2007.

No doubt some VP in PVB parlayed this into a bonus, citing the format tweaks.

But hey, great to see golf on cable still works. Someone tell the brass.