Finchem Works Magic?

Ron Sirak breaks out his pom-poms and describes the new ABC/ESPN-free TV deal as "pure magic."

Now, before we look at this more closely, a reader emailed and asked when the last time was Sportscenter regularly showed Champions Tour highlights.

Bingo, you got it, back when it was called the Senior Tour and ESPN televised a whole bunch of it.

Anyway...Sirak cheers writes: 

Just when it seemed the financial sky was falling on his tour, Finchem reached into his top hat and pulled out a $3 billion rabbit, with CBS as one floppy ear, NBC as the other and Brian Roberts (pictured), CEO of Comcast, parent company of The Golf Channel, as the smiling face. This TV deal was pure magic, and it seems everyone won.

Everyone won. Pure magic. Who knew a PGA Tour press release could sound so modest? 

First, the package was more attractive to CBS and NBC with ABC out. Now only two networks will compete for the upscale advertising PGA Tour golf attracts. It would not be surprising if the tour deliberately axed ABC to boost the value to CBS and NBC.

Deliberately axed ABC? The great demographic argument gone so far awry, it's not even funny. 

Second, because Comcast was so eager. Sources tell Golf World TGC is paying a staggering $220 million a year for this "strategic partnership." How can Comcast cover $3.3 billion in rights fees over 15 years?

We are to believe sources claiming that Comcast will write checks totalling $3.3 billion over 15 years, on top of the huge production costs involved where they pay networks as much as $500,000 a week to cover Thurs-Friday telecast costs?

Brian Roberts is a very smart businessman who reports to shareholders. And we are to believe he is letting his company pay almost as much annually as the networks are currently paying in the 2000-06 deal, but in this case,  for the leftovers instead of the prime network events?

Or perhaps $3.3 billion is the potential value of the "strategic partnership," which sounds more like a deal that includes many elements beyond a simple rights fee payment. Maybe after the value of a small Tour ownership stake is computed, or after various hypotheticals are accounted for in best case ad revenue scenarios, or after they throw some more millions on top just to make it sound good, they reach $3.3 billion. 

Manougian, who declined comment on the financials, says the tour deal will take TGC from 70 million to 90 million homes. He also hopes that in areas such as New York -- where market penetration is currently only 50 to 60 percent -- that number will go up. Those increases are, as they say, priceless.

Of course, I forget, the world revolves around New York city. The coveted demo, the chosen people!

By the way, weather update: it was the coldest day this winter in L.A. Don't think it even hit 63. Burr!

Anyway, does Golf Channel actually appear in 70 million homes? Putting it another way, do 70 million homes pay for it? Or, does it currently have the potential to reach 70 million subscribers?

I think Frank Hannigan answered this in his Golfobserver column.

The Golf Channel euphoria expressed by Sirak and select others does not address the fact that ESPN and USA are available in most major hotels, bars, restaurants, health clubs, airports, etc... while the Golf Channel's presence in these visible locations ranges from non-existent to barely. And it's not the first channel that people usually go to (like ESPN).

Think about the number of times you will NOT see ESPN/USA's televised golf in a bar, lounge or a hotel room because it's now on The Golf Channel.

The long-term partnership with the tour also will give TGC unprecedented access to the players, allowing it the opportunity to provide unique and unprecedented programming. It is now truly the tour's network. Finchem hit a financial home run for his side. Now it's up to Manougian to hit a creative long ball for his team.

Now, I'm no ESPN fanatic. The Tour deserves major kudos for not caving to ESPN's demands for pairing-timing input. And as a fan of the The Golf Channel's pre and post round coverage, particularly during majors, they have the potential to be a much better place for serious golf fans. 

But how can anyone who has followed the Tour in recent years believe that they will help deliver "unique and "unprecedented programming"?

Azinger: If I Think It, I'm Saying It

I knew there was a silver lining in the Tour's failure to reach an agreement with ABC.

"I'm going to be no holds barred this year. If I think it, I'm saying it," Paul Azinger tells the USA Today's Tom Spousta.

"You're always a little guarded," Azinger adds. "If I make any kind of critical comment about the Tour, somebody from the Tour calls the producer in about 45 seconds. That's how much they watch."

Spousta lists a few more Azinger comments, some you've probably read in the last week and some you haven't.

On 2007 schedule player input:

"There's not a player out here that gets to vote on it. Input? They didn't ask anybody I know," Azinger says. 

It is apparent the limited reach, limited appeal and limitless cross promotion on The Golf Channel is starting to sink in. Azinger again:

"You have to look for golf to find it on The Golf Channel; you stumble on golf to find it on ESPN. You've got ESPN on in all the bars, and then golf comes on, which is good for the players. The Golf Channel's not on in too many bars." He also questions whether viewers will be objectively served: "The Golf Channel already treats the Tour with kid gloves. You won't ever see an exposé of any player coming off The Golf Channel." 

And check out John Hawkins' lastest Golf World column:

"I know there's some question about losing ABC and ESPN," said three-time winner Joe Durant [and Tour policy board member], "but this is going to take The Golf Channel to a whole new level."

Really? I can see how a "Big Break XII" featuring Jessica Simpson, Halle Barry and Mischa Barton might take the niche network to a whole new level, although the same probably won't be said of holding the rights to the first two rounds of the FBR Open. The weekday telecasts represent a nice step forward for the new bride, but if this is a marriage of opportunity for TGC, it's one of need for the tour. After ESPN and USA Network pulled out of the Thursday-Friday bidding, where else could Camp Ponte Vedra go?

"Tim [Finchem] said he couldn't be happier with the outcome," said Peter Jacobsen, whom some consider a candidate to succeed Finchem as commissioner. "I think he would have been happier if we had ABC and ESPN. Like every other tour player, I've got my fingers crossed this is the right thing." 

Remember, Hawkins was very positive in the initial portrayal of the Fed Ex Cup.

Next week look for more comments questioning the length of the Golf Channel deal.   

Lorne On Canadian Open, Coore/Crenshaw

Lorne Rubenstein looks at the lousy date given to the Canadian Open. 

But why that summer date? Ross said yesterday that the PGA Tour had been aware from discussions during the past 10 years of the RCGA's preferred dates. That would be around Canada Day, which would put the tournament two weeks after the U.S. Open and three weeks before the British Open.

Given those dates, Canada's national championship would fall around a time when Canadians take the time to appreciate where they live and when many celebrations occur across the country.

These factors, of course, don't matter to the PGA Tour, which gave the date to the Buick Open in Flint, Mich. Well, that's just an hour by car from the Canadian border at Sarnia, Ont.

"The PGA Tour has a big contract with Buick," Ross said. Draw your own conclusions as to why the Canadian Open didn't get the far better week between the U.S. and British Opens.

He also wrote a wonderful column a few weeks ago on Coore and Crenshaw, and the possiblity that they may do a course in Canada.  Interesting quotes from Coore too.

Boswell Blasts Tour

The Washington Post's Thomas Boswell won't be receiving a muffin basket from Tour lobbyist Powell-Tate anytime soon.  He writes:

When Deane Beman, former commissioner of golf, acquired the land for the Tournament Players Club at Avenel, he said, "This is the greatest parcel of land left on the East Coast to build a world-class golf course." A Washingtonian, Beman touted the chance to create a course that might someday rival its neighbor, Congressional. He played down the fancy political and real estate footwork that allowed the PGA Tour to buy the entire property for $1. Beman talked aesthetics while his Tour counted the cash.

Before any earth was moved, architectural consultant Ed Sneed drove around the property in a cart explaining how Avenel would be his homage to Augusta National and the design ideas of Bobby Jones. There'd be natural amphitheaters on every hole: a spectator's paradise. The sixth hole at Avenel would be a mirror image of the 13th hole at the Masters. What a sylvan idyll.

And don't forget, the Tour was going to take the 6th hole and make it a long par-4 (in the redo-that-probably-won't-happen-now).

Wonder if the Tour would do the same to No. 13 at Augusta? Changing it to a two-shotter would cut down on those dreadful birdies and eagles!

For the last 20 years, the Tour has proved it would always suck the last buck out of the enthusiastic Washington golf public rather than put one extra cent back into the Avenel complex. Every time fans endured quagmire parking lots, or were stuck in traffic for hours, the Tour promised remedies. But it never did anything -- except pray it would never rain again in Washington in June.

And he's just warming up.

The PGA Tour may be technically "nonprofit" in its financial structure, because it has a charity component, but its true purpose is to maximize the income of its members -- the pro tour players. When the Tour first came to Washington in 1980, the 125th man on the money list made $20,000. By last year, the 125th man made $627,000. Not bad for charity work.

As recently as last week, sponsors of the Booz Allen Classic still thought they were in good-faith negotiations with the Tour. If pro golf would invest $25 million in its substandard Avenel factory, then Booz Allen would make a six-year commitment (with a value of more than $40 million in purses and ad time) to remain the sponsor of the Washington event through 2013.

Then this:

This is what Washington gets for supporting the PGA Tour for the last 26 years -- with about 2 million tickets sold, often at rip-off prices in comparison to the weak quality of the fields. This is what Washingtonians get for giving far more than a million hours of volunteer work to the Tour. In a typical summer, 1,500 golf lovers give 50,000 free hours to make the Tour's event happen. This is what Washington gets for supporting the Presidents Cup in its infancy when nobody else wanted it very much. Now the event borders on being world-class. Don't bother to thank us local fans, volunteers or RTJ Golf Club.

And finally, here's the money graph:

"What happened last Friday is all about the money," said one of the key Washington golf figures who has supported the Avenel event throughout the years. "What astounds me is that the Tour doesn't understand how important Washington is to golf. A lot of decisions get made in this government that could impact a business that depends on a nonprofit structure."  

More TV Talk

Ed Sherman on the Tour TV deal winners and losers, leads off with his take on the Western Open (R.I.P.).

Steve Elling takes a closer look at Golf Channel and what it needs to do.

"We've got a lot of areas where we've got to get up to speed," said Frank Nobilo, a TGC analyst and former tour player. "We're in the major leagues. Now we've got to see whether the team is good enough. Hopefully we'll be the Florida Marlins."

No question, the sports analogy fits. Comcast, the cable giant that own TGC, just purchased a big-league franchise -- and now it's time to work on that opening-day roster, because Triple-A talent won't get the job done.

And this: 

Still, it's not unusual for TGC to be ranked around 60th in the prime-time window among cable-TV networks, out-drawn by the likes of Great American Country and Country Music Television. Yep, TGC's minuscule ratings are to ESPN's what a crouton is to Winona Judd, and that will soon be a concern.

Squeezing The Little Guy?

Doug Ferguson wonders if the new Tour schedule is going to reduce playing opportunities for Q-school and Nationwide grads. Of course it will. And a few players are starting to speak up.

It looks like a best case scenario for 2007 grads would be 20 events prior to the post Fed-Ex Cup, "Chase for the Card" events.

Hot and Cold In Golf

SI's Gary Van Sickle looks at who's hot and who's not in pro golf, focusing on the TV deal winners and losers.

And (sorry reader John), it was nice to read I'm not the only who found Karl Ravetch tough to take. He's great on Baseball Tonight though. But golf? Bring back Cadillac Kelly!

Greater Greensboro

Robert Bell writes about Greensboro improving its position and how the event gained an August date in 2007. This paragraph caught my eye, though I'm not sure what exactly it means:

It wasn't enough that Greensboro's tournament officials had redesigned aging Forest Oaks Country Club. Now the PGA Tour was pushing for its tournaments to become tax-exempt organizations run by a board of trustees of top businessmen from each tournament's respective city. Without these changes, Finchem said, it was unlikely Greensboro or any other tournament would be around when the tour prepared its 2007-2010 schedule.

Can anyone explain the desire to shift to "tax exempt organization run by a board of trustees of top businessmen?"  I'm sure it's strictly in the name of charity, but you know, it's good to double check.

Hannigan On TV Deal

Well here goes Frank blowing his chance to become the Tour's VP of Coterminous Platform-Pollination...

The PGA Tour's new television deal confirms the obvious - general interest in golf peaked years ago and is now in decline. Recreational golf has been flat or worse in terms of rounds played for many years. The two are interdependent.

Get this man talking points, now!

For the Tour to find and command a new audience would require a freakish event ­ like a hermaphrodite dwarf becoming leading money winner. And it would help if the dwarf's caddie could be Anna Nicole Smith.

Golf's popularity on television has also diminished because the Tour, which is absolutely no fun to deal with, thinks it knows television. This is particularly so of Commissioner Tim Finchem who has bullied the broadcasters about production techniques.

Hey, PGA Tour Sunday is a wonderful sedative.

The Tour also attempts to control overall content ­ especially what the announcers say ­ even who they are. ABC went outside the mould by hiring Nick Faldo who was a critical success because he occasionally spoke bluntly and without reverence. The Tour, believe me, did not like Nick Faldo one bit. It's not crazy about NBC's Johnny Miller either. Miller's success derives from his sounding on the air the way he sounds off the air.

Finchem has insisted in putting himself on the air as an interview subject. When I was with ABC during the l990s one of his minions would wander into the announcers' booth and casually ask what the questions of the boss might be. It's gone beyond that now. They want the actual words of the questions submitted in advance. Even Charles deGaulle couldn't get away with that.

He gets the questions in advance and still comes off that bored? Wow.

And this is interesting:

Equating the "basic cable" outlets ESPN and USA to The Golf Channel is nonsense. The AC Nielsen Company does not even provide ratings for The Golf Channel because the audience is too small to measure reliably. The word "subscribers" is tossed around in a misleading fashion.

Take my case. I live in a community of 20 homes. All can get The Golf Channel by paying an extra monthly fee. I am the only one who does so ­ because I get a kick out of hearing an old friend, Renton Laidlaw, do the European Tour. None of my neighbors, described by the careless New York Times, as among The Golf Channel's purported 75 million "subscribers", will jump aboard The Golf Channel starting in 2007.

Frank, don't tell me you still subscribe to that whole "paper of record" nonsense!?

I know prominent golf writers who have refused to get the Golf Channel for $5  month, even after I tell them that they must have it for the major championship coverage, European Tour and other bright spots in between the flood of infomercials and reality shows.

So it may be a tough sell on Frank's neighbors.

Azinger On FedEx Cup

You have to love Paul Azinger's honesty amidst all of the spin. Doug Ferguson reports:

"Players don't care who covers the game," he said. "I don't think Tiger Woods cares who covers the Masters."

Nor does he believe players will care that much about the FedEx Cup, which includes three Championship Series tournaments leading to the Tour Championship, with an estimated $10 million going to the winner.

Azinger's first victories came in 1987, the first year of the Tour Championship (then called the Nabisco Championship), which was created to define the end of the golf season.

That didn't work, and he isn't sure this new format will make much of a difference.

"The best players in the world are playing to make history," Azinger said. "There are only four tournaments you can win to make history, and TPC (The Players Championship) is not one of them. And neither are those world events. And you're not going to make history winning some kind of FedEx Cup."

Tour Winners, Tour Losers

Scott Michaux takes a detailed look at the TV deal winners and losers and makes this (sad) point for some hoping to see a return of an old Masters tradition:

LOSER: Tour winners. With opposite events and even more diluted fall finish events, Hootie Johnson might be even less inclined to re-implement automatic Masters invites to tournament winners.

Tournaments React to TV Deal

Spinning the new schedule seems to be the initial reaction to the new TV deal and 2007 schedule. Just give them all a few weeks.

Bob Harig does the best job summarizing the 2007 schedule winners and losers.

The Booz Allen got shipped to the fall and you have to wonder if Booz CEO Ralph Shrader's publicly expressed displeasure with the Tour played a role.

"I don't think flabbergasted would be too strong of a description of our reaction to the news," said Steve Lesnik, the chief executive officer of KemperSports, the company that has long directed and managed the local tour stop (currently the Booz Allen Classic). "We had no real forewarning, so it's going to take a few days to digest all the implications and ramifications of the situation."

Dan Bollerman writes about the new Mexico event, which ought to survive at least three years.

Gary D'Amato looks at the Milwaukee tournament and the efforts to put a positive spin on a dreadful date.

Gary Baines writes about The International and how happy they are with their new date. But it's hard to imagine sounds like a better way to get ready for links golf than 7 irons from 220.

Jeff Platsky looks at the B.C. Open likely making a move to the Champions Tour, and offers some interesting figures on what it costs to sponsor a Valiant Competitors Tour event.

Finally, Ed Sherman writes about the end of the Western Open name, which dates to 1899. He also looks at the mysterious move to Chicago only seeing the Tour every-other-year while the event is shifted to Hazeltine, Crooked Stick and Bellerive. The one positive is a likely jump in charitable donations to the Evans Scholarship fund.

2007 PGA Tour Schedule

Here's the 2007 PGA Tour schedule, minus the post FedEx Cup series events (the Chase for the Card or whatever they're calling it). Harford and the Washington D.C. stops are out, which explains why the TPC Avenal redo is on hold:

Date: Tournament (Television)
Jan. 1-7: Mercedes Championships (TGC)
Jan. 8-14: Sony Open in Hawaii (TGC)
Jan. 15-21: Bob Hope Chrysler Classic (TGC)
Jan. 22-28: Buick Invitational (TGC, CBS)
Jan. 29-Feb. 4: FBR Open (TGC, NBC)
Feb. 5-11: AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am (TGC, CBS)
Feb. 12-18: Nissan Open (TGC, CBS)
Feb. 19-25: WGC Accenture Match Play Championship (TGC, NBC)
Feb. 19-25: Mayakoba Classic at Riviera Maya (Mexico) (TGC)
Feb. 26-March 4: The Honda Classic (TGC, NBC)
March 5-11: Tampa Bay Championship (TGC, NBC)
March 12-18: Bay Hill Invitational presented by MasterCard (TGC, NBC)
March 19-25: WGC CA Championship (TGC, NBC)
March 26-April 1: Shell Houston Open (TGC, NBC)
April 2-8: The Masters: USA,CBS)
April 9-15: MCI Heritage (TGC, CBS)
April 16-22: Zurich Classic of New Orleans (TGC, CBS)
April 23-29: EDS Byron Nelson Championship (TGC, CBS)
April 30-May 6: Wachovia Championship (TGC, CBS)
May 7-13: The Players Championship (TGC, NBC)
May 14-20: BellSouth Classic (TGC, CBS)
May 21-27: The Colonial Invitational (TGC, CBS)
May 28-June 3: The Memorial Tournament (TGC, CBS)
June 4-10: Stanford St. Jude Championship (TGC, CBS)
June 11-17: U.S. Open (ESPN, NBC)
June 18-24: 84 Lumber Classic (TGC, CBS)
June 25-July 1: Buick Open (TGC, CBS)
July 2-8: The International (TGC, CBS)
July 9-15: John Deere Classic (TGC, CBS)
July 16-22: British Open (TNT, ABC)
July 16-22: U.S. Bank Championship in Milwaukee (TGC)
July 23-29: Bell Canadian Open (TGC, CBS)
July 30-Aug. 5: WGC Bridgestone Invitational (TGC, CBS)
Aug. 6-12: PGA Championship (TNT, CBS)
Aug. 13-19: Carolina Classic at Greensboro (TGC, CBS)
FedEx Cup Championship Series:
Aug. 20-26: Barclays Classic/New York City (TGC, CBS)
Aug. 27-Sept. 3: Deutsche Bank Championship/Boston (TGC, NBC)
Sept. 3-9: Championship Series event/Chicago (TGC, NBC)
Sept. 10-16: The Tour Championship (TGC, NBC)

Hope-ing For The Best

Larry Bohannan does his best to put a positive spin on the Hope moving to The Golf Channel.

Flashback: July 16, 2001...

...that's when the PGA Tour's 2002-2006 television contract was announced.

"Tiger has increased the exposure for the game. That's great for golf, it's great for the tour, it's great for us," ESPN senior VP for programming John Wildhack said.

"The tour continues to show opportunities for growth and for increase. We're delighted that Tiger is as visible as any athlete in the world. That adds to the overall growth of the game."

And here was Wildhack talking to Steve Elling in the Orlando Sentinel after the 2007-2021(!?) deal was revealed:

John Wildhack, senior vice president of programming and acquisitions at ESPN and ABC, said talks with the tour broke down in late December when it became apparent that Disney would continue to lose money under the new contract terms. All the networks claim they lost money on the current contract, which ends after the '06 season. Wildhack said golf's TV viewership has suffered significant "erosion'' in that time, a fact borne out by the ratings.

And then there were these remarks from ABC on July 16, 2001.

"The PGA Tour right now is really on a roll, and we would like to roll along with them," said Loren Matthews, ABC Sports senior VP of programming. "Who knows what the future's going to bring, but we look into a crystal ball and we think Tiger's going to be in a lot of our events. We hope he plays in them all, but right now golf is very strong overall." 

Compare these comments from a Garry Smits Florida Times-Union story with this week's "streamlining" spin (talking point?):

According to Marc Ganis, president of Sportscorp Ltd., a Chicago-basedsports industry consulting firm, the rights fees increase was directly due to Woods's impact on ratings, which have increased by 50 percent on average when Woods has played.

"There's a whole new demographic of fans who are watching now on television and never did before," Ganis said, noting the high ratings that followed Woods's runaway win last year at the U.S. Open. "They're getting the casual fan who didn't used to tune in, but now does. It's the whole Tiger Woods phenomenon."

'We feel very, very good about all aspects of the agreement, both financial and non-financial,' said [Bob] Combs [of the PGA Tour]. 'The financial part is reflective of the very strong growth curve that the Tour has been on.'

'I think it's a fair financial deal for us and the Tour,' CBS Sports president Sean McManus said.

Brian Schecter, a media analyst with Kagan World Media, said Woods drives everything in golf, including the new deal. "Whether he wins or loses, ratings spike dramatically whenever he's playing," Schecter said. "I would say he is by far the most recognizeable athlete on the planet right now. So it's not surprising golf is cashing in on his coattails."

But CBS Sports President Sean McManus said that while Woods has been a boom to the sport, the sport's tie-ins with its corporate partners and title sponsors led to the deal.

"All of us went into it thinking the worst-case scenario that Tiger won't play as much as he has before or in some events that we don't have," McManus said. "All of us discounted the Tiger factor to a certain extent."

Ganis said the deal made sense because golf has several marquee events that can command large audiences even though television viewership has become more fragmented. Additionally, Ganis said golf has a strong core audience and solid support from corporations. He added that the networks might not necessarily need further ratings increases to make the agreement profitable.

"They can stay where they are and be okay," Ganis said. "They're historically at the highest levels they've ever been, which is not a bad position to be in. They're expected to go up, but it depends on whether Tiger Woods stays at the top of his game. And whether a current player or young player can develop a mano-a-mano rivalry with him."

Oops. We got rivals. "Product" that is boring to watch way too often. Therefore, no ratings. No profits.

Hey, but the demographics are still good.

And check out this Ron Sirak story from the February 2003 Golf Digest.

There is one other selling point Finchem maneuvered with foresight. Instead of playing his sponsors and television partners against each other, he tries to work with both.

"Golf has protected the networks better than any other sport," says Neal Pilson, former president of CBS Sports and now a media consultant. "Golf has remained profitable for the networks while other sports have not. Other sports take every nickel off the table in negotiations. Finchem always leaves one."

And here's Pilson after this week's 2007-2021 TV deal was announced:

"They're going through a marketplace adjustment," sports-television consultant Neal Pilson said of the PGA Tour's new deal. "The fact that ABC and ESPN had withdrawn was a significant signal that it is a much more difficult marketplace today than it was five or 10 years ago," he added.

"Under the prior deal, you had several different major carriers offering packages that allowed sponsors to play the networks against each other," Mr. Pilson said.

And finally from Sirak's story...

Economic conditions could very well make the decision for Finchem, who will be 56 in April and shows no loss of enthusiasm for his job. And there is a delicious irony in the fact that the commissioner is awaiting the PR boost the Champions Tour would get in 2005 from Greg Norman, a Finchem foe ever since the Australian slapped the World Tour idea on the table just months into the Finchem administration. But if there is anyone who can share a room with a wet dog and come out smelling like a rose, it's Finchem.

Norman still yet to start a regular Champions Tour event. So much for the delicious irony.