When Is A Tour No Longer Protecting Its Broadcast Partners?

It's very much a first-world media issue and probably not worth a great deal of energy from most of you, but the PGA Tour faces an on-going struggle as they tries to blend into the 21st Century sports landscape. At issue are the rights of fans and media to Tweet, Periscope, Meerkat, Facebook, Instagram or Snapchat video from a tournament site.

Longtime readers know I've obeyed this and will continue to as I sign a regulation form for the privilege of a media credential and broadcast partners are paying a premium that makes tournaments tick. However, many, many times it has pained me not to do some short videos early in a tournament week talking up something of note for architecture buffs or handicappers. But the rules are the rules.

Conflicting news this week suggests that as with the tour's policy of not commenting on pending litigation or drug policy violations--except when the situation warrants--the PGA Tour desperately needs to sit down with their broadcast partners to sort out their social media video strategy.

Alan Shipnuck makes the case at golf.com for blogger Stephanie Wei, who lost her credential for the rest of the year upon a violation of the tour video policy. After using Periscope on Monday at Harding Park, Wei got the bad news from the tour. Shipnuck says this followed another violation and warning.

The bigger issue is golf's tradition of resisting progress and making common sense adjustments. As networks and other major leagues rush to embrace social media because of its role in drawing in new fans or engaging old ones like never before, the current policy designed to protect broadcast partners often discourages coverage that would raise awareness of events, create buzz and keep a 21st Century fan engaged.

Shipnuck writes:

Even if Wei broke the Tour’s rules, the real issue is whether those rules make sense anymore. The Tour operates under a very traditional model in which it feels it owns the content (the tournaments and whatever the players do during them) and various rights-holders (Golf Channel, the networks) pay handsomely to borrow that content. But the sports media environment has changed at the speed of light, and fans now demand to be entertained in new and different ways, with video clips the coin of the realm. They expect this at all hours, not just on the limited, rigid broadcast schedules of various television networks.

The irony in all of this Inside Golf kvetching?

The PGA Tour will be encouraging fans to "snap" 10-second video clips this Sunday from The Players. If a member of the media joins in the Snapchat Stories "activation," they'll be in violation of the regulations they signed. Even if they are a precious millennial.