Friends, golfers and golf viewers, lend me your ears.
I come to bury the Open TV rights, not to praise them!
A wee bit melodramatic or merely over the top ?
After 59 years of showing the Open Championship the BBC are to lose exclusive rights to show it live on television to SKY, soothsayers are crying the ides of March, well ides of SKY.
The BBC currently show 4 days of the Open Championship live, the Saturday and Sunday of the Masters and 4 days, well a few hours each day, of the Woman's British Open. Overall approximedly 60 hours a week, sorry a month, oops no that's a year! Just over an hour a week.
Sky cover European Tour events, PGA Tour Events, some Senior Tour events, some (nowhere near enough) Ladies European Tour and LPGA events, oh and Ryder, Solheim, President Cups and the Seve Trophy! In excess of 60 hours a year, in fact usually in excess of 60 hours a month, usually in excess of 60 hours a week!
So why the outcry ?
Well the BBC is free to air, well to licence payers and SKY is a subscription package. TV licence is £145.50, SKY sports is £24.50 a month.
Those against the new deal think participation in golf will fall because of this, when participation is already declining.
Truth is that the fall in those playing golf has very little to do with TV.
We could have an endless list of why memberships are down:
The Nomad Golfer : Golfers without a home club, they keep their handicap through a "golf society", play in open tournaments, play in social outings and go with their mates using 2 for 1 deals or other local offers. I can think of a lot of my mates that do this as they don't want to be committed to 1 club with 1 course.
Cost ; Not everyone can afford £1,000 + on golf membership, on top of that you may have additional club fees, clothing, equipment, insurance etc, etc. If you compare the cost compared to a football or rugby season ticket it's frightening.
Golf Clubs ; Lets face it some are still stuck in the 19th century never mind the 20th! Out dated sexist policies and a holier and though attitude, the snob factor exists in many clubs. And let's not over look dress codes! Let's be clear I am not advocating basketball vests with jeans on the course or club house but only being allowed to wear shorts with knee length socks ! SERIOUSLY !!! Clubs will let you in a club house in the most garish of outfits then exclude you if you have on jeans or a crew neck tee shirt ! Old fashioned dress codes will put more youngsters off than anything else.
Slow Play ; ok those that know me stop staring at the ceiling! Society has sped up over last few years, not necessarily a good thing but it's how we have evolved. A married man or woman with young children can not afford 5 hours on a course on a Saturday or Sunday, most can't afford 4 ! And you know who are the worst culprits of slow play? Youngsters! Not seniors, high handicappers or Woman, it's Youngsters because of what they watch the pros doing on TV.
What! Youngsters are slow because of watching pro's on TV ???
Yes, because of TV and that's not from watching 4 days coverage on the BBC, they are watching it on SKY.
Yes we may lose the "casual" viewer once the Open moves from the BBC but serious golf fans already have SKY in their homes.
The BBC will still have a highlights package and let's hope they follow the CH5 example. SKY currently show live test match cricket and CH5 show highlights at 7pm on the same day, my fear is the BBC will show them at 1130 pm !
But let's not forget my mother and all those like her. My mum does not like golf, cricket, rugby, football or any sport for that, there are many like her. She loves, in fact lives, for her soaps and the likes. She for one would be happy to see all sport disappear from her TV.
If it's SKY or BT or even Babestation the Open Championship will still be the Open Championship and golf fans will still find a way to watch it.
I come to bury the Open TV rights, not to praise them!
A wee bit melodramatic or merely over the top ?
After 59 years of showing the Open Championship the BBC are to lose exclusive rights to show it live on television to SKY, soothsayers are crying the ides of March, well ides of SKY.
The BBC currently show 4 days of the Open Championship live, the Saturday and Sunday of the Masters and 4 days, well a few hours each day, of the Woman's British Open. Overall approximedly 60 hours a week, sorry a month, oops no that's a year! Just over an hour a week.
Sky cover European Tour events, PGA Tour Events, some Senior Tour events, some (nowhere near enough) Ladies European Tour and LPGA events, oh and Ryder, Solheim, President Cups and the Seve Trophy! In excess of 60 hours a year, in fact usually in excess of 60 hours a month, usually in excess of 60 hours a week!
So why the outcry ?
Well the BBC is free to air, well to licence payers and SKY is a subscription package. TV licence is £145.50, SKY sports is £24.50 a month.
Those against the new deal think participation in golf will fall because of this, when participation is already declining.
Truth is that the fall in those playing golf has very little to do with TV.
We could have an endless list of why memberships are down:
The Nomad Golfer : Golfers without a home club, they keep their handicap through a "golf society", play in open tournaments, play in social outings and go with their mates using 2 for 1 deals or other local offers. I can think of a lot of my mates that do this as they don't want to be committed to 1 club with 1 course.
Cost ; Not everyone can afford £1,000 + on golf membership, on top of that you may have additional club fees, clothing, equipment, insurance etc, etc. If you compare the cost compared to a football or rugby season ticket it's frightening.
Golf Clubs ; Lets face it some are still stuck in the 19th century never mind the 20th! Out dated sexist policies and a holier and though attitude, the snob factor exists in many clubs. And let's not over look dress codes! Let's be clear I am not advocating basketball vests with jeans on the course or club house but only being allowed to wear shorts with knee length socks ! SERIOUSLY !!! Clubs will let you in a club house in the most garish of outfits then exclude you if you have on jeans or a crew neck tee shirt ! Old fashioned dress codes will put more youngsters off than anything else.
Slow Play ; ok those that know me stop staring at the ceiling! Society has sped up over last few years, not necessarily a good thing but it's how we have evolved. A married man or woman with young children can not afford 5 hours on a course on a Saturday or Sunday, most can't afford 4 ! And you know who are the worst culprits of slow play? Youngsters! Not seniors, high handicappers or Woman, it's Youngsters because of what they watch the pros doing on TV.
What! Youngsters are slow because of watching pro's on TV ???
Yes, because of TV and that's not from watching 4 days coverage on the BBC, they are watching it on SKY.
Yes we may lose the "casual" viewer once the Open moves from the BBC but serious golf fans already have SKY in their homes.
The BBC will still have a highlights package and let's hope they follow the CH5 example. SKY currently show live test match cricket and CH5 show highlights at 7pm on the same day, my fear is the BBC will show them at 1130 pm !
But let's not forget my mother and all those like her. My mum does not like golf, cricket, rugby, football or any sport for that, there are many like her. She loves, in fact lives, for her soaps and the likes. She for one would be happy to see all sport disappear from her TV.
If it's SKY or BT or even Babestation the Open Championship will still be the Open Championship and golf fans will still find a way to watch it.
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