TV Explanation???

[Buzzer]

Thought this might prove interesting...........

« Truth & Rumors: Does a 59 trump a W? | Back to Main | Sweet 15: Thompson charges into Open contention »
July 09, 2010
Alan Shipnuck's Mailbag: Golf Channel's new policy, ranking St. Andrews, U.S. Women's Open sites and more

Posted at 2:05 PM by Alan Shipnuck | Categories: Alan Shipnuck's Mailbag, Golf Channel, LPGA Tour, St. Andrews, U.S. Women's Open
A day or two ago I got a call from a TV industry heavyweight who is a faithful reader of Tour Confidential. He wanted to weigh in on our trashing of the Golf Channel for 1) cutting away from the French Open playoff in favor of meaningless early action at the AT&T National and, 2) not showing a second of the LPGA's Jamie Farr Classic.
My source said that top Golf Channel execs were also upset about how the French Open overtime was handled. It sounds like a lower-level staffer made a bad call in the midst of the Fourth of July weekend and in the aftermath the Channel has clarified a policy to never break away from coverage of a playoff on any tour. As for the Jamie Farr, turns out the absence of TV coverage is the fault of the LPGA and the Farr, not Golf Channel.
The new 10-year deal that kicked in this year pays the LPGA a much heftier rights fee but shifts the television production costs to the individual tournaments. This is the depressing reason why so few LPGA events are in high definition – it's costs an extra $100,000 to present Natalie Gulbis's legs in HD and the cash-strapped tour, and its penurious sponsors, won't pony up.
The bill for a week's telecast is upwards of half a million dollars. The Farr does not have a big national corporation as a sponsor, and for the smaller regional companies that support the tournament exposure on the Golf Channel is just not that meaningful. They're involved with the tourney mostly for entertaining clients. Ergo, the TV blackout. Surely the LPGA wants its events televised and it would have stepped in and covered the costs if the money was there. Thankfully, there will be no more dark weeks the rest of the year, at least for domestic events.
One last bit of intrigue: During Confidential we kicked around the merits of having the LPGA finish on Monday, when it wouldn't have to compete for attention with the other tours. My source tells me the Golf Channel has been advocating this for years and that there's a strong chance there will be some Monday finishes in the future, maybe as early as next year. The Golf Channel is also pushing for prime time finishes anytime the LPGA is out west or in Hawaii. Monday Night Golf sounds swell to me.







Read more: Alan Shipnuck's Mailbag: Golf Channel's new policy, ranking St. Andrews, U.S. Women's Open sites and more - Press Tent

[NTB]

What happen to the buck stops here.
Blame on some little middle man.

[Blue]

They're not blaming on the middle man. They're blaming it on the poorly-designed LPGA television contract with the Golf Channel which has been suspect from the second it was announced. What use is it paying a rights fee to the LPGA if the LPGA is still saddling the individual tournaments with all of the production costs?

[Buzzer]

Hey X-man.....I posted an entire story, not just the final paragraph. I would appreciate you NOT editing my posts to suit your own purposes.

The only reason I posted what I did was for those members of our board who might not have seen this story. I made no comment on it, and will have no comment on it.

Viva Annika

[Saint-Just X]

Originally Posted by xman5

Am I supossed to take this guy seriously with a comment like that.

1) Who is going to attend a final round on Monday? Who is watching a final round on Monday afternoon?

Come on really?

The PGA tour has an event which finishes on a Monday.That one at the TPC Boston that takes place over one of your holiday weekends.

Slightly different,of course,than having tournaments finish on a regular,working,Monday.

I think it's a dreadful idea,either way.

Even when you have a weather-delayed event that finishes on a Monday,it does tend to suck the life out of it.Logistically,it would be bad for attendance and could also have a knock-on effect on the local economy...

Pax Vobiscum
Saint-Just X

[xman5]

I guess Alan Shipnuck is beyond criticism.

I deleted my comments.

Sorry, I will never comment again.

[dangerbob]

LOL...let me be the peacemaker here...

Originally Posted by Buzzer

Hey X-man.....I posted an entire story, not just the final paragraph. I would appreciate you NOT editing my posts to suit your own purposes.

The only reason I posted what I did was for those members of our board who might not have seen this story. I made no comment on it, and will have no comment on it.

Viva Annika

Originally Posted by X-man

I guess Alan Shipnuck is beyond criticism.

I deleted my comments.

Sorry, I will never comment again.

I believe there was a misunderstanding. When X-man posted his response, and quoted the last paragraph of the article that the former judge posted, it appeared liked it was a direct quote from the judge, instead of from Alan Shipnuck.
So, when Buzzer read his(X-man) response, he thought X-man's comment was directed at him instead of to Alan Shipnuck. That was why the former judge was hot! So, let there be peace!

[Ricearoni]

"During Confidential we kicked around the merits of having the LPGA finish on Monday, when it wouldn't have to compete for attention with the other tours. My source tells me the Golf Channel has been advocating this for years and that there's a strong chance there will be some Monday finishes in the future, maybe as early as next year. The Golf Channel is also pushing for prime time finishes anytime the LPGA is out west or in Hawaii. Monday Night Golf sounds swell to me."

Not only would attendance suffer, but Monday finishes would be tough on the volunteers. Volunteers without regular schedules might not mind, but other folks would have a tough time - those that work, or the school aged kids who help.

[MarinePaul]

Originally Posted by Blue

They're not blaming on the middle man. They're blaming it on the poorly-designed LPGA television contract with the Golf Channel which has been suspect from the second it was announced. What use is it paying a rights fee to the LPGA if the LPGA is still saddling the individual tournaments with all of the production costs?

Holy crap! We agree on something. The contract with TGC is a joke.

[Blue]

Originally Posted by Buzzer

Thought this might prove interesting...........

Read more: Alan Shipnuck's Mailbag: Golf Channel's new policy, ranking St. Andrews, U.S. Women's Open sites and more - Press Tent

« Truth & Rumors: Does a 59 trump a W? | Back to Main | Sweet 15: Thompson charges into Open contention »
July 09, 2010
Alan Shipnuck's Mailbag: Golf Channel's new policy, ranking St. Andrews, U.S. Women's Open sites and more

Posted at 2:05 PM by Alan Shipnuck | Categories: Alan Shipnuck's Mailbag, Golf Channel, LPGA Tour, St. Andrews, U.S. Women's Open
A day or two ago I got a call from a TV industry heavyweight who is a faithful reader of Tour Confidential. He wanted to weigh in on our trashing of the Golf Channel for 1) cutting away from the French Open playoff in favor of meaningless early action at the AT&T National and, 2) not showing a second of the LPGA's Jamie Farr Classic.
My source said that top Golf Channel execs were also upset about how the French Open overtime was handled. It sounds like a lower-level staffer made a bad call in the midst of the Fourth of July weekend and in the aftermath the Channel has clarified a policy to never break away from coverage of a playoff on any tour. As for the Jamie Farr, turns out the absence of TV coverage is the fault of the LPGA and the Farr, not Golf Channel.
The new 10-year deal that kicked in this year pays the LPGA a much heftier rights fee but shifts the television production costs to the individual tournaments. This is the depressing reason why so few LPGA events are in high definition – it's costs an extra $100,000 to present Natalie Gulbis's legs in HD and the cash-strapped tour, and its penurious sponsors, won't pony up.
The bill for a week's telecast is upwards of half a million dollars. The Farr does not have a big national corporation as a sponsor, and for the smaller regional companies that support the tournament exposure on the Golf Channel is just not that meaningful. They're involved with the tourney mostly for entertaining clients. Ergo, the TV blackout. Surely the LPGA wants its events televised and it would have stepped in and covered the costs if the money was there. Thankfully, there will be no more dark weeks the rest of the year, at least for domestic events.
One last bit of intrigue: During Confidential we kicked around the merits of having the LPGA finish on Monday, when it wouldn't have to compete for attention with the other tours. My source tells me the Golf Channel has been advocating this for years and that there's a strong chance there will be some Monday finishes in the future, maybe as early as next year. The Golf Channel is also pushing for prime time finishes anytime the LPGA is out west or in Hawaii. Monday Night Golf sounds swell to me.

What is "Confidential?" Is it a code name for Clueless?

In other news, what the he11 are they thinking!?!? Who wants to/is able to watch golf on Mondays? Are they only targeting shut-ins or toddlers? Who exactly is going to attend a Monday event? And Monday night? I guess they don't care that a lot of their fans might also want to watch Monday Night football.

When are the folks who run the LPGA Tour and The Golf Channel going to get it through their heads that people do not want to watch tape-delayed sports coverage? Of course they would not know since they mostly only show tape-delayed sports coverage.

They need to create a good product, produced well, stand behind it and air it live when it happens and stand behind it, not cower behind tape-delays and ridiculous event times.