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2018 LPGA Volvik Championship May 24-27


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  • Race to the CME Globe: 500 Points
  • Format: 72 holes
  • Purse: $1,300,000
  • Location: Travis Pointe CC, Ann Arbor, MI
  • Par: 72
  • Yardage: 6,734
  • History: This is the 3rd year for the event. Struggling with a lack of confidence to start 2017, Shanshan Feng got a much-needed boost with her first victory of 2017 at the LPGA Volvik Championship at Travis Pointe Country Club. She set a new 72-hole Tournament scoring record at 20-under par, winning by two-strokes ahead of Minjee Lee and Sung Hyun Park. Jeong Eun Lee and Lizette Salas finished tied for fourth at 17-under par.

Coverage:

  • May 24: Golf Channel 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm (EDT)
  • May 25: Golf Channel 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm (EDT)
  • May 26: Golf Channel 3:00 pm - 6:00 pm (EDT)
  • May 27: Golf Channel 3:00 pm - 6:00 pm (EDT)

Ping G425 Max Driver 12 (0 Flat) - Aldila Ascent Red 50 Stiff (46")
TaylorMade AeroBurner Mini Driver 16 - Matrix Speed RUL-Z 60 Stiff
Ping G410 7wd 20.5 (0 Flat) - Alta CB 65 Stiff (43")
Ping G410 9wd 23.5 (0 Flat) - Alta CB 65 Stiff (42.5")
Ping G425 6h 30 (0 Flat) - Alta CB 70 Stiff
PXG 0311P Gen3 6-P (2 Deg Weak, 1 Deg Flat) - True Temper Elevate 95 S /

Ping i200 6-P Orange Dot (2 Deg Weak, 2 Deg Flat) - True Temper XP 95 S
Ping Glide 4.0 52-12 S, 56-10 Eye2, and 60-10 S Orange Dot (2 Deg Flat) - Ping Z-Z115 Wedge
PXG Blackjack 36" - SuperStroker Flatso 2.0

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Well, we get a few more hours of coverage this week with 3 hours of live coverage on Saturday and Sunday. The first two rounds will be tape delayed.

 

The weather forecast looks nice for the first two rounds with sunny skies and temperatures in the low 80's. 'Much better than the cold temps last year. An afternoon thunderstorm is possible on Saturday and Sunday, and I wouldn't be surprised to see the tee times moved up, and groups going off of split tees.

 

I'm going to go with Ariya this week. She's only one of a small number of players in recent years who've managed back to back wins. She won this tournament in 2016, and is playing solid golf. I expect Sung Hyun and Minjee to contend.

 

It'll be interesting to see if Nasa can follow up her best week on tour with another strong tournament.

 

'Looks like In Gee, Brooke, Inbee, Lexi, and So Yeon are sitting out this week before next week's 2n major of the year.

Ping G425 Max Driver 12 (0 Flat) - Aldila Ascent Red 50 Stiff (46")
TaylorMade AeroBurner Mini Driver 16 - Matrix Speed RUL-Z 60 Stiff
Ping G410 7wd 20.5 (0 Flat) - Alta CB 65 Stiff (43")
Ping G410 9wd 23.5 (0 Flat) - Alta CB 65 Stiff (42.5")
Ping G425 6h 30 (0 Flat) - Alta CB 70 Stiff
PXG 0311P Gen3 6-P (2 Deg Weak, 1 Deg Flat) - True Temper Elevate 95 S /

Ping i200 6-P Orange Dot (2 Deg Weak, 2 Deg Flat) - True Temper XP 95 S
Ping Glide 4.0 52-12 S, 56-10 Eye2, and 60-10 S Orange Dot (2 Deg Flat) - Ping Z-Z115 Wedge
PXG Blackjack 36" - SuperStroker Flatso 2.0

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I'm going with Nelly this week, She was pretty bad at the Kingsmill and I expect a strong bounce back, plus she was done Friday and knew she was done, so she'll probably be well rested and focused

 

I also can't wait for the US Open, 5 hours of coverage each day and A "featured group" streamed in the morning. It still boggles the mind why Whan and the LPGA don't produce their own content and are held hostage and considered 2nd class citizens by Golf Channel. Oh well!

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Well, we get a few more hours of coverage this week with 3 hours of live coverage on Saturday and Sunday. The first two rounds will be tape delayed.

 

The weather forecast looks nice for the first two rounds with sunny skies and temperatures in the low 80's. 'Much better than the cold temps last year. An afternoon thunderstorm is possible on Saturday and Sunday, and I wouldn't be surprised to see the tee times moved up, and groups going off of split tees.

 

I'm going to go with Ariya this week. She's only one of a small number of players in recent years who've managed back to back wins. She won this tournament in 2016, and is playing solid golf. I expect Sung Hyun and Minjee to contend.

 

It'll be interesting to see if Nasa can follow up her best week on tour with another strong tournament.

 

'Looks like In Gee, Brooke, Inbee, Lexi, and So Yeon are sitting out this week before next week's 2n major of the year.

 

I'm not surprised to see that In Gee, Lexi, So Yeon and Inbee are taking the week off in preparation for next week. The real surprise to me is that Brooke is doing the same. She just seems to want to play week in and week out, but I do think it is smart of her to take the week off and get herself prepared mentally and physically for next week's US Women's Open. Taking some tournament events off from time to time is probably a good strategy for Brooke and she should do more of it.

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I'm going with Nelly this week, She was pretty bad at the Kingsmill and I expect a strong bounce back, plus she was done Friday and knew she was done, so she'll probably be well rested and focused

 

I also can't wait for the US Open, 5 hours of coverage each day and A "featured group" streamed in the morning. It still boggles the mind why Whan and the LPGA don't produce their own content and are held hostage and considered 2nd class citizens by Golf Channel. Oh well!

 

I'm not sure that the LPGA can afford the costs of producing their own content. It is one thing if you are NBC/Golf Channel in which it is just a marginal cost to produce content rather than a complete start up and sole production company. Even if they could, how would they distribute it? Golf Channel does not have much free airtime to dedicate it to the LPGA and the original problem still exists -- do you choose to air the LPGA event as opposed to the PGA Tour or even the Champions Tour events?

 

It does make some sense from a viewer's perspective and especially if the LPGA could enter into some agreements with specialty channels such as ESPN (US) or TSN (Canada), etc. but, there is still the question of whether or not that is more attractive vis a vis potential viewership/audience share than the NBC/Golf Channel.

 

Some pointed "criticisms" of the LPGA production company, so perhaps a potential solution is to have the LPGA partner with someone such as the Korean channel(s) that produce events for their domestic market or even with the Golf Channel and have the rights to distribute the "product" to multiple distributors and allow the Golf Channel "exclusive" rights to key events such as the 4 Majors? Oops ... the 5 majors!

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I'm going with Nelly this week, She was pretty bad at the Kingsmill and I expect a strong bounce back, plus she was done Friday and knew she was done, so she'll probably be well rested and focused

 

I also can't wait for the US Open, 5 hours of coverage each day and A "featured group" streamed in the morning. It still boggles the mind why Whan and the LPGA don't produce their own content and are held hostage and considered 2nd class citizens by Golf Channel. Oh well!

 

I'm not sure that the LPGA can afford the costs of producing their own content. It is one thing if you are NBC/Golf Channel in which it is just a marginal cost to produce content rather than a complete start up and sole production company. Even if they could, how would they distribute it? Golf Channel does not have much free airtime to dedicate it to the LPGA and the original problem still exists -- do you choose to air the LPGA event as opposed to the PGA Tour or even the Champions Tour events?

 

It does make some sense from a viewer's perspective and especially if the LPGA could enter into some agreements with specialty channels such as ESPN (US) or TSN (Canada), etc. but, there is still the question of whether or not that is more attractive vis a vis potential viewership/audience share than the NBC/Golf Channel.

 

Some pointed "criticisms" of the LPGA production company, so perhaps a potential solution is to have the LPGA partner with someone such as the Korean channel(s) that produce events for their domestic market or even with the Golf Channel and have the rights to distribute the "product" to multiple distributors and allow the Golf Channel "exclusive" rights to key events such as the 4 Majors? Oops ... the 5 majors!

 

The LPGA has distribution deals in the countries listed below:

 

Pan Asia1 Fox Sports Asia

TV.FoxSportsAsia.com

 

Australia Fox Sports Australia

FoxSportsAsia.com.au/tvguide

 

Belgium/Netherlands Telnet/Ziggo Sport

ziggosporttotaal.nl/programmagids/

 

Canada Golf Channel

Golfchannel.com/tours/lpga

 

China AliSports

alisports.com

 

China CCTV

cctv.com

 

France Golf Channel

Golfchannel.fr/Programme/lpga-tour-31

 

Iceland 365

stod2.is/Dagskra/dagskra?stod=GOLF

 

India2 Taj

Tensports.com/tv-guide/golf

 

Japan Wowow

Wowow.co.jp/sports/lpga/

 

Japan Abema TV

abema.tv/timetable

 

Korea JTBC Golf

Jtbcgolf.joins.com/tv/tv_timer.asp

 

Latin America3 DirecTV/Golf Channel

Golfchannel-la.com/programacion/

 

Malaysia4 Astro SuperSport

Whatson.astro.com.my/tv-guide

 

Middle East5 OSN

Osn.com/en/find-watch/sports.aspx

 

New Zealand Sky

skytv.co.nz

 

Portugal Sport TV

Sporttv.pt/#programacao

 

Scandinavia6 Viasat

Tv3sport.dk/tv-guide

 

South Africa7 SuperSport

Supersport.com/aa.aspx?t=sport&v=Golf&view=full

 

Spain8 Canal+

 

Thailand BBTV

ch7.com/schedule.html

 

United Kingdom9 BSkyB

Skysports.com/watch/tv-guide

 

(Ex) Yugoslavia10 IKO

sportklub.rs/programska-sema

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I'm going with Nelly this week, She was pretty bad at the Kingsmill and I expect a strong bounce back, plus she was done Friday and knew she was done, so she'll probably be well rested and focused

 

I also can't wait for the US Open, 5 hours of coverage each day and A "featured group" streamed in the morning. It still boggles the mind why Whan and the LPGA don't produce their own content and are held hostage and considered 2nd class citizens by Golf Channel. Oh well!

 

I'm not sure that the LPGA can afford the costs of producing their own content. It is one thing if you are NBC/Golf Channel in which it is just a marginal cost to produce content rather than a complete start up and sole production company. Even if they could, how would they distribute it? Golf Channel does not have much free airtime to dedicate it to the LPGA and the original problem still exists -- do you choose to air the LPGA event as opposed to the PGA Tour or even the Champions Tour events?

 

It does make some sense from a viewer's perspective and especially if the LPGA could enter into some agreements with specialty channels such as ESPN (US) or TSN (Canada), etc. but, there is still the question of whether or not that is more attractive vis a vis potential viewership/audience share than the NBC/Golf Channel.

 

Some pointed "criticisms" of the LPGA production company, so perhaps a potential solution is to have the LPGA partner with someone such as the Korean channel(s) that produce events for their domestic market or even with the Golf Channel and have the rights to distribute the "product" to multiple distributors and allow the Golf Channel "exclusive" rights to key events such as the 4 Majors? Oops ... the 5 majors!

 

The LPGA has distribution deals in the countries listed below:

 

Pan Asia1 Fox Sports Asia

TV.FoxSportsAsia.com

 

Australia Fox Sports Australia

FoxSportsAsia.com.au/tvguide

 

Belgium/Netherlands Telnet/Ziggo Sport

ziggosporttotaal.nl/programmagids/

 

Canada Golf Channel

Golfchannel.com/tours/lpga

 

China AliSports

alisports.com

 

China CCTV

cctv.com

 

France Golf Channel

Golfchannel.fr/Programme/lpga-tour-31

 

Iceland 365

stod2.is/Dagskra/dagskra?stod=GOLF

 

India2 Taj

Tensports.com/tv-guide/golf

 

Japan Wowow

Wowow.co.jp/sports/lpga/

 

Japan Abema TV

abema.tv/timetable

 

Korea JTBC Golf

Jtbcgolf.joins.com/tv/tv_timer.asp

 

Latin America3 DirecTV/Golf Channel

Golfchannel-la.com/programacion/

 

Malaysia4 Astro SuperSport

Whatson.astro.com.my/tv-guide

 

Middle East5 OSN

Osn.com/en/find-watch/sports.aspx

 

New Zealand Sky

skytv.co.nz

 

Portugal Sport TV

Sporttv.pt/#programacao

 

Scandinavia6 Viasat

Tv3sport.dk/tv-guide

 

South Africa7 SuperSport

Supersport.com/aa.aspx?t=sport&v=Golf&view=full

 

Spain8 Canal+

 

Thailand BBTV

ch7.com/schedule.html

 

United Kingdom9 BSkyB

Skysports.com/watch/tv-guide

 

(Ex) Yugoslavia10 IKO

sportklub.rs/programska-sema

 

Dave ... I think the part that is missing in our topic is that despite these "agreements" for distribution, there is not much LPGA golf on television. It may very well be a different story in Asia (where I have not been for a few years), and especially in South Korea, but here in North America, it is a different "animal" altogether.

 

Your information references Golf Channel Canada - all that refers to is the NBC Golf Channel that has been registered in Canada to comply with Canadian broadcast regulations. The coverage is the exact same as you would watch in the United States. The only time that the LPGA event is not broadcast in Canada by the Golf Channel is during the Canadian Women's Open ... which is broadcast by a Canadian channel and distributed to others.

 

Now, if the LPGA wanted to increase their exposure (airtime) in the Canadian market as an example, then they would need to try and strike a deal with Canadian distributors such as TSN to (The Sports Network) to air LPGA content on one of their channels. Producing the content would most likely fall to Golf Channel regardless because the LPGA does not produce its own content or lacks the sufficient tools within its television rights agreement with NBC Golf Channel to have them produce extra hours of content that would extend beyond what the Golf Channel wanted to air on its own channel.

 

This would allow the additional content to be distributed and aired by other channels outside of the Golf Channel - thereby increasing airtime outside of the "parameters" set by the Golf Channel. Of course, NBC The Golf Channel, would want to be compensated for their production costs, etc. and that would be another point to be resolved. There are many challenges for the LPGA to produce its own content, and I'm not sure if they have the "clout" to put it together.

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I'm going with Nelly this week, She was pretty bad at the Kingsmill and I expect a strong bounce back, plus she was done Friday and knew she was done, so she'll probably be well rested and focused

 

I also can't wait for the US Open, 5 hours of coverage each day and A "featured group" streamed in the morning. It still boggles the mind why Whan and the LPGA don't produce their own content and are held hostage and considered 2nd class citizens by Golf Channel. Oh well!

 

I'm not sure that the LPGA can afford the costs of producing their own content. It is one thing if you are NBC/Golf Channel in which it is just a marginal cost to produce content rather than a complete start up and sole production company. Even if they could, how would they distribute it? Golf Channel does not have much free airtime to dedicate it to the LPGA and the original problem still exists -- do you choose to air the LPGA event as opposed to the PGA Tour or even the Champions Tour events?

 

It does make some sense from a viewer's perspective and especially if the LPGA could enter into some agreements with specialty channels such as ESPN (US) or TSN (Canada), etc. but, there is still the question of whether or not that is more attractive vis a vis potential viewership/audience share than the NBC/Golf Channel.

 

Some pointed "criticisms" of the LPGA production company, so perhaps a potential solution is to have the LPGA partner with someone such as the Korean channel(s) that produce events for their domestic market or even with the Golf Channel and have the rights to distribute the "product" to multiple distributors and allow the Golf Channel "exclusive" rights to key events such as the 4 Majors? Oops ... the 5 majors!

 

The LPGA has distribution deals in the countries listed below:

 

Pan Asia1 Fox Sports Asia

TV.FoxSportsAsia.com

 

Australia Fox Sports Australia

FoxSportsAsia.com.au/tvguide

 

Belgium/Netherlands Telnet/Ziggo Sport

ziggosporttotaal.nl/programmagids/

 

Canada Golf Channel

Golfchannel.com/tours/lpga

 

China AliSports

alisports.com

 

China CCTV

cctv.com

 

France Golf Channel

Golfchannel.fr/Programme/lpga-tour-31

 

Iceland 365

stod2.is/Dagskra/dagskra?stod=GOLF

 

India2 Taj

Tensports.com/tv-guide/golf

 

Japan Wowow

Wowow.co.jp/sports/lpga/

 

Japan Abema TV

abema.tv/timetable

 

Korea JTBC Golf

Jtbcgolf.joins.com/tv/tv_timer.asp

 

Latin America3 DirecTV/Golf Channel

Golfchannel-la.com/programacion/

 

Malaysia4 Astro SuperSport

Whatson.astro.com.my/tv-guide

 

Middle East5 OSN

Osn.com/en/find-watch/sports.aspx

 

New Zealand Sky

skytv.co.nz

 

Portugal Sport TV

Sporttv.pt/#programacao

 

Scandinavia6 Viasat

Tv3sport.dk/tv-guide

 

South Africa7 SuperSport

Supersport.com/aa.aspx?t=sport&v=Golf&view=full

 

Spain8 Canal+

 

Thailand BBTV

ch7.com/schedule.html

 

United Kingdom9 BSkyB

Skysports.com/watch/tv-guide

 

(Ex) Yugoslavia10 IKO

sportklub.rs/programska-sema

 

Dave ... I think the part that is missing in our topic is that despite these "agreements" for distribution, there is not much LPGA golf on television. It may very well be a different story in Asia (where I have not been for a few years), and especially in South Korea, but here in North America, it is a different "animal" altogether.

 

Your information references Golf Channel Canada - all that refers to is the NBC Golf Channel that has been registered in Canada to comply with Canadian broadcast regulations. The coverage is the exact same as you would watch in the United States. The only time that the LPGA event is not broadcast in Canada by the Golf Channel is during the Canadian Women's Open ... which is broadcast by a Canadian channel and distributed to others.

 

Now, if the LPGA wanted to increase their exposure (airtime) in the Canadian market as an example, then they would need to try and strike a deal with Canadian distributors such as TSN to (The Sports Network) to air LPGA content on one of their channels. Producing the content would most likely fall to Golf Channel regardless because the LPGA does not produce its own content or lacks the sufficient tools within its television rights agreement with NBC Golf Channel to have them produce extra hours of content that would extend beyond what the Golf Channel wanted to air on its own channel.

 

This would allow the additional content to be distributed and aired by other channels outside of the Golf Channel - thereby increasing airtime outside of the "parameters" set by the Golf Channel. Of course, NBC The Golf Channel, would want to be compensated for their production costs, etc. and that would be another point to be resolved. There are many challenges for the LPGA to produce its own content, and I'm not sure if they have the "clout" to put it together.

 

In my business plan presented during my run to be LPGA commissioner, I proposed, among other things, changing the tour to the GLPGA to be reflective of the global nature of the tour. We compare the PGA to the LPGA which isn't the proper comparison. So much of the LPGA viewership, and TV revenue for that matter, comes from outside the US.

 

Last year, the US had about 2M unique viewers who watched the LPGA at some point during each tournament. The Solheim Cup drew just under 1M viewers on Sunday's final round. But...internationally for some of the larger events, Global viewership topped 500M and the Evian was nearly 600M viewers across 175 countries. So I ask the question...who is the bigger consumer of the LPGA...the US audience or the ROW?

 

This was the foundation of my plan and honestly Mike Whan had similar ideas about making the tour global...he didn't want to change the designation though which was where we differed. The revenue that comes from global broadcasting easily exceeds the US revenue. And...revenues are about to grow again. Carolyn Bivens, possibly the worst commissioner in the history of sports other than Gary Bettman, signed a 10 year deal in 2009 that expires in the next year or so. It was also about 95% exclusive to the Golf Channel. There are now countless other outlets like Fox Sports 1, the CBS Sports network, Facebook, Amazon etc. to bid on the content. And why not have several packages available and bid them out like the PGA does? Mike Whan is a very smart person and also a great marketer. He'll take advantage of this opportunity that only comes along every so often.

 

Off the soap box now and back to our regular GolfWRX programming.

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Well, we get a few more hours of coverage this week with 3 hours of live coverage on Saturday and Sunday. The first two rounds will be tape delayed.

 

The weather forecast looks nice for the first two rounds with sunny skies and temperatures in the low 80's. 'Much better than the cold temps last year. An afternoon thunderstorm is possible on Saturday and Sunday, and I wouldn't be surprised to see the tee times moved up, and groups going off of split tees.

 

I'm going to go with Ariya this week. She's only one of a small number of players in recent years who've managed back to back wins. She won this tournament in 2016, and is playing solid golf. I expect Sung Hyun and Minjee to contend.

 

It'll be interesting to see if Nasa can follow up her best week on tour with another strong tournament.

 

'Looks like In Gee, Brooke, Inbee, Lexi, and So Yeon are sitting out this week before next week's 2n major of the year.

 

I'm not surprised to see that In Gee, Lexi, So Yeon and Inbee are taking the week off in preparation for next week. The real surprise to me is that Brooke is doing the same. She just seems to want to play week in and week out, but I do think it is smart of her to take the week off and get herself prepared mentally and physically for next week's US Women's Open. Taking some tournament events off from time to time is probably a good strategy for Brooke and she should do more of it.

 

I'm surprised Brooke skipped this event also because this and the Marathon are closest to her home Province and a lot of Canadian fans could attend.

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I always thought the viewership was much greater outside the U.S. just because there aren’t that many U.S. stars that regularly contend against the Asian ladies (from Asian countries). Lexi, Jessica are good golfers, but not as consistent as the Asian ladies. Lexi just disappears when her putting goes south. Christie Kerr kind of the senior of the group is more consistent than the supposed young stars. No surprise that the U.S. market isn’t that interested in watching the Asian ladies win everything. Therefore the minimal coverage they get on the golf channel. Only time they get decent coverage is when they are overseas and live is broadcast in the middle of the night. Could be worse I guess, could be the sad LET.

 

Personally I would prefer more LPGA coverage and less Champions Tour.

 

Poor Volvik missing a lot of stars, surprised Brooke not playing as Canadians could drive across the Bridge to see her..

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Brooke has played in all 12 events this season. Her only weeks off were when the tour was also off for the week. This includes a 4 week stretch with 4 tournaments (Lotte - Texas). Heck, even the iron woman needs a week off going into a major, no?

Ping G425 Max Driver 12 (0 Flat) - Aldila Ascent Red 50 Stiff (46")
TaylorMade AeroBurner Mini Driver 16 - Matrix Speed RUL-Z 60 Stiff
Ping G410 7wd 20.5 (0 Flat) - Alta CB 65 Stiff (43")
Ping G410 9wd 23.5 (0 Flat) - Alta CB 65 Stiff (42.5")
Ping G425 6h 30 (0 Flat) - Alta CB 70 Stiff
PXG 0311P Gen3 6-P (2 Deg Weak, 1 Deg Flat) - True Temper Elevate 95 S /

Ping i200 6-P Orange Dot (2 Deg Weak, 2 Deg Flat) - True Temper XP 95 S
Ping Glide 4.0 52-12 S, 56-10 Eye2, and 60-10 S Orange Dot (2 Deg Flat) - Ping Z-Z115 Wedge
PXG Blackjack 36" - SuperStroker Flatso 2.0

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'm going with Nelly this week, She was pretty bad at the Kingsmill and I expect a strong bounce back, plus she was done Friday and knew she was done, so she'll probably be well rested and focused

 

I also can't wait for the US Open, 5 hours of coverage each day and A "featured group" streamed in the morning. It still boggles the mind why Whan and the LPGA don't produce their own content and are held hostage and considered 2nd class citizens by Golf Channel. Oh well!

 

I'm not sure that the LPGA can afford the costs of producing their own content. It is one thing if you are NBC/Golf Channel in which it is just a marginal cost to produce content rather than a complete start up and sole production company. Even if they could, how would they distribute it? Golf Channel does not have much free airtime to dedicate it to the LPGA and the original problem still exists -- do you choose to air the LPGA event as opposed to the PGA Tour or even the Champions Tour events?

 

It does make some sense from a viewer's perspective and especially if the LPGA could enter into some agreements with specialty channels such as ESPN (US) or TSN (Canada), etc. but, there is still the question of whether or not that is more attractive vis a vis potential viewership/audience share than the NBC/Golf Channel.

 

Some pointed "criticisms" of the LPGA production company, so perhaps a potential solution is to have the LPGA partner with someone such as the Korean channel(s) that produce events for their domestic market or even with the Golf Channel and have the rights to distribute the "product" to multiple distributors and allow the Golf Channel "exclusive" rights to key events such as the 4 Majors? Oops ... the 5 majors!

 

The LPGA has distribution deals in the countries listed below:

 

Pan Asia1 Fox Sports Asia

TV.FoxSportsAsia.com

 

Australia Fox Sports Australia

FoxSportsAsia.com.au/tvguide

 

Belgium/Netherlands Telnet/Ziggo Sport

ziggosporttotaal.nl/programmagids/

 

Canada Golf Channel

Golfchannel.com/tours/lpga

 

China AliSports

alisports.com

 

China CCTV

cctv.com

 

France Golf Channel

Golfchannel.fr/Programme/lpga-tour-31

 

Iceland 365

stod2.is/Dagskra/dagskra?stod=GOLF

 

India2 Taj

Tensports.com/tv-guide/golf

 

Japan Wowow

Wowow.co.jp/sports/lpga/

 

Japan Abema TV

abema.tv/timetable

 

Korea JTBC Golf

Jtbcgolf.joins.com/tv/tv_timer.asp

 

Latin America3 DirecTV/Golf Channel

Golfchannel-la.com/programacion/

 

Malaysia4 Astro SuperSport

Whatson.astro.com.my/tv-guide

 

Middle East5 OSN

Osn.com/en/find-watch/sports.aspx

 

New Zealand Sky

skytv.co.nz

 

Portugal Sport TV

Sporttv.pt/#programacao

 

Scandinavia6 Viasat

Tv3sport.dk/tv-guide

 

South Africa7 SuperSport

Supersport.com/aa.aspx?t=sport&v=Golf&view=full

 

Spain8 Canal+

 

Thailand BBTV

ch7.com/schedule.html

 

United Kingdom9 BSkyB

Skysports.com/watch/tv-guide

 

(Ex) Yugoslavia10 IKO

sportklub.rs/programska-sema

 

Dave ... I think the part that is missing in our topic is that despite these "agreements" for distribution, there is not much LPGA golf on television. It may very well be a different story in Asia (where I have not been for a few years), and especially in South Korea, but here in North America, it is a different "animal" altogether.

 

Your information references Golf Channel Canada - all that refers to is the NBC Golf Channel that has been registered in Canada to comply with Canadian broadcast regulations. The coverage is the exact same as you would watch in the United States. The only time that the LPGA event is not broadcast in Canada by the Golf Channel is during the Canadian Women's Open ... which is broadcast by a Canadian channel and distributed to others.

 

Now, if the LPGA wanted to increase their exposure (airtime) in the Canadian market as an example, then they would need to try and strike a deal with Canadian distributors such as TSN to (The Sports Network) to air LPGA content on one of their channels. Producing the content would most likely fall to Golf Channel regardless because the LPGA does not produce its own content or lacks the sufficient tools within its television rights agreement with NBC Golf Channel to have them produce extra hours of content that would extend beyond what the Golf Channel wanted to air on its own channel.

 

This would allow the additional content to be distributed and aired by other channels outside of the Golf Channel - thereby increasing airtime outside of the "parameters" set by the Golf Channel. Of course, NBC The Golf Channel, would want to be compensated for their production costs, etc. and that would be another point to be resolved. There are many challenges for the LPGA to produce its own content, and I'm not sure if they have the "clout" to put it together.

 

In my business plan presented during my run to be LPGA commissioner, I proposed, among other things, changing the tour to the GLPGA to be reflective of the global nature of the tour. We compare the PGA to the LPGA which isn't the proper comparison. So much of the LPGA viewership, and TV revenue for that matter, comes from outside the US.

 

Last year, the US had about 2M unique viewers who watched the LPGA at some point during each tournament. The Solheim Cup drew just under 1M viewers on Sunday's final round. But...internationally for some of the larger events, Global viewership topped 500M and the Evian was nearly 600M viewers across 175 countries. So I ask the question...who is the bigger consumer of the LPGA...the US audience or the ROW?

 

This was the foundation of my plan and honestly Mike Whan had similar ideas about making the tour global...he didn't want to change the designation though which was where we differed. The revenue that comes from global broadcasting easily exceeds the US revenue. And...revenues are about to grow again. Carolyn Bivens, possibly the worst commissioner in the history of sports other than Gary Bettman, signed a 10 year deal in 2009 that expires in the next year or so. It was also about 95% exclusive to the Golf Channel. There are now countless other outlets like Fox Sports 1, the CBS Sports network, Facebook, Amazon etc. to bid on the content. And why not have several packages available and bid them out like the PGA does? Mike Whan is a very smart person and also a great marketer. He'll take advantage of this opportunity that only comes along every so often.

 

Off the soap box now and back to our regular GolfWRX programming.

 

I would go with the WTA model (Tennis). You used to be able to subscribe to TennisTV and get ATP and WTA tennis that you could stream almost any male/female tennis match outside the majors. WTA didn't like their compensation so left the deal and started their own streaming of their events, I believe it's 14.99/month. If you can get 100K subscribers around the world, globally you would have 1.5 million a months just in streaming revenue. I realize that Tennis is much easier to cover than golf in the resources needed, but again the initial investment is what is costly and probably a couple years to smooth out the bugs lol.

 

But I believe in golf and especially for the LPGA creating they're own content is the way to go. In Canada, we depend on Golf Channel and we get jobbed if it's on the app or stream cause as Canadian's we don't have access to it. We have two Major sports networks TSN and Sportsnet both of whom are owned by Multi-Billion dollar media companies. Due to Brooke in large part neither company who have a problem paying you good money to have 4 days of LPGA content each week if they didn't have to produce it.

 

I'm sure the LPGA could sign deals with TV markets all over the world too. Here's the thing, you either stay with GC/NBC and continue with the same treatment or when you can end the deal and produce your own content, cause that is the only way you get another Network outside Golf Channel for women's golf. No Network is gonna pay to produce content to cover women's golf. You wanna a couple weeks on ESPN, then ask them how much they'll pay for 4 days of 4 hour content and all they have to do is sell advertising and press play.

 

And creating your content allows you to try different things. If you use the stream site then have a featured group that the camera's follow all 18 holes with it's own commentary. I'm sure many Korean's would take part in the streaming and give them a feature group like Ingee, SHP and Imbee, you'll get lots of eyes. If you look at the landscape, the media and TV networks are falling, sports is the most resistant but not immune. The LPGA can take control of their product and building a solid reliable base that streams content and can be the foundation that helps your tour going forward.

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Brooke has played in all 12 events this season. Her only weeks off were when the tour was also off for the week. This includes a 4 week stretch with 4 tournaments (Lotte - Texas). Heck, even the iron woman needs a week off going into a major, no?

I honestly think there's a secret handshake or names drawn from a hat sort deal going on lol. You'll notice the top end Pro's not playing in the Volvik will be playing in the Arkansas the week before the KPMG. They all seem to take turns playing before some majors and taking off the week before others

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Brooke has played in all 12 events this season. Her only weeks off were when the tour was also off for the week. This includes a 4 week stretch with 4 tournaments (Lotte - Texas). Heck, even the iron woman needs a week off going into a major, no?

I honestly think there's a secret handshake or names drawn from a hat sort deal going on lol. You'll notice the top end Pro's not playing in the Volvik will be playing in the Arkansas the week before the KPMG. They all seem to take turns playing before some majors and taking off the week before others

 

Is there a requirement for players to play in an event every n years? If not, it does seem that many players vary their schedules to pick up a few events that they don't normally play. Some players like to play a tournament the week before a major, and others don't.

 

I think the key is to not have the major be the third event in 3 weeks. Of course, a few players don't seem to follow that rule.

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TaylorMade AeroBurner Mini Driver 16 - Matrix Speed RUL-Z 60 Stiff
Ping G410 7wd 20.5 (0 Flat) - Alta CB 65 Stiff (43")
Ping G410 9wd 23.5 (0 Flat) - Alta CB 65 Stiff (42.5")
Ping G425 6h 30 (0 Flat) - Alta CB 70 Stiff
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I'm surprised Brooke skipped this event also because this and the Marathon are closest to her home Province and a lot of Canadian fans could attend.

I'm not surprised that Brooke is finally skipping a tournament.

Obviously, Brooke plays for trophies...the USWO is the most pretigious women's event....I believe if you finish 5th or 6th at the USWO...you'll make more money that the Volvik winner.

 

Are most courses in Michigan....bent grass including the greens.

I've got to believe Shoal Creek is bermuda....including the greens.

Two different playing surfaces.

If Brooke was smart....she would have arranged to practice at a nearby private club close to Shoal Creek.

I believe the gals can't practice on Shoal Creek until either Sunday afternoon or Monday...I know someone here can verify or dispute this....I'm not 100% sure on this.

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I'm surprised Brooke skipped this event also because this and the Marathon are closest to her home Province and a lot of Canadian fans could attend.

Brooke plays for trophies...the USWO is the most pretigious women's event....I believe if you finish 5th or 6th at the USWO...you'll make more money that the Volvik winner.

 

Are most courses in Michigan....bent grass including the greens.

I've got to believe Shoal Creek is bermuda....including the greens.

Two different playing surfaces.

If Brooke was smart....she would have arranged to practice at a nearby private club close to Shoal Creek.

I believe the gals can't practice on Shoal Creek until either Sunday afternoon or Monday...I know someone here can verify or dispute this....I'm not 100% sure on this.

 

Spectators aren't allowed but players are allowed to practice at Shoal Creek this week.

 

Bentgrass are on greens, bermudagrass on fairways, https://pgatourmedia...FILE/GCSAA.pdf.

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I'm going with Nelly this week, She was pretty bad at the Kingsmill and I expect a strong bounce back, plus she was done Friday and knew she was done, so she'll probably be well rested and focused

 

I also can't wait for the US Open, 5 hours of coverage each day and A "featured group" streamed in the morning. It still boggles the mind why Whan and the LPGA don't produce their own content and are held hostage and considered 2nd class citizens by Golf Channel. Oh well!

 

WTA is truly global. And despite what Mikey "the magic" Whan (heard this one on GC) keeps telling us, LPGA is NOT global, it is regional ( North America + East Asia + Australia ) at best . A major effluent region - Europe , don't watch women's golf. heck, it can't even sustain a low-rent tour like the LET.

 

Whan has shown he is not afraid to make wholesale changes. I suspect they have already done the math and concluded that whatever the current model is, it is the most practical one.

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A major effluent region - Europe , don't watch women's golf. heck, it can't even sustain a low-rent tour like the LET.

 

 

Europe has different sports - football of course, but for women it's more tennis, athletics and winter sports. I think a big factor is that young people's idea of exercise these days is often to go to the gym with some mates, work out a bit and then drink and socialise and talk about it on social media.

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I'm going with Nelly this week, She was pretty bad at the Kingsmill and I expect a strong bounce back, plus she was done Friday and knew she was done, so she'll probably be well rested and focused

 

I also can't wait for the US Open, 5 hours of coverage each day and A "featured group" streamed in the morning. It still boggles the mind why Whan and the LPGA don't produce their own content and are held hostage and considered 2nd class citizens by Golf Channel. Oh well!

 

WTA is truly global. And despite what Mikey "the magic" Whan (heard this one on GC) keeps telling us, LPGA is NOT global, it is regional ( North America + East Asia + Australia ) at best . A major effluent region - Europe , don't watch women's golf. heck, it can't even sustain a low-rent tour like the LET.

 

Whan has shown he is not afraid to make wholesale changes. I suspect they have already done the math and concluded that whatever the current model is, it is the most practical one.

 

 

Hmmm- typo? Europe as an affluent region rather than effluent.

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Goooo Minjeeeee!

 

Was totally coming here to say that, excited to see her right up there again. She's having a great year, so want her to get a win in.

 

KBong, she seems plenty popular. And as you just said, she got a lot of coverage. You like to repeat things, sometimes out of nowhere ... for a long time Minjee was one of your top catchphrases, this just looks like it resurfacing. Have more fun, get stuck on positive ideas instead.

 

In other Australia news, it looks like Su is really recovered from her tough start this year, very happy.

 

Who is this new Nasa! Stand back, she is her assuming her JLPGA form...

 

Darn, Hee Young had a bad second round and missed the cut, thought she was safe :( I'm also sad about Xi Yu still in the doldrums, wish knew what's happened with her game.

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