NBC Signals Beginning of the End for Golf Channel

[Greg_B]

https://www.golfdigest.com/story/television-early-round-usga-rands-us-open-open-championship-coverage-usa-network

 

"Beginning in 2022, USA Network will broadcast early round coverage of the USGA and R&A signature men’s and women’s championships, which previously had been airing on Golf Channel. USA Network will also air lead-in coverage on the weekends ahead of NBC broadcasting from the tournaments.

 

 

All linear coverage will be streamed (via authentication) on NBCSports.com and NBC Sports app.

“We are excited to transition the cable coverage of many of our premium sports events to USA Network, Peacock, and other widely-distributed NBCUniversal platforms, which will give us a significant boost in television homes and will put us in an even stronger position as we grow our business,” Pete Bevacqua, Chairman, NBC Sports, said in a press release.

Early round coverage of PGA Tour events will remain on Golf Channel."

 

 

This is an ominous and disturbing move by NBC. With NBC's 2 majors now gone from GC one expects it is only a matter of time before PGA Tour events make a similar migration. Then it becomes easier for NBC to eliminate the channel entirely as viewership (and revenue) declines. Certainly there is little else on GC now that is must-see TV. The end is in sight.

[Ferguson]

Old news.  

[MattyO1984]

As a kid sat in the UK, I used to be extremely envious that the US had a 24/7 golf channel. From the outside looking in, that channel now resembles a should have retired 10 years ago punch drunk boxer that just can’t quit even though the only people watching are there to see how bad things have gotten. 

[Titleist99]

Let me see ...... a channel devoted to golf all day and bring you televised tournament golf every week, daily news programing, instructional content, LPGA, PGATOUR, COLLEGE tournaments an a host of other things. Some seem to think that's a bad thing to have. Maybe I'm easily entertained but I find nothing wrong with The Golf Channel and hope that NBC invest in future programing.....JMO

Edited November 27, 2021 by Titleist99

[bscinstnct]

I used to watch GC all the time.

 

They need to bring back great programming like Sean  “The Beast” Fister!

 

 

Edited November 3, 2021 by bscinstnct

[5 O'Clock Charlie]

Wife's sister is an executive at one of the streaming services that almost everyone in America has, and she used to be an executive at NBC. Heard from her that Peacock is doing horrific, so not surprising that they are pushing quality content there to lure in new perspective customers.

[Greg_B]

46 minutes ago, Ferguson said:

Old news.  

 

Announced yesterday, in Golf Digest's morning digest today. I had no idea you were so cutting-edge as to declare something like that "old". Your brain must be spinning fast.

[dbleag]

Television in general has not been good (sucked) for a long time.  

 

The old song used to be "57 Channels and Nothin's On" - now changed to "500 Channels and Nuthin's On."

 

After a while, you've seen reruns of reruns of reruns of reruns.  Movies are remakes of old movies which are remakes of older movies, etc.

 

As far as Golf is concerned, I'm thankful for the European Tour events, College events, LPGA & Moonlight events & Korn Ferry events. NBC could be doing a lot better with TGC programming, but they'd rather push their own agendas and also find ways to squeeze more shekels out of us viewers (i.e. GolfPass).

 

That being said, I would miss Golf Channel if it goes away. 

 

Let's hope the PGA of America, the USGA, the PGA Tour or someone with golf knowledge buys it.  

 

Somebody like Mike Whan (who get's it) could do a great job as CEO.

[cgasucks]

33 minutes ago, bscinstnct said:

I used to watch GC all the time.

 

They need to bring back great programming like Sean  “The Beast” Fister!

 

 

Yeah.  I used to watch that channel at least 10 hours a day in the early 2000s until they turned more of the way of MTV as they were doing more and more reality shows.    Now I'm lucky if I watch 10 minutes a day.  

 

 

[Ferguson]

1 hour ago, Greg_B said:

 

Announced yesterday, in Golf Digest's morning digest today. I had no idea you were so cutting-edge as to declare something like that "old". Your brain must be spinning fast.

 

Announced what, diminishing coverage?   

 

The golf channel has been in a downward spiral for years in terms of premium sponsors and viewership.   

Like I said, old news. 

 

[Abh159]

Didn't those two majors used to be on USA network anyway? I seem to remember that from years ago and it was during a time where the Golf Channel was already in existence. 

[Ferguson]

The idea of the  golfchannel was awesome when it was launched.  Peter Kessler was an awful choice but the other hosts and "regulars" were great.  

[bekgolf]

No way I'd subscribe to Peacock just for the Golf Channel.  Move it there and it would die fast imo.

[gvogel]

I am going to miss "The Greatest Game Ever Played."

[m d g]

4 hours ago, Greg_B said:

Certainly there is little else on GC now that is must-see TV.

Cara Banks being the exception : )

[cgasucks]

1 hour ago, Ferguson said:

The idea of the  golfchannel was awesome when it was launched.  Peter Kessler was an awful choice but the other hosts and "regulars" were great.  

 

I may be in the minority but I am quite fond of him interviewing at the time.  The one with Arnold Palmer killed his career but it was epic.

[Jc0]

They're killing off nbc sports network as a cable channel and making USA a hybrid sports and entertainment channel like it used to be. They have already started putting soccer and hockey on it. Also as the article states USA is a regular cable channel so it has a better reach than golf channel for the larger events. 

 

It looks like long term major sporting events will be on cable and everything else is going to get pushed to streaming.

[stinger_gc]

4 minutes ago, Jc0 said:

They're killing off nbc sports network as a cable channel and making USA a hybrid sports and entertainment channel like it used to be. They have already started putting soccer and hockey on it. Also as the article states USA is a regular cable channel so it has a better reach than golf channel for the larger events. 

 

It looks like long term major sporting events will be on cable and everything else is going to get pushed to streaming.

I'm cool with golf being streamed instead of being on cable. Less commercials and stupid conversations in the booth with CBS/NBC. I think PGA Tour Live and Masters.com has the best coverage because they don't have stupid fluff segments and you just watch golf.

[gioguy21]

who knows -- maybe if they went to ESPN or something for the thursday/friday rounds we might have something to watch other than ESPNs wonderful replays of sportscenter or talking heads. 

[stinger_gc]

4 minutes ago, gioguy21 said:

who knows -- maybe if they went to ESPN or something for the thursday/friday rounds we might have something to watch other than ESPNs wonderful replays of sportscenter or talking heads. 

Yeah it'll probably be on ESPN2 if they pick it up. I'll take it honestly, SVP and the whole ESPN golf crew is solid.  

[airjammer]

17 minutes ago, PHILsThemannnn said:

I'm cool with golf being streamed instead of being on cable. Less commercials and stupid conversations in the booth with CBS/NBC. I think PGA Tour Live and Masters.com has the best coverage because they don't have stupid fluff segments and you just watch golf.

I agree I haven’t had the golf channel in a few years. I just subscribed to pga tour live and between that and other coverage I absolutely haven’t missed it. 
 

I did however sign up for a fubotv trial to watch Rory win the CJ cup. The amount of commercials was astonishing. They weren’t playing commercials through the golf coverage, they were playing golf through basically their commercial programming🤷🏼‍♂️

Edited November 3, 2021 by airjammer

[Ferguson]

55 minutes ago, cgasucks said:

 

I may be in the minority but I am quite fond of him interviewing at the time.  The one with Arnold Palmer killed his career but it was epic.

 

Kessler was a phony in the financial world, a phony on the show and a total loser after the show. 

 

After breaking ties with the GC, Kessler, in typical arrogant form, stated "he (the personality) was growing bigger than the GC and management resented him for it."  This arrogance drove his desire for creative control and made him difficult to work with on set at the GC.  The rumors about Palmer are just that and nothing more.  In short, Kessler didn't appreciate the notoriety gifted to him via the new platform; he was too caught up in the greed to grow his own brand.  However, as we know now, had he not been such a jerk, the CG could have been a springboard to other new and exciting ventures.  

[mat562]

'Not everybody can be a Renaissance man where you're great at everything you do. There was Leonardo, there was Michelangelo, there was golf media's renaissance man: me. I've done everything better than everybody else who's ever tried it in our business. Not everybody can do that.' - Peter Kessler.

 

Jesus wept.

[Greg_B]

3 hours ago, Ferguson said:

 

Announced what, diminishing coverage?   

 

The golf channel has been in a downward spiral for years in terms of premium sponsors and viewership.   

Like I said, old news.

 

Yes, you seem to have missed that part. GC is losing the early-round major coverage they have presented of the events NBC carries.

 

You last sentence is the only old news here.

[tbowles411]

29 minutes ago, Ferguson said:

 

Kessler was a phony in the financial world, a phony on the show and a total loser after the show. 

 

After breaking ties with the GC, Kessler, in typical arrogant form, stated "he (the personality) was growing bigger than the GC and management resented him for it."  This arrogance drove his desire for creative control and made him difficult to work with on set at the GC.  The rumors about Palmer are just that and nothing more.  In short, Kessler didn't appreciate the notoriety gifted to him via the new platform; he was too caught up in the greed to grow his own brand.  However, as we know now, had he not been such a jerk, the CG could have been a springboard to other new and exciting ventures.  

Couldn't have said it any better.  Now he's virtually disappeared.

[woodriff]

I’m not sure what this means to Canadian viewers, but I do like Thursday and Friday coverage of all golf tournaments on GC. Champions, lpga, pga, college, amateurs. 
I’d be lost trying to find that coverage anywhere else. 

[stinger_gc]

58 minutes ago, airjammer said:

I agree I haven’t had the golf channel in a few years. I just subscribed to pga tour live and between that and other coverage I absolutely haven’t missed it. 
 

I did however sign up for a fubotv trial to watch Rory win the CJ cup. The amount of commercials was astonishing. They weren’t playing commercials through the golf coverage, they were playing golf through basically their commercial programming🤷🏼‍♂️

It was awful. The f'ing Champions tour should not have priority when Rory Mcilroy, Collin Morikawa and Rickie Fowler are all in the mix.

[Greg_B]

2 minutes ago, mat562 said:

'Not everybody can be a Renaissance man where you're great at everything you do. There was Leonardo, there was Michelangelo, there was golf media's renaissance man: me. I've done everything better than everybody else who's ever tried it in our business. Not everybody can do that.' - Peter Kessler.

 

Jesus wept.

 

No question he was well off-center in terms of his attitude. I have read some very odd accounts about how he claimed friendships and associations with some of the major figures in golf where those did not exist; about how he was a loose cannon internally at GC, to the point where near the end they kept Brian Hammons on-call in an adjacent room so he could take over from Kessler during the live telecasts he did in case he needed to be pulled off the air; and in Keith Hirshland's book about the early days of the Golf Channel, how Kessler left his marijuana roaches scattered in his wake. He became so bad a few years ago on Twitter and in some of his homemade videos I had to stop following him. It is sad.

[Ferguson]

4 minutes ago, Greg_B said:

 

No question he was well off-center in terms of his attitude. I have read some very odd accounts about how he claimed friendships and associations with some of the major figures in golf where those did not exist; about how he was a loose cannon internally at GC, to the point where near the end they kept Brian Hammons on-call in an adjacent room so he could take over from Kessler during the live telecasts he did in case he needed to be pulled off the air; and in Keith Hirshland's book about the early days of the Golf Channel, how Kessler left his marijuana roaches scattered in his wake. He became so bad a few years ago on Twitter and in some of his homemade videos I had to stop following him. It is sad.

 

There's an equation for this - 

 

Kessler = DB 

 

[bscinstnct]

4 minutes ago, Greg_B said:

 

No question he was well off-center in terms of his attitude. I have read some very odd accounts about how he claimed friendships and associations with some of the major figures in golf where those did not exist; about how he was a loose cannon internally at GC, to the point where near the end they kept Brian Hammons on-call in an adjacent room so he could take over from Kessler during the live telecasts he did in case he needed to be pulled off the air; and in Keith Hirshland's book about the early days of the Golf Channel, how Kessler left his marijuana roaches scattered in his wake. He became so bad a few years ago on Twitter and in some of his homemade videos I had to stop following him. It is sad.

 

Roaches!!

 

That takes me back…

 

Burn yer finger tips 🤣