Jay Monahan introduced tweaks to the PGA Tour broadcast schedule within the fall.
Keyur Khamar | Getty Pictures
Should you’ve discovered your self complaining concerning the state of the PGA Tour’s broadcasts over the past a number of years, give your self a pat on the again.
Your objectives have been by no means “misguided.” You weren’t “shouting into the void.” You helped to create actual, actionable change on the PGA Tour; change that may arrive to Tour broadcasts this fall.
A minimum of, that’s the newest in response to Tour commissioner Jay Monahan, who gave his newest state-of-the-state press convention on Wednesday on the Tour Championship.
The ultimate occasion of the PGA Tour common season was an excellent time to announce a brand new slate of adjustments coming to the Tour for the commish. Given Monahan’s unenviable position of reporting no developments (once more) within the PGA Tour’s negotiations for peace with the Saudi PIF, a number of flashy toys have been useful, if not needed, in settling an sad golf public. And what higher matter to announce enhancements for than the standard of the TV broadcasts, which have plagued the Tour for years?
The headline is a brand new “pilot program” aimed toward test-driving some new broadcast enhancements throughout Golf Channel’s Friday broadcasts from the Tour’s new “fall collection.” This system, Monahan mentioned, would rely off of suggestions from followers in real-time to supply new concepts, and fee the effectiveness of their recommendations.
“On Thursday, we’ll present followers a conventional broadcast. Then on Friday, the presentation will undertake new options primarily based on fan suggestions,” Monahan mentioned. “We’ll then survey followers to check their preferences, and that intel will assist us additional innovate the broadcasts with our followers extra squarely within the driver’s seat.”
At face worth, the announcement marks a substantial shift to how the PGA Tour does its enterprise on tv, however the actuality is a bit more difficult. The reality is that stakeholders throughout the sports activities world already rely closely on viewers suggestions to assist generate manufacturing selections; the Tour’s resolution simply formalizes, and tremendously hastens, these efforts.
The Tour can afford to do that partly as a result of Golf Channel telecasts throughout the fall season are already among the smallest audiences of the yr, a improvement anticipated to proceed with the defenestration of the “FedEx Cup Fall” below the brand new professional golf schedule. If the Tour hoped solely to supply suggestions from the largest of the diehards, properly, these watching throughout Thursday and Friday afternoons in the course of soccer season will surely qualify.
“I feel what we’ve heard from followers and what we’re working with our companions at Golf Channel to check, a few the themes that you could be see us deal with, primary, having the ability to see extra photographs and probably fewer putts,” Monahan mentioned. “You’ll see plenty of different broadcast improvements that we’ll proceed to check as we go ahead.”
The brand new program comes as questions develop louder surrounding the well being of the Tour’s TV merchandise. Rankings have been down greater than 15 % for one of many Tour’s TV companions in 2024, an end result with many doable explanations, amongst them decreased viewer curiosity in week-to-week golf within the wake of LIV’s intrusion into the game. These developments aren’t trigger for excessive concern on the PGA Tour, no less than not instantly, however they’re a foreboding signal given the dimensions of the change that has swept via golf within the final a number of seasons. Efforts to enhance the Tour’s broadcasts won’t immediately correlate to larger audiences, however there’s little doubt a greater viewing product would douse viewers’ latest distaste for the professional sport.
Monahan mentioned the Tour can even embody suggestions from Golf Channel workers as a part of the brand new program. The undertaking’s dates weren’t instantly out there.
