“I really believe that this golf course and this U.S. Open come at the right time for us to be distracted by everything that’s going on and just really enjoy the game,” Hicks said, deflecting the Saudi question. “Whoever wins the U.S. Open, it’s going to take some focus.”
At the network level, coverage of Saudi involvement in pro golf has been largely inconsistent. To date, conversations about LIV during PGA Tour broadcasts have come only at an “as-needed” basis, an understandable concession considering the networks’ business relationship with the Tour. But without serious (or regular) time devoted to those issues, weekend golf viewers have failed to receive much information about the ethical morass that joins Saudi money in golf.
There have been a few notable exceptions. Golf Channel, which is run by NBC, has spent considerable airtime and resources discussing Saudi money in golf over the last 18 months. At last year’s Canadian Open, the first PGA Tour event since LIV’s formation, CBS aired a prominent interview with Tour commissioner Jay Monahan addressing some of the ethical questions faced by the new league.
“Have you ever had to apologize for being a member of the PGA Tour?” Monahan said at the time. “I’ve talked to a number of players individually for a long period of time, and I think you have to be living under a rock to not know that there are significant implications [to working with the Saudis].”
Still, as a few industry folks have explained it to the Hot Mic, networks feel obligated during live tournament coverage to “call balls and strikes” — addressing the tournament at hand and any necessary storylines without delving too deep into the complicated moral and ethical questions. It’s simpler this way and helps to keep the on-air teams, who are not as well-versed in Saudi Arabia’s geopolitical and socioeconomic nuances, from getting in over their skis.
“When we get there on Monday or Tuesday, the second all of us see [NBC Golf lead producer] Tommy Roy’s face, we’re going to know what our priority is, and it’s live golf,” analyst Paul Azinger said. “Not opinions and not innuendo. We don’t know what’s coming. But we know one thing: we’ve got the two best producers in the world getting ready to try to produce a U.S. Open to the best of their ability, and we’re going to try to call it.”
Still, it’s fair to wonder if viewers might be better served learning a thing or two about the nature of this agreement — and why Saudi money presents a legitimate moral concern to golf — from a source they can trust.
Of course, that would be an unprecedented move for a network at a major championship … but these aren’t exactly precedented times.
Right after the break…
This is a big U.S. Open for both the USGA and NBC, which came under heavy fire last year for the number of commercials aired during the weekend’s primetime coverage in Boston. Savvy TV watchers will remember USGA commissioner Mike Whan taking to Twitter on Sunday morning to assuage the concerns of golf viewers, vowing that the two sides were working on a solution.
“I’m on it!” Whan said. “We have the best sports production team in the world here with our partner NBC Sports (Olympics, Super Bowl, etc.) and if the amount of interruptions are problematic, we will work with our partner to do better!”
On Sunday, after the outrage, NBC and the USGA worked to lower the overall number of commercials shown during coverage (an effort that included the network’s traditional final commercial-free hour courtesy of Rolex).
As we first explained last year, it’s not exactly a cut-and-dry situation considering the financial constraints placed upon NBC given the USGA rights deal they inherited from FOX. NBC has to sell a certain number of advertisements just to break even on the USGA deal, and the USGA isn’t necessarily in the business of taking less money for the sake of goodwill. But with two willing partners on board (and no shortage of advertisers), there is some daylight to make things happen.
Now, in 2023, the two sides have had the benefit of a full year to help improve the championship viewing experience — and a primetime broadcast window to showcase it all. It’ll be interesting to see how it all looks.
(And an aside: If you’re looking for something to listen to during the commercials, SiriusXM Pearl Jam Radio will feature a golf-themed guest host: John Wood, who will join the station’s episode of Wishlist to pick his favorite songs and share a few golf stories along the way.)
Peacock shows its feathers
Peacock Broadcast schedule (All times eastern)
Thursday, 6/15: 9:40 a.m. – 1 p.m.
Friday, 6/16: 9:40 a.m. – 1 p.m.
Sunday, 6/18: 12 p.m. – 1 p.m.
While it might take some time before the U.S. Open commercial load earns the ire of golf fans, one broadcast change is sure to quickly ignite some Twitter criticism: NBC is bringing back Peacock-exclusive coverage for the opening two rounds of play (and the first hour of Sunday’s final-round coverage).
Now, NBC is quick to point out Peacock U.S. Open coverage represents bonus airtime, or time when the network otherwise wouldn’t be on the air. Viewers aren’t “losing” anything by not tuning in, NBC argues, just gaining something by buying the subscription to watch for a few extra hours.
The truth of the matter is slightly more complicated than that. NBC badly wants Peacock to become a thoroughbred for its overall TV business, boosting its revenues and supporting its bottom line. Right now, it is not that. But live sports coverage represents one of the surest avenues to growing a subscriber base that will one day help the streaming service pay its bills.
