[steve]

Minor point in the grand scheme of things, but I found this line in the article a bit odd:

In 2020, there were no days of live golf shown on the BBC for the first time in 55 years.

Well, no. I mean, what could have happened in 2020 to mean that there was very little golf available to show... in terms of sticks to beat the BBC with, I think a global pandemic is probably a bit harsh.

[Jon]

Well The Masters took place in 2020 which they would have previously had some live rights too.

[RhysJR]

It is worth noting that pre-pandemic the BBC were due to show the Olympic golf in 2020. Bit that would just mean the stat would change to have been '2021 was the first year the BBC didn't show live golf in 56 years'.

They did technically show some live golf last year, albeit only the Open Celebration of Champions on the Monday beforehand (that was also on Sky and YouTube). But nothing again this year as things stand.

---

In other news...
Johnny Herbert will not be part of Sky's F1 coverage this year. I've not been a regular viewer but have heard others saying the coverage was looking tired and going through the motions, so possibly a sign of a wider refresh that many have wanted.

twitter.com 

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[TMD_24]

Paul Di Resta has left Sky as well. Neither of them will be replaced according to sources to The Mirror.

www.mirror.co.uk 

Johnny Herbert and Paul di Resta no longer part of Sky Sports F1 presenting line…
Herbert sparked speculation over whether or not he will be gracing the TV screen…
  Source: www.mirror.co.uk

[Newshound47]

I feel like they will be a lot of controversy if the next PL rights contract keeps the idea of not all matches being legally available.

[thegeek]

How though? Either you move all of the Premier League matches out of the 3pm slot, which the PL fans who travel to matches aren't going to stand for; or you drop the blackout window, which the lower league teams are going to oppose.

[Newshound47]

How though? Either you move all of the Premier League matches out of the 3pm slot, which the PL fans who travel to matches aren't going to stand for; or you drop the blackout window, which the lower league teams are going to oppose.

Could move them all to 2/3pm on a Sunday. Lower league attendances would increase if Saturday’s only had the 12.30/5.30 matches. Illegal Streaming is widely used now anyway and must be affecting lower league attendance anyway.

[Brekkie]

The Telegraph this morning reports that the BBC has dropped/not renewed its highlights rights of the Masters golf. The article also reports that ITV have likely ruled out bidding for highlights. And personally I'd doubt anyone else would want to, depite the prestige of the event in the sporting landscape, mainly because any broadcast will have to be shown after midnight.


It will be sad to see, but another milestone on the erasure of golf from FTA TV and the public psyche at large. By my reckoning, and if all other contracts remain the same as last year, only 12 days of regular tournament golf will receive highlights (and all but The Open likely to be only an hour long after Newsnight or later) on FTA TV this year, with no live coverage at all*. The article states that in 2005 the BBC showed 28 days of live golf across the year - quite a rapid decline. Of course there is also the Ryder Cup and Solheim Cup in the autumn which are both in Europe and should have primetime highlights.


*Sky does offer a lot of mainly women's golf for free on YouTube with the selected holes or featured groups coverage of The Open last year availble for free on The Open's website.


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Not surprised and The Masters only have themselves to blame, especially losing the live coverage of the last two days and the unfriendly hours for highlights.    I doubt the BBC will be putting in any knock out bids for it in the near future but perhaps the BBC pulling away from it's FTA coverage might open the door down the line for it to return fully free to air further down the track.

[Rdd]

Interesting last night on PGA Tour on CBS coverage of the Farmers Insurance Open Jim Nantz fully acknowledged on air that he was doing the commentary from Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City where he’ll be covering the AFC Championship Game tomorrow. interesting to hear a commentator acknowledge on air not being at the event (which due to the NFL fixture is running Wed - Sat instead of the usual Thurs - Sun).

[Transmission]

Something a bit new on the A-League this morning, they've started putting the minute the player was sent off in the little red card indicator above the score graphic. It is very small, though, I imagine it's not particularly legible on smaller screens.