How golf can appeal to a broader and younger market has been the subject of much discussion. This week, the biggest departure yet from traditional broadcast models will occur when Eleven Sports takes control of UK coverage for the final major of 2018, the US PGA Championship.
The tournament will be available via an online stream and on Facebook, all controlled by the media company which has made interesting inroads into territory once controlled by Sky Sports and BT Sport. It is unclear whether Eleven Sports, which is understood to have paid seven figures for coverage from Bellerive, has a long-term plan for showing the major, which will switch to a May date from next year.
“Launching Eleven Sports in the UK and Ireland with such a prestigious event as the 100th PGA Championship confirms our position as a major player in the market,” said Danny Menken, the group managing director of Eleven Sports.
Today Eleven Sports launched its service: the first two US PGA rounds only are streamed free of charge on Facebook; to get the final two rounds, viewers have to sign up for a seven-day trial for its monthly pass (priced at £5.99).
The route by which the PGA of America got to this point is fascinating. As is the imminent departure of the head of that organisation, Pete Bevacqua, to become the head of NBC Sports. The US PGA has apparently dropped well down the pecking order when it comes to sought-after sports events to broadcast in the UK.
A little over a year ago, talks broke down between PGA of America officials and Sky. IMG, which negotiates in the UK on the PGA of America’s behalf, duly cut a last-ditch deal with the BBC to show the action from Quail Hollow. The corporation was widely criticised for its hastily-arranged output but the point was, unlike this time, a TV platform existed.
Optimists will suggest Eleven Sports and a move into modern coverage domains will assist golf’s profile. Perhaps a younger audience will be attracted from Thursday, as Justin Thomas seeks to defend his title. Nonetheless, it is inevitable that grumbles will emerge from a market more accustomed to switching a television on.
The Open’s move from the BBC to Sky in 2016 resulted in fierce criticism of the R&A. Office bearers at St Andrews argued, with a degree of legitimacy, that participation in the game was declining even when the oldest major was available on a terrestrial outlet. Commercially, the Sky deal made perfect sense.
A new deal between Sky, which has a dedicated golf channel, and the European Tour is imminent. How that impacts on the Ryder Cup, controlled by the European Tour and PGA of America, remains to be seen, as does what Eleven Sports brings to the table.
