1 of 1- RadioActive
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Another Short TV Sports Rant
I'll make this one short, because you've read something similar before. How much of a good thing is too much? I'm referring to U.S. Open Golf, which began coverage on NBC this weekend.
It started at 12 PM.
It went on until 8 o'clock that night.
Eight hours of golf? (Sixteen in total if you count both days.) I don't even think even the Super Bowl and it's pre-game coverage goes on quite that long. Look, I get it - it's going to attract far more of an audience (and sponsors) than anything else the network might show on a weekend.
But eight hours? Is there anyone sitting through all this? Talk about a long weekend!
- BowmanvilleBob
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Re: Another Short TV Sports Rant
Golf coverage tends to be something that viewers dip in and out of over the course of an afternoon, rather than the concentrated two-to- three hour bloc of something like a high stakes football game. This year’s edition of the U.S. Open didn’t do itself any favours by being staged during the World Cup (in the U.S.) and also being played on an extremely tough course. It also doesn’t help that the game’s big hitters have been struggling of late with inconsistent play.
- Shorty Wave
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Re: Another Short TV Sports Rant
My father-in-law often DVRs these longer golf broadcasts and will FFWD it, cutting out commercial breaks and players he’s not too interested in. Still, that’s eight hours of scanning, a bit much!
- mace
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Re: Another Short TV Sports Rant
It is one of the Big Four golf tournaments. The others being the Masters, PGA and [British] Open. It is t golf what the U.S. Open is to tennis in September.
- RadioActive
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Re: Another Short TV Sports Rant
Eight consecutive hours of anything - except maybe sleep - is way too much for TV!
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Thread Starter- BowmanvilleBob
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Re: Another Short TV Sports Rant
I dip in and out of golf coverage throughout a weekend, but my focus is usually between 3-6 pm on Sundays, when the leaders head into the final round. Given that the major OTA networks in the States have been reduced to televising such esoteric fare as cornhole tournaments or pro bull riding, a little bit extra golf seems like a fair trade off.
- g121
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Re: Another Short TV Sports Rant
RadioActive wrote:
Eight consecutive hours of anything - except maybe sleep - is way too much for TV!
what about weather? : )) ..
- RadioActive
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Re: Another Short TV Sports Rant
Eight consecutive hours of anything - except maybe sleep - is way too much for TV!
what about weather? : )) ..
I would not watch the Weather Channel or the Weather Network for eight hours, no matter what the forecast! About the only thing that can keep me glued to my TV that long would be a disastrous event like 9-11. And let's hope we don't have anything like that ever again.
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Thread Starter- RadioActive
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Re: Another Short TV Sports Rant
A slight correction - Sunday's edition of the U.S. Open is seven hours long, not eight like the day before. Still too long IMO. It's supposed to end at 7 PM to make way for a major league baseball game. Question: what happens if the golf goes into overtime and there's a tie that extends the broadcast? What does NBC do? The U.S. Open is not going to delay the big finish to make way for a ball game.
My guess if that happens - the golf goes on as long as it takes and the game is joined in progress.
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Thread Starter- BowmanvilleBob
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Re: Another Short TV Sports Rant
As it turned out, Wyndham Clark, who led the tournament since Thursday, won the title at about 6:50 pm. Time for a brief wrap-up, the trophy presentation, a few commercials, and then on to baseball.
All’s well that ended well.
- RadioActive
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They actually started baseball coverage at 7:10 PM, ten minutes late. They were forced to cut the pre-game, with Bob Costas joking with his colleague that "we only have a minute." After they each offered a single comment, it was onto some commercials and then the start of the game.
They were very lucky it didn't go on longer, or they would have had a tough decision to make.
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Thread Starter- Walter
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Re: Another Short TV Sports Rant
Golf provides some of the best sporting skill and drama in pro sports, but you have to play it to get it. Anybody who says golf is easy or boring has never stood over a 4 foot putt on the 18th hole at the local muni to win 12 bucks in a skins game with buddies.
- RadioActive
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Re: Another Short TV Sports Rant
And I thought 8 straight hours of golf was too long...
What Does It Take To Broadcast The 24 Hours Of Le Mans?
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Thread Starter- mace
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Re: Another Short TV Sports Rant
Golf provides some of the best sporting skill and drama in pro sports, but you have to play it to get it. Anybody who says golf is easy or boring has never stood over a 4 foot putt on the 18th hole at the local muni to win 12 bucks in a skins game with buddies.
Agreed. I will never be good at the sport. My goal is to be on the green in par and then 2 put. If I get a 7 or 8 on a par 5 hole I am happy. Also, if the weekend whackers had to play by official PGA rules, they ould never break 100.
- mace
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Re: Another Short TV Sports Rant
Eight consecutive hours of anything - except maybe sleep - is way too much for TV!
what about weather? : )) ..
I would not watch the Weather Channel or the Weather Network for eight hours, no matter what the forecast! About the only thing that can keep me glued to my TV that long would be a disastrous event like 9-11. And let's hope we don't have anything like that ever again.
Actually the U.S. Weather Channel is a great deal of fun to watch if a hurricane is racing through the Gulf of Mexico approaching Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama or Florida.