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It's already something of an oddity as a radio station - a small town relatively recent AM all-talk newcomer competing in a tough format against much larger opponents in the biggest market in the country. And now Sauga960 is trying to stand out from the crowd one more time by confirming it has the rights to the LIV Golf Tournaments, taking place in various parts of the world.
They claim to be the first radio station in North America to affiliate themselves with these sometimes-controversial matches.
I'm still not exactly sure how you show a very visual sport like golf on the radio, especially when there's a lot of walking around between "action" and the coverage lasts for up to four or five hours at a time. Sauga960's golf expert Chris McKee will interrupt with local updates, whatever they may be. The broadcasts begin with a tourney in Australia starting April 23rd.
But I'm still not sure how you cover golf on the radio and make it work. I guess I'll have to tune in for a few minutes on one of them and hear it for myself. I suspect the holes in this idea won't just be on the course!
Sauga 960 LIV Golf Tournaments
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They'll probably just take the TV audio feed.
CHCH carries the CW network coverage in this area.
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That's even worse! If you've ever heard the TV audio of CP24 or Sportsnet's MLB television audio, you know it doesn't work. It would be even worse with golf, which by its very nature is visual and gets a muted response from the crowd. That would not make for great radio I'd imagine.
That said, I have no idea how they plan to air this for four or five hours at a time. Not even a baseball game broadcast goes on that long.
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It is indeed the TV feed:
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It says something when Sauga960 is the only one in North America to have picked this feed up. It's going to be a very long four or five hours on the radio. I suppose this station has nothing to lose, especially on the weekends.
I fear putting the TV audio on the radio for a sport like this will be - you should pardon the expression - sub-par.
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The audience for this would be someone who's watching on TV and needs to run some errands. So the TV feed may suffice.
However, it would need to be someone who is watching it on TV, lives within 960's range, knows the station exists, knows they're carrying it, and chooses to listen. That might literally be one person.
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PGA Tour Radio (SiriusXM Ch. 92) does a good job of covering the tour. I listen mostly to see how my picks in the golf pool are doing.
Last edited by Dale Patterson (April 19, 2023 9:15 pm)
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If you think golf is boring on TV, you've never heard it on the radio.
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..."as you can see..."
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“We welcome you back with the breathtaking views of the 17th hole.”
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CHCH has LIV Golf on this Saturday and Sunday from Australia 1-6pm both days.
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LIV golf is NOT real golf
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So I listened for a while to Sauga960's TV audio of the LIV golf tourney. I admit to not being a golf fan, but I had no idea what was going on. The entire thing is visual and the television announcers don't make it clear what's happening, who's at the tee or what is going on, presumably because the picture makes it perfectly clear. Except to those listening on the radio.
There are long periods of silence (except for crowd noise) as those participating set up for a shot, practice before making contact and then swing or putt. It's totally confusing.
Instead, local anchor Chris McKee has to keep interrupting to explain what's going on over the screen.
So while the TV announcers are babbling on, McKee is talking over them.
And for some reason, there's constant background music being played.
What a mess!
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With the announced merger of the PGA and LIV Golf, I was wondering what might happen to the CW's and Sauga960's coverage of the various tournaments. The answer is nothing - at least for this year.
The CW’s LIV Golf Lineup Will Continue Amidst LIV-PGA Merger
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Dunno where you folks have been, but SiriusXM's PGA Tour Radio has been a huge hit for several years and offers incredible play-by-play coverage of all major PGA tournaments. We always listen on weekends on our summer drives to various vacation spots.
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Now that the PGA Tour and LIV have merged, will 960 still be in the golf biz? How does that work, exactly? Does 960 pay for the golf feed, or do they get paid for picking it up? Either way, nobody's listening.
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BowmanvilleBob wrote:
Dunno where you folks have been, but SiriusXM's PGA Tour Radio has been a huge hit for several years and offers incredible play-by-play coverage of all major PGA tournaments. We always listen on weekends on our summer drives to various vacation spots.
"Huge hit?" I understand that lots of people like golf but let's not get silly here. In a traffic jam on the way to the cottage you aren't going to roll down your window and hear PGA Golf blasting from all of the cars around you.
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PGA Tour Radio has been a constant presence on Sirius XM for the past ten years and is consistently among the highest rated channels on the service by subscribers. I'd say that qualifies as a hit.
C'mon Tomas. I'd expect this kind of bozo comment from the anti-CBC and anti-gubbermint crowd that often seems to dominate this board, but not from someone like you.
Last edited by BowmanvilleBob (June 7, 2023 4:52 am)