CBS Adds Nobilo, Immelman To Broadcast Team, Wie Joins Masters Digital

So much to read into this, both timing and personnel wise. Hard to say all of the ramifications, but I did note a few elements to the news here at Golfweek.com.

The full CBS release:

CBS SPORTS ANNOUNCES ADDITIONAL ROSTER MOVES FOR 2020 GOLF SEASON

Frank Nobilo Expands Role to Full-Time Analyst

Masters Champion Trevor Immelman Joins CBS Sports Golf Coverage

Dottie Pepper Named Lead On-Course Reporter

Mark Immelman and Andrew Catalon Duties Increase; Michelle Wie Joins CBS Sports

CBS Sports announces additional roster moves for the 2020 golf season for the Network’s television coverage of the PGA TOUR, Masters and PGA Championship.

Frank Nobilo, who has contributed to the Network’s golf coverage for the past five seasons, will expand his role and serve as an analyst for the full CBS Sports golf season. Nobilo, a veteran broadcaster, retired from golf in 2002 after winning 15 tournaments worldwide. 

Masters Champion Trevor Immelman joins as an analyst contributing to the Network’s PGA TOUR coverage as well as CBS Sports’ cross-platform coverage of the Masters and PGA Championship. Throughout his distinguished playing career, Immelman won 11 events worldwide – including the 2008 Masters – and was also a two-time participant in the Presidents Cup in 2005 and 2007.  

Dottie Pepper, who joined the Network in 2015, has been elevated to lead on-course reporter. Pepper is a 17-time LPGA winner and two-time Major Champion, winning at the Nabisco Dinah Shore (now the ANA Inspiration) in both 1992 and 1999. She was honored in 1992 as the LPGA Player of the Year.

Analyst and Coach Mark Immelman, who joined CBS Sports in 2016, will increase his duties with the golf team this season, working the majority of the Network’s PGA TOUR schedule. Additionally, he will continue as part of CBS Sports’ cross-platform coverage of the Masters and PGA Championship. He also currently serves as the Director of Golf at Columbus State University.

Andrew Catalon, who has contributed to CBS Sports’ multimedia coverage of the Masters and PGA Championship since 2011 and 2012, respectively, also will increase his golf duties on the broadcast side, serving as host for select PGA TOUR events. In addition to golf, Catalon serves as play-by-play announcer for CBS Sports’ coverage of the NFL and college basketball, including the NCAA Tournament.

Additionally, Michelle Wie, the five-time LPGA TOUR winner, will contribute to CBS Sports’ multimedia golf coverage this season, including the Masters. 

Earlier this year, Davis Love III was also announced as full-time golf analyst for CBS Sports. For the 2020 golf season, newcomers Trevor Immelman and Love will join veterans Jim Nantz, Nick Faldo, Ian Baker-Finch, Nobilo, Pepper, Mark Immelman, Amanda Balionis and Catalon throughout CBS Sports’ coverage of the PGA TOUR, Masters and PGA Championship.

Ratings: LPGA's Season Finale Down 33%; RSM Classic Not Great Either

2019’s final weekend of official tournaments drew very few eyeballs.

According to Sports Business Journal’s weekend roundup, the CME Tour Group Championship drew a .3 and an average of 395,000 viewers on NBC, down 33% from last year’s final round on ABC. The rating made it by far the lowest rated sports event on network TV last weekend and as Paulsen notes at Sports Media Watch “easily” the lowest since its run on broadcast TV dating to 2015.

Figure skating, on tape, drew double the audience.

Meanwhile the PGA Tour’s 2019 RSM Classic’s compelling final round won by Tyler Duncan over Webb Simpson in a playoff did not land in the top 150 cable shows among the 18-49 year olds, meaning only two rounds of the entire fall showed up on those lists (the ZOZO Sunday and delayed Monday rounds featuring Tiger Woods).

It should be noted: the CME and RSM aired in matching time slots, further dividing the audience.

Also to be noted: Loud House on Nicktoons is geared toward 6-12 year olds, yet with its .3/122,000 still earned a spot in the top 150 for a 10 pm showing while the RSM Classic did not.

BBC's Masters Run Ends, Live Coverage Exclusive To Sky Sports Starting In 2020

The amazing run of BBC offering live major championship coverage since 1955 is now over, as the Masters and Sky Sports have signed a new deal starting in 2020.

Sky Sports has been part of UK Masters coverage since 2011. However, the move eliminates round three and four coverage that still aired on BBC, and requires a subscription to view.

From The Scotsman’s Graham Bean authored report:

The Beeb will still show highlights but for the first time since the 1950s there will be no live golf on the BBC.

The corporation lost the rights to show the Open live in 2017 after 61 years of free-to-air coverage and has now surrendered the Masters too.

From next year, Sky Sports will show exclusive live coverage of the tournament from Augusta. Sky also outbid the Beeb for the Open.

Up until 2011, the BBC screened live coverage from all four days of the Masters, but Sky Sports came in in 2011 and the Beeb was reduced to screening live coverage from Friday and Saturday only.

Bevacqua Bullish On NBC/Golf Channel Retaining PGA Tour Rights: "I’m thinking about how we’re going to improve."

As we near the projected date of the next PGA Tour television rights deal, NBC Sports Group President and former PGA of America CEO Pete Bevacqua chatted with SBJ’s Abe Madkour and John Ourand.

Among the topics? Playing golf at Bel Air with Al Michaels and where NBC will target resources with the NFL and other sports properties.

The money needed to retain the NFL has many observers wondering what might get scrimped on by networks. Bevacqua made clear golf is not one of those sports.

Bevacqua said there is a "plan in place" for which non-NFL deals NBC is hoping to maintain or add going forward. He said, "I know in my mind what we feel we need to bid on, what we would like to bid on and what we probably won’t bid on. That can always change." Bevacqua was bullish on NBC and Golf Channel's chances to keep its PGA Tour package. "I’m not thinking about what will happen if we don’t get them," he said. "I’m thinking about how we’re going to improve." He also noted there will be a better sense of the landscape on the future of Tour rights "by the end of the year." SBJ has reported that Tour execs want to have a new deal in place by the end of the year, despite the current deals running through '21.

The full interview that is worth a listen despite the tragic microphone placement (come on SBJ, up your game!):

CBS Making "Aggressive" PGA Tour Rights Bid After Securing Champions League

When news of CBS securing Champions League rights broke over the weekend, there was a natural question about what this meant for their PGA Tour rights.

SBD’s John Ourand considers takeaways from Champions acquisition and notes:

The UCL deal is not a one-off. I’m told that CBS has put forth an aggressive bid for PGA Tour rights, which is expected to be decided by the end of the year. Last fall, in a minor surprise, it renewed a deal for the PGA Championship. Under the direction of Sean McManus and David Berson, CBS Sports always has prided itself on deep relationships and historically has had success keeping the rights it wants. This deal shows that CBS no longer is content on keeping its rights portfolio intact; they want to expand it.

A decision on the next PGA Tour rights package is expected before year’s end.

Reading Between The (TV Contract) Negotiation Lines: Davis To CBS Edition

Michael Bamberger’s Golf.com story on Davis Love joining CBS features this paragraph highlighting the state of the PGA Tour’s closely-watched television contract negotiations, if we will even call it television by the end of the next deal.

Love has a two-year contract with CBS, for 2020 and 2021. It couldn’t go beyond that because the CBS-PGA Tour contract expires at the end of ’21. The NBC-PGA Tour contract does, too. Golf Channel is under the NBC Sports umbrella. Contract negotiations are ongoing. Traditional TV-watching, as Davis grew up doing it, has been turned on its head in the age of ever-connected phones and laptops and iPads. It’s not at all clear what golf-on-TV will look like in the years to come, as attention spans continue to shorten and as live gambling becomes a bigger part of fan engagement. Love’s deep relationships in the game, at the PGA Tour headquarters, among corporate executives, on Capitol Hill, can only help CBS.

While Love no longer holds a seat on the PGA Tour Policy Board like AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson, he does have an intimate knowledge of the Tour’s plans, dreams and desires. Will that bolster CBS’s bid? More revealing though may be the idea that longtime PGA Tour partner CBS needs to pull out such stops to retain rights. Stay tuned…

Kostis On CBS: "I believe the production has suffered over the last few years."

Rick Young caught up with ousted CBS announcer Peter Kostis to discuss his departure. Many comments are of note, but these two in particular stood out:

“The timing and the reason for mine and Gary’s departure are the ongoing negotiations with a new television contract,” Kostis explained. “That’s involved here. I don’t know how exactly or what it could be but I do believe the next television contract is going to be radically different. I don’t have any basis for saying that other than my gut instinct. I do know the tour is gearing up to be able to handle gambling. I think it’s one of the ways they’re hoping to grow their fan base with younger people.”

Interesting that he ties the timing with negotiations. Meetings started some time ago, so is he implying a Hail Mary play by CBS?

And this probably means he and producer Lance Barrow won’t be trading Christmas cards:

“There’s a fine line between familiarity and staleness,” he said. “What we’ve been hearing over and over from fans since this happened is, ‘You guys are the voices of my weekends watching golf and we’ve grown to love it.’ There’s a familiarity for the viewers with the CBS team. Having said that, I don’t think it was the announcers that were stale. I believe the production has suffered over the last few years. That’s all I’m going to say. I’ll just leave it at that.”

Hank Haney Pod: Tiger vs Snead, McCord, Kostis Out At CBS & Gambling

It was a pleasure to talk golf with Hank after Tiger’s 82nd win. We also covered the CBS announcer news and touched on the move toward gambling on golf.

The Apple pod address.

Or you can listen on any podcasting app or below:

Davis Love Joins CBS Golf Team In 2020

Moving swiftly after not renewing Gary McCord and Peter Kostis, CBS hires Davis Love.

I spoke to Love for Golfweek not long after the announcement below.

For immediate release:

HALL-OF-FAMER AND MAJOR CHAMPION DAVIS LOVE III JOINS CBS SPORTS GOLF TEAM 

Davis Love III, PGA champion, 21-time PGA TOUR winner, two-time Ryder Cup captain and World Golf Hall-of-Famer, joins CBS Sports full-time as golf analyst for its coverage of the PGA TOUR, the Masters and PGA Championship. The announcement was made today by Sean McManus, Chairman, CBS Sports.

“Davis is one of the most accomplished and respected players in the game of golf,” said McManus. “With his playing experience, reputation and relationships across the golf community, he brings a unique perspective and insight that will enhance our broadcasts. Davis is the perfect fit for CBS, and we look forward to him making the best broadcast team in golf even better.”

“I have long considered CBS Sports the gold standard in golf coverage,” said Love. “Whether playing or coaching, I have always loved the team aspect of golf, and I am thrilled to now be a member of the best team in television. My playing days are not totally over, as I will play select events, but my focus now shifts to broadcasting. I have been fortunate to spend a lot of time with the men and women of CBS Sports, and I look forward to getting started in January.” 

Love will make his CBS Sports debut as an announcer on Saturday, Jan. 25, 2020 at the Farmers Insurance Open when the Network tees off its 2020 golf season. 

Love started his professional career in 1985 and won his first PGA TOUR event in 1987. Throughout his illustrious playing career, he ranked in the Top 10 in the Official Golf World Rankings for more than 450 weeks while winning 21 PGA TOUR events, including the 1992 and 2003 THE PLAYERS Championship and the PGA Championship in 1997. After winning the Wyndham Championship in 2015, he became one of three players ever – joining Sam Snead and Raymond Floyd – to win on the PGA TOUR in four different decades. He was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2017. 

Love was a U.S. staple during international competition, as he was selected to six U.S. Ryder Cup teams and six U.S. President Cup teams as a player. In 2011 he was named team captain of the 2012 U.S. Ryder Cup team, and led the team to victory as captain in 2016. 

Along with his play on the course, Love has consistently been honored for his demeanor off it, winning the USGA’s Bob Jones Award in 2013, the PGA TOUR Payne Stewart Award in 2008, and the Jim Murray Award in 2016, presented by the Golf Writers Association of America each year to the golfer who best cooperates with the media. He also has been elected by his fellow players to the PGA TOUR policy board four times.

Love was a three-time All-American at the University of North Carolina, and won the 1984 ACC Championship.

McCord: "Bottom line, they fired me"

There is a lot to digest in Dave Shedloski’s Golf World story catching up with Gary McCord, now a former CBS broadcaster.

McCord, a former PGA Tour player and winner of three PGA Tour Champions events, is smarting over the decision mostly because he didn’t have a chance to personally thank all his CBS teammates behind the scenes who have supported him through the years, people who have become like family. “You just don’t do something like this,” he said. “You shouldn’t do it this way. No chance to say thanks to the viewers, to all my CBS friends? That’s what you get for 35 years?”

“Bottom line, they fired me.”

The story says CBS offered McCord the opportunity to work the first two weeks of 2020’s broadcast schedule, but he declined.

He also shares the one bit of reasoning given to him by the head of CBS Sports, Sean McManus.

“He [McManus] tells me, and he told Peter the same thing, that ‘We think CBS golf is getting a little stale, and we need to go in another direction,’ ” McCord told Golf Digest by phone from his home in Scottsdale. “I’ve been called a lot of things, but one thing I’ve never been called is stale.”

There was a great deal of sniping in recent years over McCord’s act having grown thin, but never felt that way. He was often the one person trying to inject some life into telecasts, but without his old foil David Feherty or many opportunities to exhibit his knowledge of the swing, McCord was often limited to the role of 16th hole traffic cop. Therefore the notion of “stale” strikes me as more a statement about the CBS production elements (Yanni?) or overall energy than the work of any one announcer.

Kostis: "Bye for now! I’m off to UPS to send some packages!”

Many are still trying to wrap heads around the abrupt end to long runs for Gary McCord and Peter Kostis, particularly given their longevity and CBS’s general unwillingness to make sudden changes.

Awful Announcing’s Jay Rigdon attempted to decipher the news and added this conclusion:

CBS has their current rights through 2021, so it’s unlikely this move is the result of a vote of no confidence in their own bid. It could be a move signaling a revamp of their coverage, or at least a willingness to evolve; maybe that’s something the PGA Tour is looking for in the next round.

In a farewell statement posted by Sports Business Daily’s John Ourand, Kostis said he’d “been thinking quite a bit about requesting a reduced travel schedule, but CBS made my decision easier when they elected to not exercise the two-year option on my contract.”

More interesting was an apparent jab at the PGA Tour’s partnership with FedEx.

Finally, I have to say a big thank you to all the announcers I’ve worked with over the years. I believe that the CBS golf announce team is the gold standard. A special shout out to Gary McCord who has been with me every step of the way, (including that infamous 1989 Ryder Cup broadcast team!) and Jim Nantz who has been there for my entire CBS career. To the cameramen, technicians and support staff at CBS I simply say it was a privilege to work alongside you. Bye for now! I’m off to UPS to send some packages!”

McCord And Kostis Not Returning To CBS Golf Coverage

A bit of a stunner as the two long-time veterans are out at CBS.

Here is my report for Golfweek.

With CBS having two more years on its current deal, plus two major championships, the move opens up two key positions on their broadcast team. It’s been a year of cost-cuts at CBS, with multiple longtime crew members offered buyouts in February and goodbyes said on air in May.

Every Shot, Live On-Demand To Debut At 2020 Players

The PGA Tour says in today’s release that the newly-announced every shot, “live on-demand” is the eventual goal for all golf coverage. Bold!

In conjunction with NBC Sports Gold, the tour will roll out the first attempt at the 2020 Players, just weeks prior to the Masters, where a slightly tape-delayed on-demand debuted in 2019 with mostly great success (things were rough at the start and some shots never were captured).

The technology and concept is undoubtedly exciting, but it does the raise the question": how people will watch golf going forward. Given the length of a round, the number of variables involved and the slow nature of the sport, the act of sitting down to watch one or two groups go about their round, minus announcing and other storytelling elements, seems like a big ask. Perhaps those who have fantasy pool or waging implications at stake will pay for the privilege, as will family and friends of players.

The technology seems far more compelling in the Presidents Cup or WGC Dell Match Play, where such formats make you want to follow the mini-dramas within a match. But even then, you need announcing and other production elements to make for compelling viewing.

Anyway, For Immediate Release:

PGA TOUR, and NBC Sports Group announce live streaming of every shot during THE PLAYERS Championship in 2020

Marks the first time ever fans can follow every shot by every player live 

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, FLORIDA – For the first time ever in golf, every shot by every player will be live-streamed from a full-field tournament when THE PLAYERS Championship returns to TPC Sawgrass, March 12-15, allowing fans to follow any player in the elite field, all four rounds.  All of this revolutionary coverage will be available to PGA TOUR LIVE subscribers on either NBC Sports Gold or Amazon Prime Video Channels.

“The PGA TOUR is the most content-rich sport on the planet and we have been focused on expanding the amount of content we bring to our fans from our competitions,” said Rick Anderson, Chief Media Officer for the TOUR.  “Our vision is to bring every shot in every PGA TOUR golf tournament live and on-demand to our fans, and this is the first step to making that happen.”

PGA TOUR Entertainment and NBC Sports Group will accomplish the monumental task of showcasing more than 32,000 shots over 72 holes from a starting field of 144 – live – by utilizing nearly 120 cameras positioned throughout THE PLAYERS Stadium Course, with each group having its own dedicated stream.

“Every shot of THE PLAYERS on PGA TOUR LIVE is a natural next step in the innovative partnership between NBC Sports and the PGA TOUR that spans nearly 60 years,” said Mike McCarley, president, GOLF, NBC Sports Group. “Super-serving golf fans with more comprehensive coverage of THE PLAYERS is emblematic of our commitment to elevating this championship and builds upon our success in adding enhancements to PGA TOUR LIVE on NBC Sports Gold.” 

PGA TOUR LIVE already has expanded its coverage for the 2019-20 PGA TOUR Season by adding early round featured groups coverage from seven events between September and December. This includes, for the first time ever, live streaming of “featured matches” all four days of competition from the upcoming Presidents Cup at The Royal Melbourne Golf Club in Australia (December 12-15, 2019).

All told, approximately 140 hours of additional live content is available, bringing more than 1,100 total hours to subscribers and extending live content across each month of the calendar year. With NBC Sports Gold and Prime Video Channels being available on dozens of connected devices such as Amazon Fire TV, Roku, Apple TV, and Chromecast, connected device consumption has spiked to about one-third of total minutes in 2019.

Further, the PGA TOUR will be launching an all-new TOURCast product that will allow fans to follow every shot from each group with a beautiful 3D rendering of the golf course and shot trails.  The new TOURCast platform will also include deep access to the PGA TOUR’s ShotLink powered by CDW data, as well as video clips of every single shot available for fans to see, on demand.  The launch of TOURCast at THE PLAYERS will mark the start of every event in the PGA TOUR Season through the FedExCup Playoffs being offered on the platform. TOURCast will be available on the PGA TOUR’s mobile apps and website.  

“Since the launch of PGA TOUR LIVE four years ago, fans have consistently asked when they would be able to watch every shot of every player's round live as it happens.  We are thrilled to be able to do this for the first time at THE PLAYERS Championship in 2020,” said Luis Goicouria, the TOUR’s Senior Vice President of Media.  “THE PLAYERS Championship has long been the tournament where the TOUR debuts the newest technology, including LIVE@ 17, our first Virtual Reality experience, and the PGA TOUR Augmented Reality iPhone app, just to name a few.”

TOURCast, which originally launched in 2003 as a state-of-the-art graphical scoring platform that provided unprecedented tournament coverage, won an Emmy in 2005. “We’re very excited to bring back a greatly enhanced version of it to a new generation of fans, utilizing the latest technology and data,” Goicouria added.

From the historic competition to an iconic golf course with an unparalleled fan experience, THE PLAYERS is uncompromising in its pursuit to deliver the best. The 144-player field represents the strongest collection of players assembled each season, competing on Pete Dye’s masterpiece, THE PLAYERS Stadium Course, that favors no single style of play and demands excellence in every facet of the game.

THE PLAYERS also was the first tournament conceived with the fan as its focal point. From the original design incorporating viewing mounds, to embracing change to deliver the best experience in the modern game, THE PLAYERS provides the highest expression of hospitality and entertainment. Morgan Stanley, Grant Thornton LLP and Optum are the exclusive Proud Partners of THE PLAYERS.

Lee Westwood Scores The First Hole-In-One Captured By Plane Tracer

Definitely a first! And what a fantastic look given how tight the shot was to the ball.

From round one of the Alfred Dunhill Links, Lee Westwood making an ace at Carnoustie’s 8th hole.

View this post on Instagram

Hole-in-one. Filmed from a plane. With tracer.⁠ Sit back and enjoy 🚀⁠ #DunhillLinks⁠

A post shared by European Tour (@europeantour) on Sep 26, 2019 at 12:05pm PDT

Awkward Alert: Romo Opens Strong In Napa; A Made Cut Will Interrupt His CBS Work Sunday

In a contract year with CBS and rebelliously teeing it up during all-important NFL regular season, former Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo opened the Safeway Open with a 70, his best PGA Tour round by far.

The possibility of a made cut has him potentially playing the weekend and missing his Vikings-Bears NFL assignment with Jim Nantz.

According to the New York Post, Boomer Esiason is slated to replace Romo.

While this is an awkward situation for CBS given Romo’s popularity as a broadcaster and his obvious passion to play golf over watch film of the Bears, imagine how the 74 PGA Tour pros who were beat by Romo feel? Granted, the field includes a few retreads and folks you didn’t know have tour status, but Romo’s T28 position has him well ahead of several major winners.

From Adam Schupak’s Golfweek report in Napa:

That would prevent him from doing his day job commentating for CBS Sports on the Chicago Bears-Minnesota Vikings game on Sunday.

“It’s a good problem to have,” Romo said with a smile.

Romo is playing this week as the lone amateur in the 144-man field, and had players buzzing about his round.

“It’s bloody impressive,” said Adam Scott, who held a share of the lead after shooting 65. “I ain’t ever going to throw a pass in the NFL, that’s for sure, so I think it’s unbelievable that he can do that.”

Romo tees off at 1:25 Pacific, putting him in a good portion of Golf Channel’s broadcast window.