The Golf Australia office is usually a hive of activity for the five to six hours after any major golf championship as we pull together our review of the event and rush it to the printer for inclusion in the next edition.
Thousands of golf fans did not see Louis Oosthuizen’s Open win because Channel Nine did not show the Championship live.
For three of the four majors in 2010, it was business as usual. But the early morning start after the Open Championship was far busier than usual. In between writing of Louis Oosthuizen’s breakthough victory, I fielded no less than 15 phone calls and an equal number of emails complaining about the Channel Nine coverage of the championship. Or to be precise, what coverage? Channel Nine, who have held the free-to-air rights of the British Open for more than two decades, chose to broadcast an old movie instead of showing the final round of the Open. Don’t worry about showing it live – they didn’t show it at all. Then, to rub every golf fan’s nose in it, they edited up a highlights package and showed it at 12.30am on Tuesday, nearly 24 hours after the young South African had claimed the trophy.
Of course, those who subscribe to pay-TV and have access to Fox Sports went to bed at 4am on Monday not only knowing the result but had witnessed a great performance – live.
The network with the nine dots has been winding back its overseas golf coverage ever since Kerry Packer passed away. Nine used to televise all the majors but because they don’t rate (surely the final round of an Open Championship would rate more viewers than a 1980s straight-to-video movie?) they have gradually been dropped from the schedule. Nine started showing these events back in the ’80s, when Greg Norman was the world No.1 pay-TV didn’t exist. Packer, a keen golfer who would later become a business mentor to Norman, wanted to follow Norman’s progress in the majors so he bought the rights to televise all four events.
Given Channel Nine’s treatment of the major championships since Packer’s passing, it was a huge surprise when they signed on as the free-to-air broadcaster of the JBWere Masters two years ago. I wonder how long Eddie McGuire and co. will be involved once Tiger Woods is not a starter in the event?
I mention all this on the back of the Federal Government’s reforms to the anti-siphoning regulations covering the broadcasting of sport on free-to-air television. The anti-siphoning list was established in 1994, long before digital television, and was outdated for the current TV market. The scheme didn’t require broadcasters to televise nationally significant events live or in full. Nor could they pass on unused rights to other broadcasters. For example, Nine had no intention of showing the Open Championship, but they were not allowed to offload it to another network, like Channel Ten, which has increased its golf coverage.
Federal Communications Minister Stephen Conroy unveiled a two-tiered system in November that was due to come into force on January 1.
Major events such as the Melbourne Cup, the AFL and NRL grand finals, the Rugby World Cup final, World Cup matches involving the Socceroos and the Australian Open tennis finals will have to be broadcast live and in full on the main free-to-air channels. These are considered Tier-A events.
Other events such as the Olympics, Commonwealth Games, a selection of AFL and NRL home-and-away games, netball test matches and preliminary Australian Open tennis rounds will be able to be shown on the digital multi-channels operated by Nine, Seven and Ten. This list, known as Tier-B, also includes coverage of three golf tournaments – each round of the Australian Open, Australian Masters and the US Masters.
What does this really mean?
As Tier-B listed events, the broadcaster must show the event in full although there is no requirement for this coverage to be live. It must, however, be broadcast within four hours of commencement. The Olympics, Australian Open tennis and golf championships will have more flexible obligations of minimum daily coverage placed on them.
How this ultimately affects the amount of golf we see on free-to-air remains to be seen.
But, unless you or a mate has Foxtel, chances are you won’t see the British Open in 2011. The Open was one of several events – including the early rounds of Wimbledon and England-Australia one-day cricket matches in Britain – delisted by the Government. This means it is unlikely to appear on free-to-air, and Channel Nine, which holds the rights currently, will be open to negotiate with other networks or Foxsports will be able to bid for sole rights of the championship.
Sadly, for those that cannot afford to subscribe to pay-TV this means, they are probably going to see even less golf in 2011.
What will be interesting is how the rights and coverage of the Presidents Cup, to be contested in Melbourne in November, is played out? That could be a stoush worth watching.