Where to see the US PGA in the U.K.?

In my paper this morning it states that both the BBC and SKY have turned down the opportunity to broadcast the USPGA. Too expensive they say. So unless BY Sport or Eurosport pick it up, we might have to watch via streaming. I wonder if Eurosport will do it, as being part of Discovery and doing it as a trial for their forthcoming tie up with the PGA tour. Although the two are not connected.

I like to see as much live golf on free to air TV as possible but in retrospect the BBC messed things up last year. To give them a a wee bit of leeway they did secure the rights late on and already had the athletics from London showing that weekend but putting half of each day's play on the red button no doubt lost them a lot of viewers and without the numbers it looks like they couldn't justify the costs for this year.

Also not sending the team to the event wasn't the best idea ever.

In the US it is shown by TNT, all Thursday and Friday and early Saturday and Sunday, with CBS showing it Saturday and Sunday afternoons so maybe we'll at least get some of it on TCM

I remember watching Larry Nelson and Jeff Sluman win it in the late 80s live on STV (or ITV for those down south) with the feed taken directly from US TV with many many ad breaks.

It's strange to think 30 years on we have actually moved backwards

The beeb got a slating ladt year for cobbling something together, which clearly was not priority. I dont get the abuse for having on a red button, easier to get that then sky sports channel 401.

Hope someone picks it up though.

Channel 5 will pick it up. Vinnie Jones and Melinda Messenger to anchor, first 2 people to walk on the practise green at the nearest golf club to Channel 5 HQ to commentate with analysis from Michael Owen and on course snippets from Nigel Mansell.

Shows what a niche sport it is really, golfers are lucky they get so much coverage ( if they choose to pay for Sky) for a sport that in truth interests so few.

Why not put it on YouTube like the CL final. I think it was just the BT feed but loads of people watched it. Could do the same but with the TNT commentary.

Diggers wrote:Shows what a niche sport it is really, golfers are lucky they get so much coverage ( if they choose to pay for Sky) for a sport that in truth interests so few.

That's because there's so little golf on terrestrial tv now that (young) people don't get to see it.

Nick Faldo's story of having no interest in golf until he saw the Masters on tv isn't likely to happen in 2018.

Isn’t Masters weekend the only golf you can actually see live on terrestrial TV any more? Although I agree with the overall sentiment. And if you do catch the Masters as an 8 year old nowadays and get interested, it’ll be a lot harder to sustain your golf appetite than even 20 years ago when the BBC had 4 days of Masters, Open, Scottish Open, PGA, World matchplay and British Masters.

George1507 wrote:

Diggers wrote:Shows what a niche sport it is really, golfers are lucky they get so much coverage ( if they choose to pay for Sky) for a sport that in truth interests so few.

That's because there's so little golf on terrestrial tv now that (young) people don't get to see it.

Nick Faldo's story of having no interest in golf until he saw the Masters on tv isn't likely to happen in 2018.

I don't think golf is high on the agenda for most kids, very few would watch it anyway, my school has a couple of kids who play. You can't blame TV for golf being niche. Look closer to home at clubs who don't really want kids on the course and do nothing to get involved with local schools. It's still seen as a stuffy, boring game by most people.

Golf is a bit like Cricket, very boring to watch, but good to take part in. Even as an avid golfer I don't find watching it all that exciting, especially the wretched American coverage which makes it even worse as a spectacle.

What chance is there of the young picking up on golf when even golfers aren't that bothered about seeing it?

It's certainly not elitist, but it's pretty stuffy.

I find golf very good to watch on TV, mostly (except I can’t stand the US coverage or their commentators) and as I also watch cricket, rugby and F1 and most other motorsports, it’s well worth paying for Sky. I agree that I don’t think the golf coverage on TV has any bearing on the involvement of youngsters. I used to watch as a child. It it wasn’t that which encouraged me to take it up. In fact, I thought it was a game for stuffy old men!

Much prefer playing golf to watching golf, cricket is by far the dullest sport I have ever played, but I love watching it and really enjoy radio commentary.

Not sure if this has been reported on here but Eleven Sports (who have recently won the UK rights to La Liga and Serie A) have snagged the PGA Championship UK rights so it will be online only via their website.

They are doing a 7 day free trial so if you time it right you will get to see it for free, at least this year.

https://www.golf-monthly.co.uk/news/2018-us-pga-will-not-televised-sky-sports-bbc-161016

Won’t bother watching in that case. If I can’t watch on a full size TV screen, it’s not worth it.

LadyPutt wrote:Won’t bother watching in that case. If I can’t watch on a full size TV screen, it’s not worth it.

Ger a Chromecast (30 quid) or similar device to cast it to your TV.

Most people have smart TV's these days so you can stream it directly on the TV.

Be_the_ball wrote:Most people have smart TV's these days so you can stream it directly on the TV.

I must be in the minority, then and I’m not paying out another 30 quid for a gizmo I, as a technophobe, probably won’t understand how to use. I’ll pass on this one.

You don't still have a CRT do you LP?

super_realist wrote:You don't still have a CRT do you LP?

A what????

Cathode Ray Tube, one of the old tv's that are as deep as they are wide.

I still have one super, no lagging or colour issues. You really need to go to OLED or high end LCD to beat the picture quality and viewing experience on CRTs - especially when watching sports. Which easily sets you back 1-2000 if you want a decent size (>55”) and sound.

My own answer to a smart TV is a home cinema setup w HD projector, directly on the wall (in a room in my basement - I’m married...). All this cost me 500 quid plus a few older speakers and an even older woofer which I already had. It gives me a 100” screen size and you just plug in whatever media you have, cable TV box, chromecast, Apple TV etc.. It is one of the best investments I ever made.

If you have an HDTV LadyPutt and access the internet via a laptop or PC you'll be able to get it on your TV screen via a cheap cable you can get off Amazon.

You'll need to check what your laptop/PC output is (probably either DVI, RGB, or HDMI) but whichever it is you can get either a DVI -> HDMI, RGB -> HDMI, or full HDMI cable for about a fiver.

LadyPutt wrote:

Be_the_ball wrote:Most people have smart TV's these days so you can stream it directly on the TV.

I must be in the minority, then and I’m not paying out another 30 quid for a gizmo I, as a technophobe, probably won’t understand how to use. I’ll pass on this one.

Just plug your laptop into your tv.

I’m pretty sure you can get an HDMI cable in the pound shop for, well, a quid. I’d still need help on which sockets to plug it into though.

Can’t get my head around what the USPGA’s tactics are with this. For better or worse Sky have the monopoly on golf in the UK right now. Both major tours (and all minor tours), the three other majors, the Ryder Cup, the ladies’ majors and big tour events, and so on. Any golf fan knows Sky is where they get their fill. The PGA Championship is the least popular major in this country as it is: no one who’s not an avid golf fan will go out of their way to find it, and plenty of big golf fans won’t bother either. If the Open or the Ryder Cup had gone to a niche channel, I could maybe understand, but I just don’t see what the USPGA thinks it gets out of falling out with the one broadcaster that could give it exposure. Particularly with a move to a new date next year, which will throw more fans off the scent. Considering it’s always been the most “at-risk” major, they seem to be actively trying to commit themselves to irrelevance outside of the US market.