The RBC Heritage Ended In A Sudden Death Playoff … Too Bad Nobody Saw It Live
- Updated: April 17, 2018
Why didn’t CBS stream it online?!?!
In case you haven’t heard by now, Japan’s Satoshi Kodaira beat Si Woo Kim in a playoff to win the RBC Heritage at Harbour Town on Sunday. Too bad nobody saw it live!
Why? Well, since the tee times for the final round were moved up due to weather, CBS opted not to show it real time. Instead, viewers tuning in to see the action/3-hole sudden death playoff were greeted by the words no golf fan wants to see on the bottom of the screen: “recorded earlier.”
Odd that @PGATOUR.com and https://t.co/ONUbyCFdbT chose not to live stream today’s expedited @RBC_Heritage final round for the cord-cutters. Tour’s site did go with live @SiriusXMPGATOUR broadcast. This does at least clarify pronunciation of #liveunderpar https://t.co/W7DGhBYOO4
— Geoff Shackelford (@GeoffShac) April 15, 2018
With the leaders going off well before the coverage window began, Golf Channel streamed early coverage live for an hour and forty-five minutes. That was it!
The rest of the round, which included a back 9 putting meltdown of sorts by Kim, was left up to the imagination – and PGA Tour radio – as if it were the 1960s.
In a finish you can’t yet see, Si Woo Kim missed putts of 4, 7, 5 and 6 feet over the last four holes. Now set for playoff with Satoshi Kodaira.
— Ryan Lavner (@RyanLavnerGC) April 15, 2018
Sure, there are plenty of reasons why common sense doesn’t prevail in situations like these but in a world where technology reigns supreme, people expect the latest information delivered to them as it is happening. Not 4 hours after the fact.
Naturally, in this case, it’s business related.
“We have not streamed live golf outside our telecast window during weather-related tee time adjustments to protect our affiliates broadcast exclusivity,” a CBS spokesperson said according to a Golfweek report. “But we are re-examining our policy.”
CBS has the capability to stream a tournament live just like NBC does, however unlike NBC has done in the past, they chose not to. At least the silver lining is that they said they would reevaluate their policies.
RELATED: PGA Tour Ditching “These Guys Are Good” Slogan For “Live Under Par” (????)
Even the PGA Tour issued its own statement: “Our network partners have certain exclusive rights that the tour cannot preempt. CBS is re-examining their current policy and we will continue to work together to provide the most comprehensive coverage of our events.”
If you cover a sport, viewers should be able to consume it live. It’s 2018. Wake up and smell the internet!
[PGA Tour exec meeting]
“How can we make our product better?
Exec 1: convince people they should live under par even though we don’t know what the hell it means
Exec 2: when tee times are moved up, stream it live for an hour only then show the rest in tape delay
“Done”
— Two Inches Short (@TwoInchesShort) April 15, 2018
As Sports Business Daily points out, Sunday’s ratings – even with the tape delay – were actually higher this year than last year when it was viewed live … but shhhhh, don’t tell CBS:
The net drew a 2.0 overnight rating for the final round, which saw Sotashi Kodaira beat Si-Woo Kim in a three-hole playoff for his first PGA Tour win. Yesterday’s rating is up 33% from a 1.5 last year, when Wesley Bryan won the event on Easter Sunday.
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