ESPN plays it down the middle
Entering the Masters, the chief
broadcasting question was whether
ESPN, the network that inflicted Dick
Vitale and Chris Berman on an otherwise
civilized sports world, would be on its
best behavior at Augusta.
Not to worry. We had our answer in the
opening minutes of Thursday’s broadcast, when
Arnold Palmer hit the opening tee shot. “And just
like last year, straight down the middle,” ESPN’s
Mike Tirico said as the camera panned out to
show – wink, wink – a fairway so enshrouded
in fog that not even AWACS radar could have
tracked The King’s drive. ESPN had bought into
the Masters mystique.
No sports property is managed as fastidiously
as the Masters, and if there’s one thing ESPN
appreciates, it’s good brand management. ESPN
stuck to the time-tested Masters formula, and
Tirico was understated on what was, effectively, a
CBS broadcast distributed by ESPN on Thursday
and Friday.
The formula worked, of course. Ratings were
consistent with 2007, even though the Green
Jackets seem intent on wringing the excitement
out of their golf course.
CBS waited for the weekend to break out its
newest toy: three-dimensional hole renderings.
Using software from Archiform 3D, an Australian
firm, CBS’ high-definition still photography was
laid over Augusta National’s GPS course
mapping, Steve Milton, lead director for CBS
Sports golf, said in an interview. The graphics,
which illustrated Augusta’s hilly terrain, can be
used to show any part of the course, Milton said.
My first thought: Welcome to the 21st century.
Still, time moves slowly at Augusta, so let’s be
thankful for this much-needed, if tardy, innovation.
My other thought: Live
a little, guys. You have
a great new toy, and a
costly one at that. Take
it out for a spin. The
graphics were used on only
seven holes and did little
to illustrate the slope of
Augusta’s greens. The
CBS crew often said putts
would break 15 feet,
though without graphics,
they looked flat.
While muted, the CBS
team danced enticingly
around a taboo topic
Sunday. Peter Kostis
talked about Tiger Woods
TV ratings
“showing more
frustration than normal.”
(Translation: Tiger is
cussing up a storm again.)
Nantz: “Don’t you think
with all of his seasoning
and brilliant record that
he’d be able to control
that?” The conversation
was more impenetrable
than an Emily Dickinson
poem, so allow me to
interpret: The network
brass is growing weary
of Tiger screaming
profanities.
It’s a worthwhile
conversation to have,
unlike CBS’ decision
Saturday to have Kostis
interview his student,
Paul Casey. CBS
disclosed their
relationship, and a CBS
spokeswoman said in an
e-mail that “Peter did the
interview because he knew Paul and his game
best.” That wasn’t evident from Kostis’ two
pedestrian questions, the latter of which was,
“Your game plan for tomorrow?” Awkwardly,
Casey quipped, “I was going to ask you that.”
This is more a problem of principle than
practicality: Kostis is on Casey’s payroll. Bill
Macatee, who handled every other post-round
interview Saturday, also should have interviewed
Casey.
And what of CBS analyst Nick Faldo? In
January 2007, I wrote glowingly of his debut
as Golf Channel’s lead
announcer. He was
animated, insightful, funny.
But that was the high
point of his post-ABC
broadcasting career. After
watching three days of
golf, I realized Saturday
night that I had nothing
in my notes about Faldo’s
work. It’s probably not
a good sign when the
lead analyst hasn’t said
anything memorable after
more than 10 hours on air.
In sharp contrast was
Golf Channel’s Brandel
Chamblee. I’m convinced
GETTY IMAGES/DAVID CANNON
Mike Tirico and ESPN didn’t deviate from the
time-tested Masters formula in the network’s
first broadcast of the year’s first major.
Masters ratings
The metered market ratings/share*
for the Masters broadcast:
2008 2007 Change
Thursday 2. 1** 1. 9 + 10.5%
Friday 3. 1** 2. 5 +24%
Saturday 6.1/14 6.1/13 0.0%
Sunday 8.9/18 9.1/21 -2%
* One rating point represents slightly more
than 1. 1 million households. Share is the
percentage of TV sets in use tuned to the
tournament.
** ESPN does not report share points.
some rogue producer
spiked Chamblee’s
coffee with Red Bull.
Whatever the cause,
keep doing it.
Chamblee dominated
the “Live From
the Masters” set,
particularly Saturday’s
pregame show.
He challenged the
conventional wisdom
that Saturday’s rains
would hurt the shorter
hitters, saying “the
guys who aren’t
spinning it as much
can somehow hold
these shots on the
green.” And he said
players are determined
to go for No. 15 in
two to avoid “the
toughest pitch on
a par 5 that I have
ever seen.”
Chamblee provided a spark on an otherwise
lifeless “Live From . . .” set. (If you sat through
all 61⁄ 2 hours of the “Life From . . .” weekend
pregame shows, please stop reading and seek
immediate psychiatric care.) “Live From . . .”
hums when Golf Channel is delivering players’
news conferences, highlights and analysis from
Chamblee and Frank Nobilo. It stalls because
of repetition, self-promotion and commercial
breaks that last as long as 61⁄ 2 minutes, as
happened in Sunday’s postgame broadcast.
It’s the definition of a made-for-TiVo show.
Speaking of stalling, did we really need to
watch Woods spend 4 minutes, 6 seconds on
Friday lining up birdie putts at Nos. 10 and 11?
“He really has taken a long time on these
putts,” CBS’ Ian Baker-Finch said.
You think, Ian? At times like that, I can only
assume that the networks expect viewers to be
content literally watching grass grow.
IBF, however, seemed enamored with Brandt
Snedeker’s supposed celerity.
“I love his pace of play,” IBF intoned Sunday
as Sneds took six practice strokes before tapping
in a 2-foot bogey putt. Moments earlier, Snedeker
took more than 90 seconds before hitting a
short wedge into No. 8. Broadcasters confuse
Snedeker’s quick movements with expeditious play.
No matter. At Augusta, you can play with the
facts. Just don’t tarnish the brand. ❍
