NBC experiments with more commercial-free coverage at The Sentry

Let’s get the unhealthy information out of the way in which first: the ultimate hour of PGA Tour coverage this Sunday is not going to technically be commercial-free.

But it will likely be free of economic interruptions — and for golf followers beleaguered after months (years?) of economic backload in professional golf, that’s the vital half.

On Thursday morning, Callaway and NBC introduced that they are going to be renewing their commercial-free partnership for this week’s season-opening (and newly renamed) PGA Tour occasion, The Sentry. For the ultimate hour of Sunday’s closing spherical coverage on Golf Channel, as with the ultimate hour of final yr’s epic Jon Rahm comeback victory, viewers shall be handled to 60ish minutes of commercial-free TV coverage.

The commercial-free hour comes courtesy of Callaway, which is able to underwrite the hour’s value of commercials in promotion of its new line of Chrome Tour golf balls. In lieu of the normal break schedule of Tour telecasts, the Chrome Tour ball shall be promoted with on-screen graphics all through the hour and a focused welcome from Callaway ambassador Steph Curry. The membership producer launched into the identical promotional technique for final yr’s Paradym membership line at the Sentry, incomes near-universal plaudits from golf followers who had been in a position to expertise a real rarity in professional golf TV: a event’s conclusive moments unbothered by the 18ish minutes of economic per hour that sometimes be part of Tour occasions.

Of course the commercial-free hour lands as a welcome break for golf followers, however questions stay about its long-term feasibility as a part of the golf TV product, and the mere dialogue a few commercial-free entity raises a difficult query: why can’t the Tour do that each week?

The easy fact is that the price of promoting across the PGA Tour is important, and networks get probably the most cash for his or her promoting slots out of the ultimate hour of event coverage, when the most important audiences are anticipated to tune in. For most weeks on the professional golf calendar, investing in a commercial-free hour is a tough — and extremely costly — proposition for a possible promoting associate. While a long-standing advert associate of NBC or CBS might theoretically underwrite a commercial-free hour into its yearly spend, it stays to be seen what number of of these companions exist, how a lot the that partnership would price an advertisers, and of that group, if a commercial-free hour would show a worthy use of its funds.

Callaway has definitely discovered that to at least a handful of those questions the only reply is, in actual fact, sure. But The Sentry’s closing hour shall be aired on Golf Channel, not NBC, and the cable community instructions a decrease cost-per-advertisement than its nationwide over-the-air sibling. Many different Tour occasions will conclude on NBC and CBS, the place the price of a commercial-free endeavor can be significantly larger.

The excellent news is that this week is not going to be the final time golf followers are handled to a commercial-free end. The Masters has among the most restricted business interruptions of any main skilled sports activities occasion, whereas the ultimate hour of the U.S. Open and Open Championship is offered commercial-free by a long-running partnership with Rolex. But these weeks are few and much between in skilled golf, and out of doors of them, the business downside appears to be trending within the flawed course.

The Sentry addition improves the golf tv product, sure, and there’s little doubt it’s common among the many viewing viewers. Callaway deserves credit score for being the primary to step as much as the plate and for committing to a different yr of what guarantees to be an exhilarating hour of golf TV.

Enjoy it whereas it lasts.

James Colgan

Golf.com Editor

James Colgan is a information and options editor at GOLF, writing tales for the web site and journal. He manages the Hot Mic, GOLF’s media vertical, and makes use of his on-camera expertise throughout the model’s platforms. Prior to becoming a member of GOLF, James graduated from Syracuse University, throughout which era he was a caddie scholarship recipient (and astute looper) on Long Island, the place he’s from. He might be reached at james.colgan@golf.com.