DirecTV to Golf Channel viewers: Do nothing
by Emily Kay on Dec 20, 2010 7:27 PM EST
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December 20 -- With rumors swirling that DirecTV may dump Golf Channel because of a food fight with GC’s owner Comcast over license fees, the satellite provider has some advice for viewers: Don’t panic.
Actually, DirecTV has a more specific message to customers concerned that the war of words between the distributor and Golf Channel’s cable parent represents more than mere posturing. “Please enjoy your DirecTV service as you do today,” states a message on the firm’s website. “There is nothing you need to do at this time.”
It sounds as if DirecTV may be taking some heat over Monday’s Sports Business Journal article positing the possibility of a breakup between the satellite carrier and the golf network. If they don’t re-ink a deal by the time the current contract runs out on December 31, it would be a lose-lose for both sides: DTV subscribers may bail if they need their daily doses of Tiger Woods, and Golf Channel would lose some 15 million DirecTV subscribers, according to SBJ’s John Ourand.
With November ratings in the dumper, the LPGA’s exclusive broadcaster cannot afford to lose DirecTV’s business. The channel was 78th of 90 cable networks in “total-day viewership” for last month, says Ourand, adding that only Fox Soccer, MLB Network, and NBA TV captured fewer eyes.
Granted, it is the off-season, but it’s not as if Golf Channel ratings soar in mid-summer. Of course, airing movies about surfers and bank robbers amid endless infomercials for golf gewgaws guaranteed to carve strokes off any duffer’s handicap may not be the best way to boost ratings.
Despite some questionable programming, Golf Channel would not be the only party to suffer if the sides can’t agree on a new pact. DirecTV needs Golf Channel as well, notes golf industry analyst Nick Green.
“If they don't make a deal, Direct TV will lose many, many armchair and actual golfers,” Green, president and founder of MacDuff Consulting, tells Waggle Room. “For many, it's the main reason they get a monthly package.”
That hasn’t stopped DTV from talking tough or taking action. As Ourand notes, officials have made it clear they plan to ax channels with waning viewerships. The satellite provider did just that with Comcast’s Versus and G4 over similar issues, Ourand points out.
With all this going on, DirecTV execs want to reassure subscribers they are working hard to ensure the delivery of golf content.
“We're Negotiating to Keep the Golf Channel on DirecTV,” says the notice on the website. “We are in discussions to renew the Golf Channel contract as we do year-round with a variety of networks when their contracts are up. There are no plans to take the channel down at this time.”
The two companies are talking, Ourand affirms, but he says they remain “far apart.”
Stay tuned...unless, of course, you’re a DirecTV subscriber. In that case, do nothing.
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Emily, I didn't really think the article was too bad,
with the exception of…..why throw the TW factor in again….Not necessary, as the whole story is TV viewing not golfers per se…..Direct TV either cuts a deal with Comcast, or it doesn’t…..Please, just give us the facts mam, let us make our own opinions and conclusions……STUB
GC Is All About Tiger, Stub
You know that.
by Charles Boyer on Dec 21, 2010 8:21 AM EST up reply actions
What you and Handi are talking about,
has nothing to do with the article….it’s about Direct TV and the Golf Channel (see Comcast here) cutting a deal….Why should there be any discussion about Tiger ? give us a break already…If you want to fawn over him, great, just give the rest of us a vacation from that stuff… Handi, I don’t know what your observation was, but try focusing on the post itself….STUB
Stub,
Are you being intentionally obtuse? The author made a passing Tiger Woods reference which I have made bold and in italics for your convenience:
DTV subscribers may bail if they need their daily doses of Tiger Woods, and Golf Channel would lose some 15 million DirecTV subscribers, according to SBJ’s John Ourand.
That means that commenting here about TW where Golf Channel is concerned is germane not only to the article but also germane to the obvious fact that GC has a special focus on Mr. Woods and has for quite some time.
I can read just fine and not only that, comprehend what I am reading quite well. Your initial criticism of Emily for writing what she did was off the mark, as it was a throw-away phrase that was made in passing yet was accurate. Then you compounded your logical error with yet another one by making the absurd claim that Handi or I was “fawning over [Tiger.]” That was not the case, and I suspect you know it.
by Charles Boyer on Dec 21, 2010 12:45 PM EST up reply actions
Really, If you read the headline to this story,
it’s all about DTV and Comcast….I said there was no need to even make a reference to TW….I don’t care if she threw it in, or threw it out…I also don’t care that the GC has a droolin love for TW….And yes, the word fawning was quite accurate, at least where Court is concerned….never a doubt about that…..I nver critiized Emily for the article, and if you read it correctly, I faulted her for INJECTING TW when it was not necessary, and no, it isn’t a logical error….jut something that wasn’t necessary….I would have had no problem if she had said THEY NEED THEIR DAILY DOSES OF GOLF….intead we get fed another dose of TW….I agree with Easy….he’s just another golfer….yes, a damm good one….but it’s all about GOLF, not one man…..STUB
I am not going to continue this argument with you other than to show you this link:
by Charles Boyer on Dec 22, 2010 8:17 PM EST up reply actions
I’m thinking DirecTV could do their subscribers a huge favor and just run xxx Golf Channel programming with actual tournament play. Let Comcast keep all the other nonsense.
"When plunder becomes a way of life for a group of men living together in society, they create for themselves in the course of time a legal system that authorizes it and a moral code that justifies it." - Frederic Bastiat
One thing to note...
is the pending Comcast/NBC merger. Once that goes through, the new company will have more leverage with any dealings with DirecTV. DirecTV isn’t dumb; they are trying to hold the line before that happens.
Equally as interesting to me is TGC asking for a boost to their per subscriber fee. The request does have some merit as TGC picked up PGA Tour coverage since the last contract.
by TwoNuse on Dec 21, 2010 9:03 AM EST via mobile reply actions
Actually, Their Ratings Say No Merit To It
Golf Channel’s viewership, particularly out of season, has been low. In November, the channel ranked 78th of 90 cable networks in total-day viewership, averaging 55,000 viewers on a 24-hour basis. Of sports channels, only Fox Soccer, MLB Network and NBA TV ranked lower. Golf Channel ranked 80th out of 88 prime-time networks in November, averaging 83,000 viewers in prime time, ahead of Fox Soccer and MLB Network.
http://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/article/67600
They are not delivering viewers. Maybe that’s why they have started showing non-golf movies like “Point Break” lately.
by Charles Boyer on Dec 21, 2010 9:31 AM EST up reply actions
It is the offseason (silly season events notwithstanding)
Not to mention the business model for golf on television isn’t raw numbers but the demographics of the average viewer.
They had a TW Event that month
And DirecTV doesn’t care about the demographics, they care about the raw number of subscribers. DTV doesn’t share any revenue from GC advertising, that’s Comcast’s problem.* And it you look at the Nielsen numbers, GC is not doing well at all, even in the summer months anyway.
- That’s just how it works…and my wife the advertising executive nodded her head in agreement when I asked her if that’s the way it works just a moment ago.
by Charles Boyer on Dec 21, 2010 11:15 AM EST up reply actions
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