TGL’s first live broadcast takes place on Tuesday, January 7 at 9 p.m. ET
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Hello everyone, and welcome to the emergency edition of the Hot Mic newsletter. Tonight we’re talking all things TGL, which launched in Palm Beach on Tuesday night to a lot of buzz. We’ll have more to talk about as more information comes out about the league’s TV ratings, so if you’d like to learn more about that, subscribe here , but in the meantime, let’s talk about us What to watch.
big news
Finally, I think the much-hyped TGL launch on ESPN is… wonderful. The telecast lasted over two hours, was technically perfect, was a complete blowout, and didn’t leave a bitter taste in the eyes of most who watched. This is the perfect league to show transparently that its broadcasts will only improve from here — and it feels like a…nice place to be.
break down
Things teetered in a strange direction a half-hour before TGL’s 9:00 PM ET broadcast, when the end of the Duke-Pitt basketball game appeared to bump into TGL’s scheduled time, threatening to derail the premiere broadcast. Report delayed. Fortunately, the game turned into a blowout as they ran out the clock and the game crept in under the wire, but that initial shiver of anxiety seemed to hang over the first part of the TGL broadcast.
TGL didn’t show any footage during the first 15 minutes of the game, opting instead to conduct a series of player interviews and a brief league overview before kicking off the action. The addition of Scott Van Pelt gave the production a reasonable level of believability and comfort, but he was introduced remotely from his DC studio, and the time gap was odd. The whole test felt a bit like explaining the rules of a board game before finishing a round – no one seemed to remember the information, and everyone seemed a little anxious to get started.
But then, Shane Lowry’s kickoff and the call from the cannon began. The biggest lesson from TGL’s opening broadcast — and maybe the entire opening sky –The league’s shot clock is a revelation. Gone is the boredom of tinkering before shots and the inherent lethargy of golf on television. If nothing else, TGL move, This alone gives the format a real chance of survival.
The television broadcast is divided into three sections. The opening five holes, then a commercial break; the middle five holes, then a commercial break; then a short “intermission” hosted by Van Pelt, another commercial break, and the final five holes. Of course, the pace slowed down a bit as the game went on, and the allure of the on-field action faded as the Bays took a blowout lead over the NYGC. But there’s enough here to grab your attention until the outcome is decided around hole 8.
The biggest question after week one is TGL’s continued balance between flash and substance. Tuesday’s broadcast felt a bit like eating a big bowl of powdered sugar for dinner. I briefly felt a hit of dopamine and I did have a lot of energy, but by the end I felt a bit empty. Should the game be serious, fun, or a combination of both? I’m not uncomfortable with what I watched, but I still can’t answer the question. I suspect TGL itself is still figuring out that comfort zone.
communication
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Venus
Shooting clock: The clock would have started about 15 seconds before most golf fans began to reconsider the PGA Tour’s approach to enforcing pace of play rules. It was a fantastic innovation, and it was this innovation that gave TGL hope of survival, even if the concept became less novel over time.
Camera settings: There are about 70 cameras throughout the SoFi Center, and just like on Secret Service — lead producer Jeff Neubarth designed the League’s camera rig specifically so they can’t see other TV cameras so people at home can’t see. It feels like every camera angle is used in some way throughout the action, and aside from a few oversaturated cover camera shots, everything flows very seamlessly. In a nod to the efforts of the production team, the shot after the ball hits the simulator screen doesn’t look overly staged or boring.
Virtual Golf Hole: I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I really like the weirdness of some of TGL’s virtual designs. Visual Limits works exceptionally well on television. If I have any criticism of the game it’s that we need more The cheated hole. What a world.
microphone: No rational viewer would expect tonight’s ESPN host Matt Barrie to engage in an exact science with a group of golfers 85 yards away, but this back-and-forth is important to the long-term entertainment value of the TGL telecast. . This feature works well, providing some snippets of the golf star’s personality without being overwrought. Xander Schauffele’s performance is particularly impressive.
Senior Vice President: Van Pelt, who endorses the PGA Championship and Masters at ESPN, immediately provided TGL with considerable credibility. His pre- and post-match interviews (late midnight) Sports Center (Senior Vice President) It’s profound and effortless. Players clearly have a rapport with him, and his decades of golf experience make him particularly easy to navigate between golf’s traditional vernacular and newer simulator slang. Even his self-deprecating take on the (somewhat horrifying) caricature produced by TGL’s marketing team is clever. I’ve always been a fan of his.
room for improvement
On-site discussion: The noise on Tuesday night was incomprehensible. What is player dialogue? What’s the broadcaster’s joke? What’s part of the interview with guests Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy? What’s the music playing in the SoFi Center? To me, it feels like there’s so much It’s hard to hear anything. Some personality shines through here, but there will be more to come in the coming weeks.
“Intermission”: TGL’s decision to include a lengthy “halftime” section in SVP – sort of like a halftime report – was a real rally-killer. Commercial – Halftime – The commercial sequence lasted a full ten minutes, the game had just been decided and when play resumed it was like the energy had been sucked out of it. Maybe this will be better when the games are closer, but I think it might be better to completely reimagine the format.
DJ Khaled: Please, don’t do this again.
On-site interview: Tiger and Rory are the centerpiece of any live golf telecast because their depth of experience and golfing wisdom is unparalleled. The problem with Tuesday’s interview was that both golfers had far more experience with the TGL than those watching at home, and the broadcasters were caught asking them questions even as the game was accelerating. Their presence wasn’t a bad idea, but with all the other noise going on at the same time, I don’t think the audience got much away.
Digits
There’s nothing “normal” for a product like TGL, but I’d guess that anything with ESPN averaging around 700,000 viewers in its first week would be acceptable.
The network’s weekly averages have been hovering around there for months, and TGL got a hit with Duke basketball on Tuesday night. TGL’s hopes for ESPN prime time The average (closer to 2 million, but with help from the NFL and NBA) is still a long shot, but beating LIV while safely avoiding the PGA Tour seems reasonable.
what does it tell us
We won’t know the numbers for a few days, but they won’t tell us much. Any extremely bad or good numbers should (and will) be considered, but anything in between should be considered a data point on the charts we’ll be filling out over the next few weeks.
Kids, hop aboard the Golf Simulator train: we’re going for a ride!
James Colgan
Golf Network Editor
James Colgan is GOLF’s news and features editor, writing stories for the website and magazine. He manages GOLF’s media vertical Hot Mic and leverages his on-camera experience across the brand’s platforms. Before joining golf, James graduated from Syracuse University, where he was a caddy scholarship recipient (and savvy curveball player) from Long Island. He can be reached at james.colgan@golf.com.
