Your Complete Guide to The Masters 2011 in Canada

It is that time of year again, spring can only mean one thing, The Masters. Once again in 2011 TSN and Global TV will combine to provide live coverage of all four rounds with limited commercial interruption. TSN will pick up first and second round coverage this Thursday and Friday, totaling nine hours of live coverage. Global will have a combined 8.5+ hours of live coverage between Saturday and Sunday (that number will probably be closer to 10 hours once bonus coverage is factored in). TSN and Global will both produce pre-show coverage before their coverage. TSN will also air the ESPN original documentary Yes Sir, Jack Nicklaus and the ’86 Masters just before Global begins their live coverage on Saturday afternoon. It is a lot of coverage to digest, so here is my best attempt to summarize.

• TSN will air first and second round coverage on Thursday and Friday from 3:00pm to 7:30pm ET each day. Global will have coverage from 3:30pm to 7:00pm ET on Saturday and 2:00pm to 7:00pm ET on Sunday. As usual, expect overrun in these windows, especially if you plan to PVR coverage. All coverage will air in HD on TSN HD and Global HD.
• The Par-3 challenge will air Wednesday from 3-5pm ET on TSN.
• TSN will air primetime encores of all four rounds. On Thursday and Friday these will be at 7:30pm ET and on Saturday and Sunday the encores will air at 11:00pm ET. CBS will also air highlight shows at 11:35pm ET/PT on Thursday and Friday.
• 3D coverage will be available on some providers if you have the right equipment. Check your local listings.
• All coverage will be produced by CBS. Jim Nantz and Nick Faldo will call coverage from the 18th tower. CBS also has reporters placed on course along the back nine. These are: Ian Baker-Finch (11 & 12), Peter Kostis (13), Bill Macatee (14), David Feherty (15), Verne Lundquist (16) and Peter Oosterhuis (17). Mike Tirico and Curtis Strange will host coverage from Butler Cabin on Thursday and Friday.
• TSN will produce an original one hour pre-show before their first and second round coverage. It will air immediately before live coverage from 2-3pm ET. Cory Worron, Jim Nelford and Bob Weeks are in Augusta and will host the shows. Each show will provide non-broadcast highlights and a preview of upcoming coverage.
• Global will also produce an original one hour pre-show before their third and fourth round coverage. It will air from 2:30-3:30pm ET on Saturday and 1:00pm-2:00pm ET on Sunday. Global Toronto’s Rob Leth and Global Calgary’s Kevin Smith will be live at Augusta National to anchor the pre-show which will tee up Global’s coverage of the weekend rounds.
• On Saturday from 1:30-2:30pm ET TSN will air an ESPN Films special, Yes Sir: Jack Nicklaus and the ’86 Masters. This new special looks back at Nicklaus’ historic victory at Augusta in 1986 when he was 46 years old, 15 years after it happened.

Here is the complete TV schedule

Thursday April 7
2:00-3:00pm, The Masters Preview Show on TSN
3:00-7:30pm, Live First Round Coverage on TSN
7:30-9:30pm, First Round Encore on TSN
11:35-11:50pm, First Round Highlights on CBS

Friday April 8
2:00-3:00pm, The Masters Preview Show on TSN
3:00-7:30pm, Live Second Round Coverage on TSN
7:30-9:30pm, Second Round Encore on TSN
11:35-11:50pm, Second Round Highlights on CBS

Saturday April 9
1:30-2:30pm, Yes Sir: Jack Nicklaus and the ’86 Masters – TSN
2:30-3:30pm, Live from Augusta on Global
2:30-3:30pm, Phil at Augusta on CBS
3:30-7:00pm, Live Third Round Coverage on Global & CBS
11:00pm-2:00am, Third Round Encore on TSN

Sunday April 10
1:00-2:00pm, Live from Augusta on Global
1:00-2:00pm, Jim Nantz Remembers the ’75 Masters on CBS
2:00-7:00pm, Live Final Round Coverage on Global & CBS
11:00pm-2:00am, Final Round Encore on TSN

Some Thoughts on Golf

Yes I usually write about sports media, but I’ve decided to take a break from that today and write about something different, golf. I feel the need to write about golf for two reasons, one is because that other guy who writes about sports media did last week and the other reason is because I feel like I actually know something about golf because I actually play it. In fact I’ve probably played more shots (in one round) that most players on the PGA and European Tours.

Okay, so the other day that sports media writer at the Globe (Bruce Dowbiggin for anyone who doesn’t know who I’m talking about) threw in to one of his columns that he thought the PGA and European Tours should consolidate into one World Golf Tour. I will be the first to jump up and say that this is a bad idea. As it is now we have some great golf taking place in Europe most weeks, and some great golf taking place in the US. The up and coming Europeans get to play against the top Europeans, like World Number One Martin Kaymer or Lee Westwood, and the up and coming Americans get to play against the likes of Tiger or Phil. Under a potential World Tour, it is quite possible that these players would no longer get to compete in their tour’s big events, instead they might be competing against each other in a “Challenger Tour” (to borrow a name from tennis). So what if Kaymer decides he doesn’t want PGA membership? So what if Tiger competes in a European Tour event in Dubai?

The second reason why I don’t like the idea of a World Tour is that as of now there are 9 special events a year where all of the top 75 golfers in the world compete head-to-head. Those are, of course, The Majors, World Golf Championships and Players Championship. Those events, especially the Majors and Players, are extremely special events that are a must watch for any golf fan. The last thing I would want to happen is for the importance of the World Golf Championships, which have been growing and growing for over ten years now, to be brought back down because of other events that feature the top golfers from Europe, South Africa, Asia, Australia and the US.

TV also plays a huge part into why a World Tour will never happen. As it is right now NBC and CBS split PGA Tour rights so that there is a PGA event on over-the-air American TV every week from late January to late September. If there was a World Tour you can bet that CBS would not be into televising an event from Dubai in the early morning hours, or even an event like the British PGA in the late morning. Under a World Tour scenario about two-thirds of the tournaments would take place in Asia or Europe. Assuming there are 45 weeks with events a year, and 9 of those are Majors, World Golf Championships or The Presidents/Ryder Cup, that leaves 12-15 events taking place outside the US a year. Those events would obviously be broadcast on Golf Channel. As a result CBS and NBC wouldn’t be happy because they would get less events a year and the PGA would lose money in Canada because they could no longer sell Canadian rights to these events to Global or TSN.

So, that is my random spiel about a potential World Golf Tour. PGA Tour commissioner said it best yesterday when he said the best thing for golf is a strong European Tour and a strong PGA Tour co-existing. Let’s hope it stays that way.

Now on to more TV-related golf matters. The Golf Channel and NBC presented their first weekend of coverage under the same ownership on the weekend with the World Golf Championships Match Play. This also marked the beginning of The Golf Channel producing NBC’s golf broadcasts under the banner “Golf Channel on NBC”. Overall I thought the coverage was very well done. We still got to hear the NBC announcers, who are the best in the business. Plus the new Golf Channel graphics are great, only behind ESPN as far as golf graphics go in my opinion. The only thing that I thought was missing was the classic Golf on NBC feel. This will be especially evident when NBC covers The Players Championship and the US Open later this year. I just liked this opening so much more than the Golf Channel opening. I also wish that the coverage would just simply be presented as the PGA Tour on NBC, even if it has Golf Channel graphics and some Golf Channel commentators.

Ryder Cup: This Weekend on TSN

wTSN will provide live coverage of the 38th Ryder Cup this weekend in Canada. The event will take place at the Celtic Manor Resort in Newport, Wales, as the best golfers from the United States and Europe take part in one of golf’s most prestigious events. TSN will pick up Day 1 coverage on Friday from ESPN; commentators will be Mike Tirico, Paul Azinger, Curtis Strange, Andy North, Judy Rankin, Bill Kratzert, Peter Alliss and Tom Rinaldi. On Saturday and Sunday TSN will pick up coverage from NBC; their commentators will be Dan Hicks, Johnny Miller, Gary Koch, Roger Maltbie, Mark Rolfing, Dottie Pepper, Tom Rosaforte and Jimmy Roberts. Here is TSN’s broadcast schedule

Thursday 9/30, 2:00-3:00pm – Preview Show – TSN
Friday 10/1, 2:30am-1:00pm – Day 1 Coverage – TSN
Saturday 10/2, 8:00am-3:00pm – Day 2 Coverage – TSN (tape delay)
Saturday 10/2, 3:00-6:00pm – Day 2 Coverage – TSN2 (tape delay)
Sunday 10/3, 7:00am-1:00pm – Final Day Coverage – TSN

The only problem that I have with both TSN’s and NBC’s coverage is that Day 2 coverage will be tape delayed. NBC is doing this because they want to make maxiumum money off of their coverage, and it is hard to sell commericals for a timeslot in the middle of the night when nobody is watching. This is the same reason that they tape delay much of their Olympic coverage.  TSN could use the Sky Sports feed (which I would prefer), but since the NBC feed is much cheaper to get, they figure that the cost for the Sky feed isn’t worth it considering that not many would be watching in the middle of the night.

HNIC To Offer Games in 3D

Hockey Night in Canada announced today that they will offer some games in 3D this upcoming season. The first will be on December 11 when the Toronto Maple Leafs will lose play host to the Canadiens at the Air Canada Centre. The Heritage Classic from McMahon Stadium in Calgary between the Flames and Canadiens will also be in 3D in February. So far The Masters and the World Cup Final have been aired in 3D in  Canada; however, these will be the first Canadian produced 3D broadcasts. The Masters coverage was produced by ESPN and the World Cup Final was produced by a company that was hired by FIFA.

NFL on CTV, TSN & TSN2 This Weekend

Sunday, Oct. 3 at 1 p.m. ET/10 a.m. PT
New York Jets @ Buffalo – CTV Toronto, CTV Southwestern Ontario, CTV Ottawa and CTV Atlantic
Seattle @ St. Louis – CTV British Columbia and CTV Alberta
Baltimore @ Pittsburgh – CTV Winnipeg and TSN2
Carolina @ New Orleans – CTV Montreal, CTV Saskatchewan and CTV Northern Ontario

Sunday, Oct. 3 at 8:15 p.m. ET
SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL: Chicago @ New York Giants – TSN

Monday, Oct. 4 at 8:30 p.m. ET
MONDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL: New England @ Miami – TSN