Fox and FS1 combined to average a 1.6 overnight rating for full-day, debut coverage of the U.S. Open on Thursday from 12:00-11:00pm ET. That number is flat from a 1.6 overnight in ’12, the last time the tournament was played on the West Coast (Olympic Club in S.F.), when ESPN and NBC shared coverage from 12:00-10:15pm. Meanwhile, Fox earned a 2.4 overnight for its coverage Thursday from 8:00-11:00pm, with Tiger Woods, Jordan Spieth and Rickie Fowler featured in the window. In ’12, ESPN carried late afternoon and primetime coverage from 5:00-10:15pm, drawing a 1.5. Woods did not play in that broadcast window, which also featured competition from Game 2 of the Heat-Thunder NBA Finals. Meanwhile, FS1 earned a 1.3 overnight Thursday for its coverage between 12:00-8:00pm. In ’12, ESPN posted a 1.5 rating for its coverage from 12:00-3:00pm, which featured Woods playing in a group with Phil Mickelson and Bubba Watson (Karp & Carpenter, THE DAILY).
START ME UP: In Seattle, Geoff Baker writes Fox Sports Exec Producer Mark Loomis on during the first round "delivered" on his pre-tournament vow to "not overdo the technical graphics and gadgetry." During Thursday's coverage, Loomis delivered "sometimes to a fault," as within hours of FS1 "opening to broadcasters Joe Buck and Greg Norman, viewers complained on social media about a lack of informational graphics accompanying the action." Fox "failed to identify who was shooting and how they were doing for entire holes." Fox' most-compelling early camera work "wasn’t of golf at all, but a facial close-up of 15-year-old Cole Hammer clearly battling to steady his nerves as he waited to tee off." Loomis "wants to emphasize storytelling this weekend, and capturing Hammer’s teenage angst did more than any graphic or commentary ever could." But other camera shots "were a work in progress." Microphone usage "was also hit and miss when it came to picking up interesting golfer-caddie chatter." On the gadget side, "the behind-the-golfer, wide-angle tee shots with a tracer following the ball worked well." Less clear "was the value of the hyped 'RC camera car.'" Buck also "stuck to his pledge not to 'overtalk' during play" (SEATTLE TIMES, 6/19). The Indianapolis Star’s Gregg Doyel tweeted, “Hi-def TV is not Chambers Bay GC's friend.”
WAS BOUND TO BE SOMETHING: Fox' leaderboard went out yesterday shortly after 2:00pm ET, and Buck said, "Of the 74 million people that are here on behalf of Fox Sports, somehow we don’t have our leaderboard. Somebody unplugged it. Once we can find that outlet we’ll plug it back in. Until then, we give you kind of an old-school look, and you can go to USOpen.com and follow along" ("U.S. Open," FS1, 6/18). The SEATTLE TIMES' Baker noted the "glitch wasn’t the network’s fault." Fox Sports VP/Communications Dan Bell said that the scoring system provided by USGA and its tech partner "had a breakdown that affected the entire compound" (SEATTLE TIMES, 6/19). GOLF DIGEST's John Strege wrote the "old-school look was a camera from quite a distance aimed at a leaderboard on the grounds" (GOLFDIGEST.com, 6/18). In Boston, Chad Finn writes the loss of the leaderboard was a reminder that for "all of the new technology Fox intends to implement, it better make sure it masters the basics of a golf broadcast above all else" (BOSTON GLOBE, 6/19). Meanwhile, Golf Digest's Dan Jenkins tweeted, “A tip to Fox Sports: Please put on the screen who I’m looking at and how they stand. Or is it going to be guesswork all week long?’’
SOLID START: In Tacoma, Craig Hill writes Fox "delivered," as graphics "popped on the screen showing yardage to the green and nearby hazards." The ball tracer on almost every shot "showed the flight of the ball in towering orange arcs." There "were rookie mistakes, too." Graphics identifying players and their score "were sporadic," and on several occasions, the graphics "awkwardly overlapped the leaderboard." At times, it "sounded as if Fox mic’d up" the nostrils of Norman, whose breathing "could be heard over much of the live coverage." The mics "didn’t do any favors for other announcers," such as the afternoon announcers on FS1, who "sounded like they needed oxygen." Still, while there are "kinks to work out, it was a promising debut for Fox" (
Tacoma NEWS TRIBUNE, 6/19). GOLF DIGEST's Strege wrote one of the best personnel moves made by Loomis "was adding architect Gil Hanse," whose insight on the course design "was a welcome enhancement." Hanse, who designed the course for the '16 Rio Games, "even proved adept at deflecting criticism of a member of his own fraternity, Chambers Bay architect Robert Trent Jones Jr." (
GOLFDIGEST.com, 6/18).
SUGGESTION BOX: Golf World’s Geoff Shackelford tweeted, “Note to @SharkGregNorman: Chambers super is Josh Lewis. Joe Louis was the boxer. Oh and Chase Cam, not Chase Car.” Pittsburgh-based KDKA-CBS’ Rick Dayton: “Dear Fox Sports, Please show me golf when I watch the US Open Golf Championship not Curt Menefee and Joe Buck proving how little they know.” The Charlotte Observer’s Langston Wertz Jr. tweeted, “The Fox guys are all wearing Greg Norman "Shark" apparel. I'm willing to give this Fox-Pediment a chance, but, Day 1, they lost me.” ESPN’s Don Van Natta Jr. wrote, “I'd imagine Tiger's idea of Hell is having to hear Greg Norman diagnose everything that's wrong with his game for two hours on national TV.” Meanwhile, there was a ray of light for Fox, courtesy of Awful Announcing, which tweeted, “The Fox announcers are doing a solid job right now. Biggest issue is having to go online to actually see scores beyond the Top 5."
TO GO OR NOT TO GO: Media reporter Ed Sherman in a piece for POYNTER reported the Dallas Morning News "initially hadn’t planned to staff this week’s U.S. Open in Seattle." However, its golf writer Bill Nichols "is on hand because of one reason: Jordan Spieth." The paper "is trying to figure out how to cover a local product who is the hottest young star in golf." Sports Editor Garry Leavell said that his travel budget "is roughly a third of what it was 5 or 6 years ago," and as a result, the paper "stopped covering golf’s majors" after The Masters in '11. Leavell: "We're really hoping Jordan plays well this week" (POYNTER.org, 6/18).
