Showing posts with label golf television. Show all posts
Showing posts with label golf television. Show all posts

Thursday, October 27, 2011

Will Twitter on golf television remove the "social" from the media?

A Twitter feed will share TV screen space with Nationwide Tour golfers this weekend as Golf Channel features writers offering analysis alongside of already long-winded commentary. Do I really need on-screen "captions" telling me what I'm already watching? Is Golf Channel removing the "social" from the media?


You can see what Golf Channel intends to do here but the screen caption does not give me faith in their new "Social Media Saturday". The comment by Rex Hoggard says it all, "Watching JJ Killeen roll up his pants could be an amazing shot from the water." He follows up with, "Hope everyone is watching on the Golf Channel." Oh boy, if this is what golf fans are in for, this golf TV network just took two steps backward!

First, I can see that Killeen is in the water and am excited to watch the shot. Second, I do not need the Golf Channel to place its ad directly in front of me as I'm watching this amazing shot. I hope the commentary is both humorous and entertaining...and tell me something that I don't already know!

Hoggard, joined by Randall Mell, will replace traditional play-by-play commentary during their allotted time, which will be during the next to last group and final pairing of the Nationwide Tour Championship from South Carolina.


It doesn't seem as if some fans have faith in the new concept as it will be displayed on Saturday.

@Courtgolf, for example stated, "This tells me that xxx Golf Channel thinks their people are more important than the players. I hope this is a short lived experiment in media intrusion."
Fogroller so eloquently said, "Oh great, now we can have Rich Lerner and Kelly Tilghman kiss Tiger's butt on our twitter feed!! No thanks."

The concept sounds intriguing, but isn't social media meant to be interactive?

When I asked @dennis_allen about adding a Twitter feed to golf broadcasts, although he liked the idea, he was concerned about the lack of fan engagement. "Why just one way tweets?" Dennis questioned, and he has a valid point. The "one-way traffic mentality" as Allen conjectured, leaves fans without a way to engage, to be social.

Devil Ball Golf, agrees that Twitter integration with golf broadcasting is a great idea but wonders if an opportunity is being missed by not adding fan tweets to the mix. "social media...opens the door wide to amateur commentators from all over the planet, many of whom are much funnier and more incisive, at least for one tweet, than the professionals."

I have a few concerns regarding the Twitter format. For one, the feed is directly in my line of sight.  Golf is a picturesque sport and I enjoy gazing at the course on my screen. Perhaps the feed should be rolling across the bottom of my screen so as not to disrupt the visuals.

I also have a problem with the type of tweets that will be featured and when they will be placed: the eighteenth hole is the most exciting portion of the golf tournament, in my opinion. If Golf Channel wants to experiment with new technology, do it during a portion of the broadcast that begs for attention.

Finally, Twitter allows for social engagement: let the fans have a say!

Speaking of having a say, VOICE YOUR OPINION on Twitter @Golf4Beginners and friend GolfforBeginners on Facebook!


Tuesday, September 20, 2011

New Golf TV Network, Back9, Gives Viewers Chance to Submit Program Ideas

Back9 Network logo



"SHOW US YOUR BACK9" 
The world’s first, true global golf lifestyle and entertainment network is launching an unprecedented call for viewer-generated programming.




Scheduled to launch in 2012, Back9 Network is giving an opportunity to sports, lifestyle and media enthusiasts worldwide to submit their video ideas for potential programming via its Facebook page (www.facebook.com/back9network).

“Since we announced our plans to launch a global golf-centric network earlier this year, golfers and other sports fanatics have been telling us how excited they are about Back9 Network celebrating the golf lifestyle on TV and the web,” says Dennis Allen, Senior Vice President for Global Business Development.  “While professional tour coverage certainly has its place, golf embraces a unique and passionate lifestyle. And we think people want programming that celebrates that passion.  This is a chance for people all over the world to get creative and show us what’s on their mind.”

“A fan recently told me that Back9 Network will take the ‘Shhhh’ out of golf!” says James L. “Jamie” Bosworth, President and CEO of Back9 Network.  “And he’s right.  You will be able to turn on your TV, your computer, or mobile device and say that’s the kind of fun I have playing with my buddies on Saturday morning.”

Called Show Us Your Back9, golfers around the world are invited to produce short 1-3 minute video “pilots,” or audition to be a Back9 show host.  Selected videos will be posted on the company’s YouTube channel and be considered for development. “Golf is fun,” says Allen.  “Whether it’s tradition, travel, fashion, food, technology, or an exclusive outside-the-ropes view of professional golf, we want our programming to reflect why we enjoy this game in the first place.”

Viewers are invited to upload their videos between September 19th and October 16th at www.facebook.com/back9network.

Note: Follow Back9Network on Twitter using this link.

Back9 Network will be the premier multimedia lifestyle and entertainment network for golf fans globally. It is being constructed on a multi-platform digital system, providing simultaneous distribution over the Internet and mobile devices. As much a lifestyle network as a sports channel, Back9 will differ from its competitors by focusing on the intrinsic “story” of the sport and examining the players and the world in which golf resides.

Voice your opinion on Twitter @Golf4Beginners and friend us on Facebook

Wednesday, December 22, 2010

Back9 Network tees up new golf entertainment channel

EXCLUSIVE GROUND-BREAKING NEWS:

The Back9 Network, being touted as the world's first multimedia lifestyle and entertainment golf television network, has signed Kevin O'Brien to it's roster of industry professionals.



Mr. O'Brien, a well-known television executive, has successfully led many stations to prominence including WTTG in Washington DC and KTVU in San Francisco.

"Kevin's background running some of the most successful television stations and broadcast groups in the country will serve us well in implementing our launch strategy," says Back9 Network Co-Chairman, President and Founder Jamie Bosworth. "He's a perfect complement to our already strong, core golf industry team."



The Back9 Team is made up of fourteen industry professionals (like a matched set of golf clubs) including Dennis Allen who heads up Global Business Development (and speaks fluent Japanese), Reid Gorman who is a former President of MacGregor Golf Company, Kathleen Hessert, a nationally renowned reputation management consultant and former award-winning TV anchor and Bosworth, a former senior executive for Callaway Golf and Top-Flite. Read more about the Back9 Network Leadership Team here.

The Back9 Network plans to provide simultaneous distribution of it's golf and lifestyle programming over the internet and through mobile devices.
Non-traditional broadcasting on Back9 Network, according to O'Brien, is meant to attract and engage viewers as well as "encourage social media interactions to give a voice to our audience."

Golf fans can now chat with @Back9Network on Twitter (#B9N) and can sign up for the Back9 Facebook launch.

"Golf is a lifestyle, a social and business opportunity, a personal yet shared experience and that's exactly how we intend to cover it. We'll be all the things traditional golf media is not," affirmed O'Brien.
I personally am looking forward to the shows on Back9 Network as a breath of fresh air and a innovative slant on the entertainment of golf.

Monday, May 24, 2010

Back 9 Network wants golf fans to help create Must See TV

Back 9 Network
Move over Golf Channel, there's a new golf network making its way to a television, PC/MAC and mobile device near you. Welcome Back 9 Network!

What makes Back 9 Network different than what you have ever experienced on current television is that this station is going to be created, "by the fans, for the fans" as stated by its President, Dennis Allen.

How is Back 9 Network planning to do this? With the help of the fans. Fill out a brief (5 minute) survey about what you like, and don't like, about current golf programming.

Take the survey now:  http://bit.ly/9maac7

Tell Back 9 Network what kind of golf shows you want to see...they're listening!

You can also follow Back 9 Network on Twitter. What do you think of their logo?