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No Surprise: PGA Sees Huge Leap in Online Video Consumption

April 17, 2012 by 1 Comment

Here at Mobile Sports Report we know that many of you like to watch golf online. We know that because basically anything we write about where to watch golf gets good traffic. Now the PGA has provided some facts to back up our observations: According to the PGA, viewership of its Live@ online live golf action coverage is up more than 100 percent compared to 2011, part of an overall traffic surge to the PGATour.com site.

Mobile app activity is also up by a triple-digit margin, thanks to the PGA’s excellent Android, iPhone and iPad apps. Some highlights from the press release:

• An all-time record quarter with more than 5.8 million average monthly unique users, up 40 percent vs. 2011.
• March 2012 set an all-time record with 7.5 million monthly unique users, an increase of 62 percent vs. March 2011.
• An increase of 105 percent for video consumption over last year.
• PGA TOUR mobile products have also seen triple digit growth (139 percent over last year).

Now what we need to see from the PGA is a more thorough and comprehensive online strategy — currently the tour only broadcasts select tournaments online — perhaps embracing the wonderful online coverage from the Masters and making that the PGA standard. An online fan can only hope.

Filed Under: Android, Apple, Apps, Golf, iPad, iPhone, Live sports via mobile, PGA, Tablets, The Masters Tagged With: , ,

Timeout Tuesday: You Can’t Golf Like This

April 17, 2012 by 1 Comment

Why do I love the feature from the PGA called “Shots of the Week” so much? Because you know what’s coming beforehand, and that only sets the tension bar higher. You see the predicament (or just the golfer far away in the fairway), you hear the announcers in their normal golf-bored tones, and then… IT’S IN!

Of course it’s in. Otherwise it wouldn’t be on Shots of the Week. So here’s this week’s including a bunker save by Billy Mayfair out of what looks like a 15-foot divot that’s filled with sand. Remember: you can’t golf like this, so just watch.

If you’ve been watching the NHL playoffs you might have noticed that the guys in the league seem hell bent on knocking each other into oblivion, and not in necessarily “legal” ways. While I’m not going to show any of the numerous cheap shots I will embed one that I (as a Blackhawks fan, so loyaties obvious here) didn’t think was a cheap shot — the Andrew Shaw/Mike Smith collision.

From all the angles it looks like to me that Shaw was going for the puck, and Smith lifted his head into Shaw’s as Shaw circled behind the net. The head to head shot looked bad (and Smith perhaps added some drama — I mean, the guy never came out of the game so how bad was it?) but I don’t think Shaw was trying to do anything bad. You can tell by his reaction immediately afterward — he throws his hands up as if to say, what can I do when a guy moves his head into mine?

But the bottom line — the acting job worked, the Hawks got a 5-minute major and Phoenix scored the winning goal on the power play. You be the judge: Accidental or deliberate?

UPDATE: The NHL suspended Shaw for three games, which I think is a ridiculous penalty. You can say he didn’t try hard enough not to hit Smith, but you can also say Smith did a pretty good soccer-flopping act. Shaw just isn’t going fast enough to warrant Smith’s tragic spin (and the guy didn’t miss a second of play), and he barely clips the bottom of Smith’s mask. Here’s the NHL’s weirdly produced video statement.

Filed Under: Golf, NHL, PGA, YouTube Tagged With: , ,

Watching Golf This Week: Plaid Ain’t Bad at the RBC Heritage

April 12, 2012 by Leave a Comment

Had your fill of all things Bubba? From pink drivers to soiled diapers to being on Letterman? Ready to watch golf again? Get ready to get bad in plaid because one week after the best jacket gets awarded the tour goes to the beaches and the Rodney Dangerfield memorial winner’s jacket — aka the big bad plaid that goes to the winner of the RBC Heritage on Hilton Head Island, S.C.

If you think lighthouse finish, you know this tour stop. For years it seemed like Davis Love III’s personal victory ATM (he’s won it five times) but now it’s known simply as the tournament after the Masters, and it usually has an above-average field. That’s largely because the players are treated like kings and what’s not to like about the Sea Pines Resort and its famed Harbour Town Golf Links course? Yeah. We’d go, too.

Here’s where to follow the action:

RBC HERITAGE

(all times Eastern)
TV COVERAGE
Thursday, April 12 — Golf Channel, 3 p.m. — 6 p.m.
Friday, April 13 — Golf Channel, 3 p.m. — 6 p.m.
Saturday, April 14 — Golf Channel, 1 p.m — 2:30 p.m.; CBS, 3 p.m. — 6 p.m.
Sunday, April 15 — Golf Channel, 1 p.m — 2:30 p.m.; CBS, 3 p.m. — 6 p.m.

RADIO
SIRIUS XM (Satellite)
12 p.m. — 6 p.m., Thursday-Sunday

ONLINE
What a letdown after gorging on Masters online coverage; there is NO live video online of the RBC. In fact the PGA’s Live@ broadcasts don’t return until the Players in early May. So you will have to get by online with…

PGA SHOT TRACKER
Get your online fix via Shot Tracker at the RBC Heritage.

TOP TWITTER FEEDS TO FOLLOW

Geoff Shackelford — well known golf writer.
Golf Channel — official Golf Channel feed
@PGATOUR — official PGA Twitter feed
@StephanieWei — great golf writer who is a Twitter fiend

LOCAL FLAVOR
Who are we to dim the plaid? Check out Willie’s World because while the tartan jacket may seem so old school it creaks, the tournament is all over Facebook and Twitter. The local paper, the Island Packet, has a special Heritage section but beware the popup ads.

WHAT’S THE COURSE LIKE?
Gotta love the lighthouse finish.

WHO WON THIS THING LAST YEAR?
Brandt Snedeker, over Luke Donald in a playoff.

FEDEX CUP LEADERS
1. Hunter Mahan, 1,378 points
2. Bubba Watson, 1322
3. Phil Mickelson, 1,136
4. Johnson Wagner, 1,056
5. Rory McIlroy, 1,045

See the full standings for the FedEx Cup points list.

WORLD GOLF RANKINGS
1. Luke Donald; 2. Rory McIlroy; 3. Lee Westwood; 4. Bubba Watson; 5. Hunter Mahan.
See the official World Golf Ranking list.

Filed Under: CBS Sports, Golf, Golf Channel, PGA Tagged With: , , ,

Twitter Fans of Bubba Watson’s Masters Victory Can Win Too — From Motorola

April 10, 2012 by Leave a Comment

Bubba Watson did not just win the Masters and its impressive trophy and the fabled green jacket but he also stands to make 10 Twitter followers winners as well due to his partnership with Motorola Mobility and its recently introduced MotoActv Golf Watch.

Watson had just announced his partnership with the company prior to the event and so to celebrate both the partnership and Watson’s achievement Motorola has launched a program that will enable 10 fans to be among the first to try out the Golf Watch.

To participate all a user needs to do is follow @MOTOACTV and retweet #10under, which represents his score for those of you who do not know, for a chance to win one of the Golf Editions of the MotoActv,.

The golf watch, which sells for $299.99, enables users to track and measure a number of factors in their golf game, including providing 20,000 course layouts, serving as a virtual caddie and providing distances to front, middle and back of greens.

Filed Under: Apps, Contests, Golf, Motorola, Twitter Tagged With: , ,

Want Golf Tips from Paul Azinger? Here You Go

April 9, 2012 by 2 Comments

Dropped into Starbucks for a refresher to keep my caffeine level stable and noticed that the free iTunes Pick of the Week was not a song but rather a sports app. To be specific it was “Golfplan with Paul Azinger” and its tagline was- Personalized tips from the Ryder Cup Captain.

Since my game needs all of the help it can get, even though in the wet, wintery area I live in its unlikely that I will be on the links anytime soon, I gave the app the quick one over to see if it looked like it should join the increasingly crowded area on my phone dedicated to sports apps.

The program can be used with or without a second app called Gameshot and has a number of training categories that enable a user to focus on the areas that matter the most to them and their game. They include Driving, greens in regulation, short game, bunkers and putting. Nothing about hitting from the rough, my specialty?

What really grabbed my interest was the large number of videos that are included in the app-63 in all if my count is correct. The program received a very solid rating from users that have already downloaded and used the program, 4 out of 5 overall and slightly higher with the latest version.

On iTunes the program has a listed price of $4.99 but is free with the little card that is available where you pick up your fancy drinks. It is available for both iPads and iPhones.

Filed Under: Apple, Apps, Athlete to Follow, Golf, iPad, iPhone, Paul Azinger, PGA Tagged With: , , , ,

Watching Golf This Week: The Masters

April 4, 2012 by 3 Comments

OK golf fans, time to get interactive and help us out. We know there is no way in hell that we are going to find every outlet covering the Masters this week, but we’ll try. And with your help we can do that sharing thing that everyone loves about the Internet. So here is our “first draft” attempt, going out on Wednesday since there is going to be coverage of the par 3 event Wednesday and who doesn’t want to watch that? But instead of typing it in this post we are going to simply say:

HERE IS THE MAIN MASTERS COVERAGE LINK.

HERE IS THE MAIN CBS MASTERS PAGE.

HERE IS THE CBSSPORTS LIVE ONLINE COVERAGE PAGE.

OK, that takes care of 99 percent of your questions. Now. Unless you’ve been under a rock you know all the story angles — Tiger vs. Rory, Tiger vs. Phil, Rory vs. Keegan, who the heck is Charl Schwartzel — so we don’t need to repeat those here. The only big question left is how to watch — on broadcast or cable, where there are so few commercials you might want to keep an empty jug handy next to the couch if you know what I mean; online, where Masters.com and CBSSports.com will have seven different live streams of video; or at any one of the many live-blogging outlets. If you know of one that we don’t have listed, add it to the comments; we’ll update this post throughout the week.

Here’s where to follow the action:

THE MASTERS

(all times Eastern)
TV COVERAGE
Wednesday, April 4 (par 3 Contest, live) — ESPN, 3 p.m. — 5 p.m.
Thursday, April 5 — ESPN, 3 p.m. — 7:30 p.m.
Friday, April 6 — ESPN, 3 p.m. — 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, April 7 — CBS, 3:30 p.m. — 7 p.m.
Sunday, April 8 — CBS, 2 p.m. — 7 p.m.

RADIO
SIRIUS XM (Satellite)
2 p.m. — 6 p.m., Thursday-Sunday
Sirius will also have several feature shows. Check this schedule for more.

Masters.com
There will be a live streaming radio report on the Masters.com site.

ONLINE
Full live video coverage at Masters.com and CBSSports.com. Different cameras start at different times each day, so… check the schedule to see when they go live. Right now tentative start times for Thursday are: Amen Corner camera, 10:45 a.m.; Holes 15 & 16, 11:45 a.m.; Featured Groups 1 & 2, 12:00 p.m.

ESPN’s live ESPN3 coverage of the Par 3 contest

ESPN: The Worldwide Leader will be at the Masters in force, with its live coverage Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, and more online coverage goodies. Here is ESPN’s Tournament Central link. This is also a good place to check for live ESPN online coverage, via ESPN3 or the WatchESPN app for mobile devices. Remember, the WatchESPN app only available for cable subscribers of Bright House Networks, Time Warner Cable, and Verizon FiOS TV. Comcast customers are still out of luck.

ESPN also has the Putting at Amen Corner game online, as well as the popular Best Ball Majors fantasy game, which plays just like the NCAA hoops brackets. We’ll have an MSR group to join, stay tuned or follow me on Twitter @PaulKaps for more info.

Golf.com is going Masters overboard, with more content than you could possibly read. But the Sports Illustrated group of writers hanging out there may be the best covering the game right now.

PGA SHOT TRACKER
There will be NO Shot Tracker at the Masters. Too bad.

TOP TWITTER FEEDS TO FOLLOW
Dan Jenkins — golf’s Shakespeare. From Texas. Hope he is on form for the Masters. If you don’t know who he is, hit Google. And buy a few books.
Geoff Shackelford — well known golf writer is slinging Masters lore and great links.
Golf Channel — official Golf Channel feed
@PGATOUR — official PGA Twitter feed
@StephanieWei — great golf writer who is a Twitter fiend

LOCAL FLAVOR
The Augusta Chronicle knows how to play the biggest event of the year. A good bookmark.

WHAT’S THE COURSE LIKE?
Here’s an incredible service: The Masters course page has video flyovers of each hole. I think I will only spend about 80 hours on this page alone.

Want to check out the historic clubhouse? Sports Illustrated’s Golf.com has a video that takes you inside.

WHO WON THIS THING LAST YEAR?
Do you need a refresher? It was Mr. Four Birdies in a row to close, Charl Schwartzel.

FEDEX CUP LEADERS
1. Hunter Mahan, 1,314 points
2. Johnson Wagner, 1,056
3. Rory McIlroy, 1,015
4. Phil Mickelson, 988
5. Kyle Stanley, 954

See the full standings for the FedEx Cup points list.

WORLD GOLF RANKINGS
1. Luke Donald; 2. Rory McIlroy; 3. Lee Westwood; 4. Hunter Mahan; 5. Steve Stricker.
See the official World Golf Ranking list.

Filed Under: Apple, Apps, CBS Sports, ESPN, ESPN3, Golf, Golf Channel, iPad, PGA, The Masters, Tiger Woods, Twitter, WatchESPN Tagged With: , ,
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