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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: , , ,

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: , , , ,

Is Masters Online Coverage Feeling the Pressure?

April 7, 2012 by 1 Comment

Tiger in the creek at #13

Don’t know if this is a widespread thing or if it’s only affecting me but I would have to say that through 2 and a half rounds the online coverage of the Masters this year is playing about as well as Tiger Woods. Meaning that when it’s on, the online coverage is world class. But so far this year like el Tigre there’s been a lot of bad to go with the good.

The problem I am seeing most is just stuttering load times — for no reason the screen will just stop and you get the feared white line circling around the logo, the Masters online equivalent of the old Windows hourglass or the Mac spinning rainbow. And when the live coverage does come on there seems to be a long wait for the pixelation to go away. I have also seen on several occasions a Matrix-like instant repeat, a replay of the scene shown just seconds before. Once it got so bad (5-6 times in a row) I had to shut down the app and start over.

(Just for reference I have been watching mainly the Masters.com service online. Went to the CBSSports.com window a few times but saw some similar problems there. Also think the Masters.com design is a better feel.)

Before you tell me this is just my setup, rest assured I have done all the home-fix things I can, closing and clearing the browser cache, resetting the router and the cable modem, and the problems are persisting. And I am on a Comcast Internet connection that just tested out at 35 Mbps download so it ain’t the ISP. We’ve asked the folks at IBM if they are having any problems but my guess is that we’re not going to hear anything from them so if you are having similar issues let us know in the comments below.

I also tested out the Android app, which is new this year, during a trip to the doctor’s office yesterday. While I was generally pleased with the service (I mean it’s pretty damn amazing to be sitting there watching live golf on your phone, right?) I did notice that the app kept telling me (every few minutes) that the “this video not optimized for mobile.” Exsqueeze me? If it’s not optimized for mobile what’s it doing on my phone?

So… watching Tiger trying to get back into the tourney it looks like he is playing solidly but not amazing anyone. I’d have to give a similar grade to the online coverage this year, though with a note that the Masters online is by far the most ambitious digital coverage of any major sporting event, hands down. Like the Masters, this stuff ain’t easy.

Filed Under: Android, Apple, Apps, CBS Sports, iPad, iPhone, PGA, The Masters, Tiger Woods Tagged With: , ,

Masters Viewer Numbers Up on ESPN, CBS

April 6, 2012 by 1 Comment

The early returns are in and yes, more of you are watching the Masters this year. According to both ESPN (which is carrying the CBS broadcast live Thursday and Friday) and CBSSports.com, there were more of both regular broadcast viewers and online watchers this year than last. Is it Tiger fever? Who knows, but el Tigre opened Friday with a birdie which is good news for the weekend.

According to CBSSports.com, unique viewers of Masters Live traffic on CBSSports.com was up 40 percent compared to Thursday traffic for 2011; no discrete numbers yet (those should come Monday) and no totals yet from the Masters.com site. Yours truly spent about an hour Friday on the Android version of the Masters app and Verizon 4GLTE. Kept getting messages saying “this video not optimized for mobile” which makes me think the folks at IBM need to bake that app a little more. Otherwise, though, impressive to watch live video while waiting in the doctor’s office.

For ESPN, here is the press release info:

ESPN’s live telecast of the first round of the 2012 Masters Tournament on Thursday, April 5, averaged 2,661,000 viewers with a 2.3 household coverage rating based on fast nationals, according to the Nielsen Company.

The rating was an increase of 10 percent from last year’s first round, which earned a 2.1 rating. Viewership was up four percent over last year’s 2,550,000 average.

Across ESPN digital platforms – including ESPN.com, the ESPN mobile Web and ScoreCenter – the first round of the Masters generated an average of 50,600 people using one of those properties at any given minute of the day, up 35 percent compared to the previous year (source: Adobe/Omniture). Daily unique visitors to the Golf index page on ESPN.com were up 10 percent, while total minutes to the page were up 53 percent. Additionally, daily unique visitors to Golf content on the mobile Web were up 67 percent.

Whoops! Hope we didn’t jinx the coverage. Here’s what I’m seeing now:

Anyone else having troubles watching?

Filed Under: CBS Sports, ESPN, ESPN3, PGA, The Masters Tagged With: , , , ,
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