“If the BBC really wanted the Open, it would have it”

So, the House of Lords believes the Open Championship should be on free-to-air TV in a bid to “unify the country”.

That’s an interesting chain of thought by the old boys, considering the House of Lords technically works alongside the Government, which, in turn, shapes the inner decision-making of the BBC.

That’s the same BBC that wouldn’t stump up the necessary cash for the rights to broadcast the Open Championship. “We could not match what Pay-TV had to offer,” said Barbara Slater,
the director of BBC Sport, back in 2015.

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Nonsense. They just didn’t want to spend their money on golf. If the BBC genuinely cared about golf, it would fight tooth and nail to cover it.

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They’ll happily send 350 members of staff to cover Glastonbury, which has an army of corporate backers – and then have the nerve not to reveal how much it costs them to cover the five-day festival. They argue that their coverage is protected by ‘freedom of expression and the rights of the media’ under Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights.

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Anyway, why do people want a broadcaster that ignores golf to cover the biggest and oldest golf event in the world? Is it because they think it will encourage more people to play golf? Why do people think that? Where’s the proof?

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As someone pointed out on social media recently, if what we watched on TV had any real influence on our lives we would be a nation of tennis playing ballroom dancers.

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And more people play golf than tennis.

I’m quite happy to let the sports channel cover the sport and leave the BBC to do whatever it chooses to do.

With your money, by the way.

Your thoughts?

Do you think the Open Championship’s coverage has improved since it moved to Sky Sports in 2016? Leave your thoughts in our Comments section below.