It is apparently common knowledge among television executives that the most qualified persons to interview players and coaches during and shortly after football, basketball, baseball, soccer, golf, and all other professional and collegiate sports competitions are twenty-something female beauty queens (or slightly older former beauty queens). In most cases, they have never played the sport, and certainly not at a professional level. There are a few exceptions, such as golfer Johnny Miller who interviews pro golfers, and retired female professional golfers who conduct interviews at LPGA events, or retired soccer stars. The assumption seems to be that a lot of guys who are sports nuts won’t watch sports on TV unless they can also ogle a blond in tight jeans showing a little cleavage for at least fifteen seconds during half time. (Hint to television executives: They can see the same thing at any sports bar and for a much longer period of time.)
A good example of this money-losing, asinine business model is yesterday’s Balestrol Open golf tournament in Opelika, Alabama, a short hop from the Mises Institute in Auburn. The two male professionals, Aaron Baddeley and Si Woo Kim, had just hit their drives on the third playoff hole. The Golf Channel then cut to the female LPGA tournament for the next 20 minutes or so. It turns out that the men’s playoff ended on that hole a few minutes later when Baddeley sunk about a 30 foot birdie put. The viewing audience saw none of it as the tournament was long over before they gave up on broadcasting the LPGA tournament, which seemed to be attended by about 100 people.
The Golf Channel seems to believe that if there are 5,000 people watching women’s golf, and 5 million watching men’s golf, they can sell more advertising and earn more advertising revenue by focusing on the women’s golf.
9:19 am on July 18, 2016
