Prevention is better than cure. It is a way of saying that fits perfectly with what is reported by Golfweek. During a press conference on Monday, Sean McManus, president of CBS Sports, speaking of the television coverage of the Masters Tournament, made some relevant statements.
As we know, the next edition of the Masters will mark the return of Liv Golf players to the field. This topic has been at the center of the attention of fans and insiders for a few weeks. And here also the main media that will guarantee coverage of the event deems it appropriate to deal with the topic.
CBS Sport, statements
“We have no intention of disguising or hiding anything” “As I have said several times, our job is to ensure television coverage of the tournament” “We will not treat players competing on LIV Golf any differently than any other player” “And whatever happens, which we deem interesting or necessary to broadcast during the connections on Saturday or Sunday, or any other day of the week, know that we will not hide our heads in the sand”.
Also present at the press conference was Sellers Shy, the CBS production manager, who responded thus to a reporter who asked him if CBS intends to “cheer” for some LIV players in order to push the event’s audience : “We are not cheerleaders” “We just want to broadcast the tournament” “So, we will broadcast pictures of whoever is on the leaderboard, because they are all invited players to the Masters.” An undoubtedly very incisive stance, especially considering the fact that it comes from CBS Sports, the media that has broadcast the tournament for 68 consecutive years, and which therefore has a privileged relationship with both Augusta National and the Pga Tour .
Personally, I believe that these statements are partly related to an episode that occurred during the WGC – Technologies Match Play. During the broadcast, the director superimposed the list of past champions, as often happens in tournaments.
Everyone immediately noticed that the ranking was incomplete. The names of the 2017 and 2018 winners, Bubba Watson and Dustin Johnson respectively, were missing. Two players from LIV Golf. The kindest comment I’ve read about it was “childish”. Sporting merits are not cancelled, except for very serious reasons.
