There is new ownership at Golf Channel, and though it will \u201cfeel familiar,\u201d there are \u201csigns of boundary-pushing,\u201d as EVP and GM Tom Knapp \u201claid out an optimistic vision for his network\u2019s new home,\u201d according to a Q&A with Dylan Dethier of GOLF. Dethier wrote the \u201cbig question\u201d now is \u201cwhat does this new structure mean, and just how new will the new Golf Channel feel?\u201d Questions and answers have been edited for clarity and brevity.<\/p>\n
Q: Logistically, what does this new structure — being part of USA Sports under the Versant umbrella — mean for Golf Channel?<\/p>\n
Knapp: \u201cWe can touch beyond the core audience when we do things like Golf Channel Games on Golf Channel and USA Network. \u2026 USA Network has the audience profile of a broadcast network on cable. It\u2019s more diverse, it\u2019s more female, it has a composition that\u2019s different from Golf Channel. So airing on USA enables us to cast a wider net and show what we\u2019re doing to a different audience.\u201d<\/p>\n
Q: How much of a difference do you expect viewers will notice in the Golf Channel this coming year under Versant compared to, say, the last few years under NBC?<\/p>\n
Knapp: \u201cFoundationally — with the PGA Tour, the LPGA Tour, with golf\u2019s governing bodies, with the major championships on \u2018Live From\u2019 — none of that changes. \u2026 We want to dedicate ourselves back to \u2026 the business and lifestyle of golf. Two is alternative forms of competition, like you\u2019ve just seen with the Optum Golf Channel Games. And then three, we\u2019re bringing back the \u2018Big Break\u2019 next year<\/a>. That\u2019s another thing that we probably wouldn\u2019t have done in the recent past. It went away when our focus became more about live competition, but now we want to touch a broader cross-section of golf fan.\u201d<\/p>\n Q: The Golf Channel Games seemed like a success. \u2026 Is that emblematic of some of the stuff you guys are going to try moving forward?<\/p>\n Knapp: \u201cWe were extremely pleased. We haven\u2019t been involved much in golf\u2019s made-for-TV landscape. \u2026 We wanted to create a competition that we knew would resonate with our core viewer, but also appealed to today\u2019s new viewer, the YouTube golf fan. … Definitely not a one-off. We intend to continue with the Golf Channel Games, for sure. I think what it shows you is how deeply golf is in the DNA of our new company.\u201d<\/p>\n Q: There\u2019s so much change and churn in the world of golf right now. \u2026 Institutional leadership. New LPGA commissioner, new PGA Tour CEO. What does that mean from your end in terms of scheduling, opportunities, changes?<\/p>\n Knapp: \u201cWe connect with them and we make it clear that we really want to understand: What\u2019s important to you? How we can help you achieve your goals? There\u2019s nobody closer to the business and lifestyle of golf than the Golf Channel, and we can help our league partners achieve the new goals they have\u201d (GOLF, 1\/8<\/a>).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"There is new ownership at Golf Channel, and though it will \u201cfeel familiar,\u201d there are \u201csigns of boundary-pushing,\u201d…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":402456,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[566],"tags":[64,63,134,755,85],"class_list":{"0":"post-402455","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-golf","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-entertainment","11":"tag-golf","12":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/402455","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=402455"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/402455\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/402456"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=402455"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=402455"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=402455"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}