Coverage and viewership have been haunting the PGA Tour season so far. Did any of it get better at golf’s oldest major? Well, no! Precisely, the coverage woes did not exempt Royal Troon. The poor coverage started at the 2023 Ryder Cup in Italy and made its way to the final major in Scotland. Fans called out NBC for its failed attempts to broadcast The Open and for having more advertisements than golf. Well, NBC has been summoned again, this time by the golf community too.

After all, NBC was responsible for airing The Open Championship for the American audience. But a series of back-to-back commercials coupled with the incredulous buffering have interrupted the 152nd The Open’s stream, leaving fans more annoyed than ever. NBC has been failing the fans at this season’s majors. At the US Open, too, some technical difficulties hindered the audio and visuals of the broadcast. What makes matters worse this time is NBC’s unsatisfactory commentary. What would fans do in such a situation? They will switch.

Poor NBC coverage forced the fans to switch to Sky Sports for the ultimate round at Royal Troon. Aside from Peacock, this British subscription sports channel has taken the forefront of everything related to the Open. From offering free live coverage from the ‘Postage Stamp’ throughout the event to the option of creating a free account, Sky Sports is readily offering “wall-to-wall coverage from the final men’s major of the year.”

Fans also seem to favor Sky Sports for their accessibility and significantly less focus on commercials. Fans made it clear that they wanted to see golf and not the advertisements. They collectively highlighted this without shying away.

NBC’s coverage woes make angry Americans resort to Sky Sports as they navigate through the final round of the Open

The broadcasting experience at the Open sparked an air of anger among fans. After all, no one wants to miss three putts of the ultimate major. So when NBC went wayward, desperate Americans took to Sky Sports to fill the gap. But the frustration remained. Frustrated fans left comments saying, “NBC is the very worst!!” “Missed all 3 putts because I’m streaming. Switching to Sky Sports. Go to hell NBC,”  and “I gave up on NBC. Sky Sports feed or Peacock.” 

In times of crisis, it’s the law of the market to look for options. Fans seemed to agree with the pros of moving towards Sky Sports. The fact that this British broadcaster offers comprehensive coverage of golf shot after golf shot. Fans also admire how there are no commercial sprees or necessary paid subscriptions like its American counterpart.

The fact that experienced golfer and commentator, Nick Faldo also adds to the entertainment potential is also one undeniable pro of Sky Sports. Keeping all this in mind, fans left comments, “If you have peacock, Sky Sports does their own broadcast which is golf shot after golf shot. Very few commercials and no bill shit little NBC segments every 5 mins.”

Another frustrated fan commented,  “Sky Sports feed with Faldo is infinitely better than Peacock/NBC’s #TheOpen2024 Way more shots, way less commercials, way less whining about the current state of golf, more commentary on the golf in the state of this weather.”

It seems it is high time for NBC to remedy its ways before it’s too late.