‘Refuse to Pay $5.99 a Month’: U.S. Open Coverage Ripped Apart by Golf World Over ‘Frustrating’ Paywall Drama

The coverage mayhem continues to engulf the golf world. Event after event, agonized fans and their cries of pain go unnoticed. The culprit? Inadequate broadcast, and prolonged ads amid crucial rounds. Things are no different at Pinehurst.

Making matters worse than before is the current nightmare of the fans at the U.S. Open. The coverage crisis seems to leave no event excused, even if such an event comes with a long history, popularity, and glorified major status that the U.S. Open holds.

The broadcasting of the second round of the event was jointly undertaken by NBC and Peacock, with the latter scheduled to take place at 6:30 a.m. and once again from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. NBC, on the other hand, was set to showcase the event from 1 p.m. to 7 p.m. However, it seems the long breaks and inherent inadequacy of this streaming experience have left loyal fans of the major fuming.

The ratings and viewership of the PGA Tour events have been plummeting too, and the primary reason for it is the inadequate broadcast experience that has been offered to the fans. Many factors such as divided fields, poor weather, and so on have been the primary reasons.

The fans seem to have joined hands in lodging their cries of public agony online. Most of the fans are perplexed and frustrated with the present broadcasting experience, demanding a speedy resolution if doom is to be spared. So what do the fans have to say?

Fans react to the inadequate live coverage of the U.S. Open

There seemed to be a consensus among fans in their annoyance at Peacock for its inadequacy in the streaming procedure despite having paid hefty subscription sums. A fan remarked, “Paid for a premium subscription to Peacock like an hour ago to watch the US Open and it’s still not giving me access to stream it smh. What a joke for a major to do shit like this.”

A frustrated fan wrote, “Watching the US Open on Peacock is frustrating. Every few minutes I think I’m having a stroke because the picture quality is so lousy. Why are you delivering such a lousy product @NBCSports? Your reputation continues to suffer. Why align with them@USGA?” This fan’s plea was directed at all those in high ranks, with the power to improve the quality of the broadcast experience. The USGA’s involvement with NBC dates back to 2020 when they sold its rights back to NBC, after FOX pulled out of broadcasting golf, for the reported sum of $38 million annually.

Filled with anger, another aggrieved fan questioned, “@peacock trying to watch the US Open. The stream pauses every 10-15 seconds, just as it did last year during football. Why can’t you guys get this fixed?” The agony of fans, as Peacock continued to buffer even during a major championship, was widely apparent. Fans are quick to point out that it is not the first time Peacock has subjected them to a similar fate as they have previously endured it during a football event last year

Yet another angry fan quickly pointed out, “It’s on fu*kin peacock till 1 PM today. Absolute joke of the decision to put the US Open on a streaming service instead of national TV.” This highlighted a general sense of disappointment in the golf world. The coverage crisis has existed for a long time now; however, switching the majority of the second round of a major championship to an online forum seemed to have acted as the tipping point for fans, globally.

Taking a more sarcastic approach, a user wrote on X, “Love not watching the US Open on a Friday morning thanks @NBCSports @peacock @NoLayingUp…a disgrace to our National Open, behind a paywall.” Whereas, another fan wrote, “I refuse to pay @peacock $5.99 a month to watch the early rounds of the US Open.” They were quick to bring to attention the gravity of the situation, having put the National Open behind the shadows of paywalls and inadequacy, making it not only an added expense but also an inconvenience for loyal fans of the sport once again.

All in all, a general sense of disappointment was apparent in the wider golf world after the recurrent coverage crisis was communicated to an event on as large a scale as the U.S. Open.