Photo by Ross Kinnaird/Getty Images
Team USA looks to mount a historic comeback but many fans aren’t sticking around to watch with the amount of commercials aired.
The 44th Ryder Cup is just outside of Rome at Marco Simone Golf Club. That time change to the United States was already going to have a powerfully negative affect on television ratings.
Then the first day of the tournament happened Friday. Team USA was embarrassed, losing 6.5 to 1.5. It was the first time in Ryder Cup history that the Americans did not win a single match during an individual day.
That shellacking the Americans suffered certainly wasn’t going to help ratings. But that’s not the only thing that will hurt.
Fans have noticed how frequently commercials are airing on USA as play begins. It’s the second straight day they seem to be happening practically every 10 minutes.
Will there be 15 commercials per shot like last night?
— Ben (@HowUBenFeller) September 30, 2023
@rydercup I’m not buying anything from the 45 minutes of commercials in every hour during this competition ever again.
— Stuart Thompson (@StuNited4) September 30, 2023
So I got up to watch commercials and they keep playing the Ryder Cup… WTF.
— Tall PK (@VAtallpat) September 30, 2023
So can we see all of the #RyderCup golf shots instead of randomly teleporting us to the green with no approach in between a million commercials. This is a disgrace to the people in the #usa who stayed up @NBCGolfChannel
— Ben (@WrightersBloc4) September 30, 2023
Granted, playing alternate shot with only a few groups on the course, sometimes there are not shots for the television coverage to show.
But even I, having worked in television with an understanding of the frequency of commercials, have to admit it seems a little aggressive.
Knowing that Day 2 of the Ryder Cup teed off at 1:30 a.m. EDT, a lot of fans set their alarms early to wake and up watch golf.
It probably hasn’t helped their mood that somehow the Americans have found a way to start even worse Saturday than they did Friday.
Jordan Spieth is still playing horrifically. He and Justin Thomas have lost all three holes to Rory McIlroy and Tommy Fleetwood. The second grouping isn’t any better.
Brooks Koepka and Scottie Scheffler have already lost the first two holes to Viktor Hovland and Ludvig Aberg. At this rate, the Ryder Cup will be decided before most of American has even woken up Saturday.
Kendall Capps is the Senior Editor/Site Manager of SB Nation’s Playing Through. For more golf coverage, follow us @_PlayingThrough on all major social platforms.
