As the PGA Tour resumes its season without fans for the Charles Schwab Challenge at Colonial, CBS is turning to the players for help by wearing mics, but some are immediately unwilling.
Without fans on site, sports leagues and networks are searching for ways to enhance broadcasts and make them more engaging. Fake crowd noise and virtual fans have been discussed, with another idea being to mic up the players, giving viewers unique access.
“We’ve been talking to the Tour about it for years,” CBS Sports Chairman Sean McManus said on a conference call. “I think there’s probably a greater appreciation for wanting to contemporize golf coverage a little bit and I think the players are beginning to realize that they can play a real role in that and making the product a little more interesting for the viewer at home.”
It’s not a new concept, we’ve seen live player mics used in exhibition events. Last year, Major League Baseball players were mic’d up during the 2019 All Star Game, and many of them even seemed to enjoy it. It’s also not unprecedented for Major League Baseball to have a few players mic’d up during a regular or post-season game, and the same goes for the NFL. But networks don’t go to those mics live. There is a difference in having a player mic’d up for live audio vs retrieving sound that will be edited and aired later.
During their highly successful coverage of The Match 2, Turner Sports had Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Tom Brady and Peyton Manning mic’d up. Justin Thomas served as an on-course reporter for the event, so if anyone was going to accept the request to wear a microphone while playing, you would expect he might be on board. But Thomas made it clear he’s not interested.
“I would not wear a mic, no. That’s not me,” Thomas told GolfWeek’s Tim Schmitt. “What I talk about with (caddie) Jimmy (Johnson) and what I talk about with the guys in my group is none of anybody else’s business, no offense.”
Jon Rahm also expressed disinterest in wearing a mic for the tournament. “I wouldn’t support it just because they might need a 20-, 30-second difference from live, might be a little bit delayed. And I’m not the only one; a lot of people swear or something comes up where you can hear it. I don’t think it would be the best thing to do.”
As other sports return it will be interesting to see what kind of access fans are granted for player conversations. For the NBA especially, with mics already on or near the court, how much of that will be filtered and how much of it will air without the players’ approval?
