Broadcast Sport speaks to broadcaster’s head of golf, Jason Wessely, about its plans for the golf major
Sky Sports will be transporting viewers to the Augusta National golf course this week, 10-13 April, with many UK golf fans eager for Rory McIlroy to finally win the green jacket.
Broadcast Sport spoke to the broadcaster’s head of golf, Jason Wessely, about its plans for the golf major, and he admitted, “We will be jumping on the Rory bandwagon, because, A, it’s true, he is in the best form, and B, he’s our most popular player and will help us promote the Masters.”
Promoting the tournament to new fans will be one of the Wessely’s aims, and Sky Sports is hoping to take advantage of its other sport rights to bring fans to the action. He said, “We will go from a Premier League game on Main Event through to the Masters on the same channel, and that’s a fantastic way of promoting the Masters to our football audience. All of our information tells us that the Masters appeals to the the broadest possible golf audience, plus the sports audience - even if you don’t watch any other golf the whole year you’re likely to watch the Masters. So, coming off the back of the Premier League game is a great opportunity.”
The Masters has annonuced longer airtimes for 2025, which Wessely says, “golf fans have been crying out for.” It means there will be live coverage from 5pm until 00:30 on the Saturday and Sunday (a 50% uplift on 2024), alongside supplementary digital feeds from 2pm and a studio build-up from 3pm.The supplementary feeds will be available through Sky Sports+ and the Sky Sports app, and consist of Amen Corner, Featured Groups, Holes 4-6, Holes 15-16 and Live On The Range.
This will be produced from 48 camera feeds fed back to London, including the main CBS feed as well as individual camera feeds that Sky will use to tell the story of British and European players.
This will be produced in both the US and at Sky’s west London campus, with around 60 people on site and the “equivalent” working on it from the UK - the collaborative nature of how the campus works, with people dipping in and out, means it’s difficult to measure the numbers involved there. There is an onsite studio and commentary booth, which will be used alongside Sky’s UK golf studio.
The latter will house more advanced analysis tools, including a 3D AR version of Augusta built and played out from Unreal, with a Mo-Sys tracking system that allows a steadycam to produce dynamic moves around the AR. There is also volumetric capture of golf players’ swings for more advanced analysis, created in parternship with Mark Roberts Motion Control & Dimension Studio, also using the AR environment to show the swings from new angles.
In addition, the Trackman Golf Simulator, will recreate the shots viewers will have just seen at Augusta, with a high-end CG representation of the course and driven by the same ball data that the pro’s use.
Also new for the analysis this year will be more in-game content, with pundit Paul McGinley to give short inserts on how players are doing while the action ensues. Wessely explained this will, “bring to life some of the nuances of the Masters. McGinley will be watching the coverage, he won’t be involved in the commentary, and he’ll identify something to pick out to a producer. This could be something subtle like a grip, the body language of a player, a run of three consecutive birdies, or why he’s favouring the right hand side of each hole. We’re calling it Masters In Focus.”
Nick Dougherty will present from Augusta alongside pundits Dame Laura Davies, Sir Nick Faldo, Paul McGinley, Rich Beem, and Butch Harmon, lead commentators Ewen Murray and Andrew Coltart, on-course commentator Wayne Riley and reporter Anna Jackson. Back in the UK will be AR technology reporter Henni Zuel, who will also host weekend build-up programming alongside Sarah Stirk and David Howell.
Presenters and pundits in general will be aiming for a relaxed environment, with a seated presentation and a mix of formal wear and golf kit being worn - the latter provided by new sponsor Adidas. Wessely noted, “We know that golf needs to appeal to a broader spectrum of fans, so we want to appear friendly, welcoming, accessible and make golf the best version of itself on screen.”
Sky Sports is the home of golf. Watch live coverage of The 2025 Masters, exclusively on Sky Sports Golf and NOW from 10-13 April.
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