GOLF CHANNEL's changes give coverage a different feel

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If you think that GOLF CHANNEL's coverage this year of THE PLAYERS seems to have a different look and feel, then Tom Stathakes knows he's on track to fulfilling a self-styled mission.

Jack Graham

The veteran cable television executive, who joined GOLF CHANNEL last June as its Senior Vice President/Programming, Production and Operations, came to Orlando, Fla., from Comcast SportsNet seeking to make a good television product cleaner, smarter and livelier. But there's no sense in reinventing the wheel when all you have to do is polish the whitewalls.

"We're bringing new faces, new energy to the channel. It's been a pretty exciting time for us," said Stathakes. He's obviously the key new face, although in the industry he's an experienced hand with nearly 25 years in sports television, including 11 with Comcast, the parent company of GOLF CHANNEL.

"It's good to take a critical look at what you're doing, even when something works well. It's just you can always get better, and we're slowly getting to where we want to be with the quality of our production and our shows."

Toward that end, Stathakes has brought in another steady hand, that of six-time Emmy winner Jack Graham to take over the reigns as Vice President/Golf Events and Executive Producer. Graham, who was a longtime golf producer for ABC Sports and had spent the last few years working on a freelance basis, oversees the network's live golf coverage.

"Jack brings a wealth of experience, and he's very direct, very honest," Stathakes said. "You need guys like that or Brandt Packer when you try to get better, people bringing in a totally different perspective."

Packer, son of veteran basketball broadcaster Billy Packer, was moved over from Champions Tour telecasts to line produce PGA TOUR telecasts. NBC assists by producing the early-round coverage.

Brandt Packer

In front of the camera, the stable of voices led by analyst Nick Faldo and hosts Rich Lerner and Kelly Tilghman has been complemented by steady additions like Charlie Rymer and Billy Ray Brown, plus the occasional contributions of Faldo's former booth mate at ABC, Paul Azinger. Additionally, GOLF CHANNEL will bring "Live from THE PLAYERS" on site for its pre-round and post-round shows.

"We're producing golf much different now," Stathakes said. "If you watch, you'll notice a better pace and there are a lot more voices to be heard... more booth announcers and course announcers. Instead of hearing just two or three voices, we want to hear five or six voices and pick up the energy of the telecast. I think we got a little too plodding, and especially at an event like THE PLAYERS, such a strong field and a great venue, you want your coverage to reflect the occasion.

"It's in our backyard and it's important. It's important to put our best foot forward, no different than we do for the Masters or the U.S. Open.

"But overall, our approach is to raise our game, so to speak. We want to tell more stories, make it interesting, set up the weekend with a little more energy and up-tick, and we also are taking that approach throughout our other programming across the board. If we intend to keep growing, that's what it's going to take."