Channel reshuffle is annoying but I’ll still reach for the Sky

There are times when I wonder how it is possible that a television audience can shrink so drastically because a programme is on Channel 4 or ITV4 rather than BBC1. How hard can it be, after all, to ascertain which channel something is on and then press the appropriate buttons to access it?

But then I think of the turmoil I find myself in now Sky have relaunched their sport channels and I suddenly sympathise with people who struggle to navigate to the outer reaches of the satellite estate.

It was bad enough when, for a few months, they moved everything up one so Sky Sports 1 went from 401 to 402 and so on, but now the channels have names rather than numbers I am all over the place.

The other day someone texted me to say there was an exciting cricket match on Sky Sports Mix and I spent ages flicking around the lower 400s, only to be told I needed to punch in 121 to my remote control, a combination I assumed would take me to one of those shows where a couple decide to use a TV station to choose their next home rather than an estate agent like the rest of us.

So while I currently hate Sky with a passion for having thrown me into a state of such confusion after around a quarter of century of knowing which buttons to press to watch my latest bet go belly up, my love for the supplier of top sport into my lounge returned over the weekend thanks to their wonderful coverage of the Open.

Gone are the days when Sky had absolutely everything that is worth broadcasting, but what they have they largely continue to do brilliantly, and their golf output is a shining example of that.

The Sky team absolutely nailed the Birkdale coverage from start to finish. They provided four days of fabulous dawn-till-dusk transmissions that captured the drama of an incredible tournament perfectly.

There were, it must be said, times when I wanted to see how a twoball bet was getting on but was forced to endure yet another pointless swing analysis, and I thought Richard Boxall was overused in the commentary box. But then again it’s hard to think of anyone who is more typical of the sort of person who hangs around golf clubs than him so he’s probably the perfect choice for the audience even if I find him lacking in insight and a sense of occasion. Other than that, though, the quality of the broadcasts was magnificent.

David Livingstone remains a terrific presenter, Ewan Murray provides authority and gravitas, albeit he is sometimes just a little too earnest, and it is good that Sky uses the excellent Nick Dougherty more these days.

The stars last week, however, were Tim Barter, Wayne Riley and Butch Harmon. Barter could give plenty of other broadcasters a lesson in how to interview people by asking intelligent, interesting questions and getting players at ease and happy to open up.

Riley is just a joy to listen to. He is fun, informative and comes across as an enviably carefree bloke. And unlike some broadcasters who have wit and a touch of eccentricity, he knows when to play it straight and when to open the throttle.

The magnificent Harmon is everything Peter Alliss should be but isn’t. An avuncular elder statesman who breezes through every stint in the gantry, sprinkling wisdom and warmth and making you hanker for his return when they come back from an ad break and he has made way for someone else.

But there’s a problem. Within days of launching Sky Sports Golf (don’t ask what number it’s on – I’m still pressing four then zero than whatever else I can think of to try to make the right thing appear) it was announced the USPGA Championship would be shown not on Sky, as it has for so long, but the BBC.

That’s not a problem to many people, because we can all find BBC nice and easily. But then it emerged this week that the US Masters rights could be snaffled by BT Sport next year, and if that is the case Sky’s claim that its golf channel has everything that’s worth showing will become even more hollow.

And it is not beyond the realms of possibility that Sky bosses will start to ask themselves why, having stuck with the sport during the post-Tiger slump and having continued to show virtually every European Tour event even when the line-ups have been chronically short of big names, they should continue to commit so much resource to showing golf if the rights holders are going to sell off the main events to other broadcasters.

It would be like ITV Racing sending cameras to courses on even the most low-key Saturdays only to find the Grand National and Derby being handed to another channel.

I like golf on Sky. I like it all being in one place and I like how they broadcast it. And long may that continue because last week’s superb output from Birkdale showed when it comes to golf nobody does it better.

Spieth a tower of strength

A friend woke up on the west coast of America on Sunday, saw that Spieth and Kuchar had both shot one under in their final round, and texted me asking: was it as boring as it sounds?

No. It was probably the most astonishing climax to a golf tournament I have ever seen. It is still hard to comprehend what happened.

For 12 holes Spieth played appallingly and he then hit one of the worst shots of his career, a drive so wide most of us would have needed to take a driver to get back to the fairway.

He was stuck in the jungle on the side of a steep hillock and seemingly on his way to the biggest meltdown since Jean van de Velde at Carnoustie 18 years previously.

But whereas the Frenchman lost his head when he was in a pickle, Spieth, with his back to the wall, suddenly started thinking with astonishing clarity. He spent nearly 20 minutes plotting his escape and 15 magical shots later he found himself on the 18th tee with an unassailable lead, having limited the damage on 13 to a bogey and then shooting birdie, eagle, birdie, birdie.

The mental strength he showed was staggering for a 23-year-old and, having shown his quality as a golfer, he then showed class as a person with a superb victory speech, in which he paid a glowing tribute to Matt Kuchar, his weekend playing partner who had seemed destined at one point to break his Major duck.

Talking of Kuchar, I surely cannot be the only person who sees a striking resemblance between him and that popular ventriloquist’s dummy of the late 20th century Nookie Bear.

We need a best of the rest market

Next Wednesday’s Racing Post is one of those editions so massive you are advised not to let your pets loiter near the letterbox. As well as previews of the Sussex Stakes at Glorious Goodwood and the Galway Plate it will include the Big Kick-Off, your monster guide to the new football season.

It will be packed with info, stats, top tips and prices on a dazzling array of players, teams, leagues and countries, but as things stand it will not have any odds on a potentially magnificent betting heat that the layers have yet to latch on to.

The Premier League splits into two distinct groups this term. The big seven teams who will compete for the title and the European places, and the other 13 who will set out to avoid relegation, go on a cup run and keep at the backs of their minds that Leicester won the league two seasons ago.

And those 13 teams need to be lumped together for what would be a terrifically interesting market that excludes the big seven.

It would be wide open, competitive and would have great each-way appeal, so hopefully the compilers will take the plunge and give it a whirl.

Captivating read

Finchy from The Office used to read a book a week whereas I do well to finish one a year these days. But I recently rediscovered the joy of getting hooked on a book so compelling it is acutely annoying when you have to put it down.

I expected No Nonsense, the astonishing story of the life and career of Joey Barton, to be interesting but my expectations were comfortably exceeded. It was captivating from start to finish, brilliantly put together by Michael Calvin, the best sport author around, and is strongly recommended to anyone who has yet to read it.