ESPN & Sirius XM Radio Announce Ryder Cup Coverage Plans

Starting on Friday, golf teams from the US and Europe square off in match play at the Twenty Ten Course in Wales in the renewal of the Ryder Cup. Now the matches will be played mostly in the morning here in the United States. ESPN may no longer have live PGA Tour events, but it does have the bigger events in the sport like The Masters, the U.S. Open, the Open Championship and the Ryder Cup.

ESPN’s coverage will be live starting at 2:30 a.m. Friday. There will be a re-air later in the day, but if you want to stay up late or get up early to watch, ESPN will be the place for you on Friday. NBC has weekend coverage, but we’ll talk about that later in the week.

Here’s the ESPN press release outlining its coverage on Friday.

ESPN to Present Ryder Cup Day 1 Matches Live
Coverage Team Includes Two Former Ryder Cup Captains Azinger and Strange
Unprecedented live coverage from the United Kingdom Begins at 2:30 A.M. ET, Includes over 32 Hours Scheduled
For the first time from a European venue, ESPN will present Ryder Cup Day 1 matches live from 2:30 a.m.-1 p.m. ET on Friday, Oct. 1. The 38th Ryder Cup, the biennial competition between teams from Europe and the United States, will take place from The Twenty Ten Course at Celtic Manor in Newport, Wales.
ESPN’s coverage of the Ryder Cup begins Thursday, Sept. 30, with exclusive coverage of the Opening Ceremonies within the 11 a.m. ET SportsCenter followed by the SportsCenter at the Ryder Cup preview show at 2 p.m. ESPN networks will also re-air coverage from all three days beginning with a Friday encore of Day 1 matches from 1-10 p.m. on ESPN2.  Live coverage from Wales will conclude with SportsCenter at the Ryder Cup, including coverage of the Closing Ceremonies on Sunday, Oct. 3, from 1-2 p.m. on ESPN2.
ESPN’s coverage will be anchored by Mike Tirico and 2008 U.S. Ryder Cup captain Paul Azinger. ESPN’s commentating team also includes two-time U.S. Open champions Curtis Strange, who was the Ryder Cup Captain in 2002 and played in the event five times, and Andy North, who also played in the Ryder Cup. In addition, Judy Rankin, Bill Kratzert and Peter Alliss, an eight-time Ryder Cup member, will serve as analysts. Scott Van Pelt will host SportsCenter at the Ryder Cup highlight shows, Tom Rinaldi will provide essays and interviews, and Rick Reilly will contribute commentaries and essays.
Corey Pavin captains the defending U.S. squad featuring three of the world’s top four players in Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson and Steve Stricker alongside major champions Jim Furyk and Stewart Cink.  Colin Montgomerie leads the European team which includes 2010 major champions Graeme McDowell (U.S. Open) and Martin Kaymer (PGA Championship). Former PGA and two-time Open Champion Padraig Harrington and top golfers Lee Westwood, Rory McIlroy and Ian Poulter round out the team. The U.S. won the 2008 Ryder Cup 16½ – 11½ to end a streak of three consecutive victories for Team Europe.
                                                                                                                                                     
ESPN’s production will include features on Tiger Woods’ selection to the team; the 2008 Ryder Cup, won by the United States team that was captained by Azinger; and the pressure for Corey Pavin and first time players. 
ESPN.com’s editorial coverage of the Ryder Cup will include Jason Sobel’s daily live blog, as well as insight and analysis from columnists Bob Harig and Gene Wojciechowski each day of the competition from Wales. 

ESPN’s Ryder Cup TV schedule:
Date Day Time (ET) Network Program
9/30 Thu. 2:00 – 3:00 p.m. ESPN SportsCenter at the Ryder Cup (Preview)
10/1 Fri. 2:30 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. ESPN Ryder Cup Day 1 Matches (Live)
10/1 Fri. 1:00 – 10:00 p.m. ESPN2 Ryder Cup Day 1 Matches (Reair)
10/2 Sat. 7:30 p.m. – 12:30 a.m. ESPN Classic Ryder Cup Day 2 Matches (Reair)
10/3 Sun. 12:00 – 1:00 a.m. ESPN2 SportsCenter at the Ryder Cup (Day 2 Highlights)
10/3 Sun. 1:00 – 2:00 p.m. ESPN2 SportsCenter at the Ryder Cup (Closing Ceremonies & Day 3 Highlights)
10/4 Mon. 5:00- 10:00 p.m. ESPN Classic Ryder Cup Day 3 Matches (Reair)

And for good measure, Sirius XM listeners will also have extensive coverage through PGA Tour Radio. The press release comes after the jump.

For some reason, Sirius XM will reflect the network TV coverage all three days of the competition.

SIRIUS XM RADIO ANNOUNCES BROADCAST COVERAGE OF 2010 RYDER CUP

Hole-by-hole coverage airs October 1-3 from The Celtic Manor Resort, Wales

NEW YORK – September 27, 2010 SIRIUS XM Radio (NASDAQ: SIRI) announced today that it will offer listeners nationwide the radio coverage of the 2010 Ryder Cup this Friday, October 1, through Sunday, October 3, on XM channel 146 and on SIRIUS channel 209 for subscribers with the “Best of XM” programming package.
SIRIUS XM will provide listeners with hole-by-hole coverage live from The Celtic Manor Resort in the City of Newport, Wales, as well as updates and analysis straight from the course from SIRIUS XM’s Matt Adams.
SIRIUS XM’s coverage will air Friday (2:30 am – 2:00 pm ET, live), Saturday (8:00 am – 6:00 pm ET, tape-delay) and Sunday (7:00 am – 1:00 pm ET, live). Live on-course coverage will be immediately followed by a wrap-up of the day’s action along with highlights, analysis, and player interviews on Ryder Cup Replay, hosted by Earl Forcey and Matt Adams.  Following Ryder Cup Replay, SIRIUS XM will rebroadcast the play-by-play for listeners through the afternoon drive time and evening hours.
The Ryder Cup, the biennial match between teams comprised of the 12 best players from the U.S. and Europe, is one of golf’s most celebrated events.  Led this year by captains Corey Pavin on the U.S. side and Colin Montgomerie on the European side, the teams will compete in foursomes and four-ball matches on Friday and Saturday, and 12 head-to-head individual matches on Sunday.
The Americans are defending the Ryder Cup which they won two years ago with an upset victory over the Europeans at Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, Ky.  That was the first U.S. Ryder Cup victory in nine years.  Representing Team USA in the 38th Ryder Cup this week will be 2010 Masters Champion Phil Mickelson, Tiger Woods, Hunter Mahan, Bubba Watson, Jim Furyk, Steve Stricker, Dustin Johnson, Jeff Overton, Matt Kuchar, Stewart Cink, Rickie Fowler and Zach Johnson.
Team Europe features two of this season’s major champions – U.S. Open Champion Graeme McDowell and PGA Champion Martin Kaymer – as well as Luke Donald, Ross Fisher, Peter Hanson, Padraig Harrington, Miguel Angel Jimenez, Rory McIlroy, Edoardo Molinari, Francesco Molinari, Ian Poulter and Lee Westwood.
In the days leading up to the event SIRIUS XM’s hosts will provide golf fans with daily talk and analysis.
Tuesday evening (5:00 pm ET), PGA TOUR member and SIRIUS XM host Chris DiMarco, who competed as a member of the U.S. team in the 2004 and 2006 Ryder Cup events, will host a new edition of his weekly talk show, oPINionated.
On Wednesday (10:00 am – 12:00 pm ET), Earl Forcey and Matt Adams will host the SIRIUS XM Ryder Cup Preview Show, featuring player profiles and in-depth analysis of the three-day competition.
During the week, listeners can also tune in to Fairways of Life with Matt Adams (7:00-9:00 am ET), Teed Off with Brian Katrek (9:00 am – 11:00 am ET), and Making the Turn with Peter Kessler (11:00 am- Noon ET).
All shows air on XM channel 146 and on SIRIUS channel 209 for subscribers with the “Best of XM” programming package.
For more information on SIRIUS XM’s golf coverage, visit www.xmradio.com/pgatour.

That is all.

About Ken Fang

Ken has been covering the sports media in earnest at his own site, Fang's Bites since May 2007 and at Awful Announcing since March 2013. He provides a unique perspective having been an award-winning radio news reporter in Providence and having worked in local television. Fang celebrates the three Boston Red Sox World Championships in the 21st Century, but continues to be a long-suffering Cleveland Browns fan.

Quantcast