'Replica trophy will take pride of place at Sky,' says chief executive Jeremy Darroch
Wednesday 17 September 2014 13:43, UK
The European Tour has presented Sky Sports with a replica Ryder Cup trophy and two signed team golf bags from the 2012 European and USA teams as recognition that Gleneagles 2014 is the 10th Ryder Cup broadcast live on Sky Sports, as part of their 20-year partnership.
Sky’s first live Ryder Cup was held at Oak Hill Country Club in New York, where the European team, captained by Bernard Gallacher, won by a one-point margin to win back the Cup. Since then Sky has followed every historic moment, from Paul McGinley’s triumphant dive into the lake at The Belfry in 2002, to Darren Clarke’s emotional walk to the first tee in 2006.
The live broadcast has changed almost beyond recognition for viewers since 1995, as new technology has enhanced the viewer’s experience at home:
- 1995 - shown live in the UK throughout all three days for the first time
- 1999 - an interactive option, giving viewers an English or American commentary feed
- 2002 - up to nine interactive options including 'Star Match,' 'Live Scoreboard,' and 'Off Course' option
- 2006 – broadcast live in HD and available on a range of platforms
- 2010 – screened live in 3D
- 2012 - live multi-platform coverage, through Sky Go, a new Ryder Cup companion player on the iPad and a dedicated microsite
- 2014 – 4k test to better understand the technology
The scale of the Sky Sports operation on the ground has increased to support the breadth of coverage now available:
- 1,440km of cables will be used in 2014 – that’s the road route from Lands’ End to John O’Groats
- The number of cameras has doubled since 1995 - over 80 cameras will be set up at Gleneagles
- Eight edit suites will be in use compared to one in 1997
Jeremy Darroch, Chief Executive, BSkyB, said: “We’re incredibly proud of our long-standing partnership with The European Tour. Our strong relationship has enabled us to deliver innovations over the last two decades that have kept The Ryder Cup at the forefront of sports broadcasting and have enhanced the viewing experience at home. It’s a globally prestigious event that never fails to grip the nation and inspire new fans to the game.
“For all of the technological advances in the world, some things never change and that’s the determination to win that is on show every two years as the teams go head to head for the much coveted Cup. The replica trophy will take pride of place at Sky where we’re all counting down the days until the excitement starts once again.”
George O’Grady, Chief Executive of The European Tour, said: “Television coverage of The Ryder Cup has become synonymous with Sky Sports since 1995, and this month’s match at Gleneagles will be the 10th contest to be broadcast exclusively live on Sky. No-one can forget the ‘Miracle at Medinah’ two years ago so, to coincide with the launch of the magnificent new Sky ‘hub’ studios and the re-named Sky Sports News HQ channel, we are delighted to contribute a replica Ryder Cup and two superb items of signed memorabilia from that memorable contest.
“We have developed a robust and enduring relationship with Sky Sports, our leading broadcast partner for over 20 years and who, as a fledgling satellite broadcaster, first brought The Ryder Cup from Oak Hill with a new and innovative flair in 1995. It is a great pleasure to hand over to Jeremy the two signed team golf bags and replica trophy which will be a feature in the state-of-the-art Sky hub and we look forward to Sky Sports bringing all the drama and excitement in glorious High Definition from Gleneagles – as well as the next two editions in Minnesota and Paris.”
For the first time, Sky Sports 4 will become ‘Sky Sports Ryder Cup’ and will show over 330 hours of golf across 14 days, including 36 hours of live coverage from Gleneagles. . The channel goes live at 6am on Thursday 18 September and continues until 6am on Thursday 2nd October.
Sky Sports Ryder Cup will form part of an unrivalled autumn of sport on Sky which includes Barclays Premier League football, UEFA Champions League, Autumn International rugby union, Formula 1, ATP tennis and NFL.
Butch Harmon, Sam Torrance, Colin Montgomerie and Tony Jacklin look ahead to the 2014 Ryder Cup in 'Ryder Cup Countdown - Live' from 7.30pm on Sunday on Sky Sports 4.
