It’s one thing to miss some of the action when 156 players are spread across the course at a regular event. But when the field is trimmed to just 24 players, with only five matches being played in a session, gaps in coverage can be especially frustrating for paying viewers. And that’s exactly what’s happening at this year’s Presidents Cup, leaving fans increasingly outraged.

The biennial team championship at Medinah Country Club is being broadcast live on Golf Channel and NBC, with streaming available via Peacock in the U.S. and Sky Sports and NOW in the U.K. But just a couple of holes into Thursday’s opening session, complaints about missed tee shots began flooding social media.

And that was only the beginning. Fans criticized the broadcast for seemingly prioritizing commercial breaks over live action, with advertisements appearing so frequently that viewers were missing key shots. Such complaints, however, are not entirely new. Golf Monthly reported similar backlash during the opening day of the 2022 Presidents Cup. 

Fans voiced frustration over the number of commercial breaks and the amount of golf being missed. At the time, only five foursome matches were being played, involving 20 players and 10 balls, yet viewers still complained that broadcasters were cutting away from the action so often that significant shots were going unseen.

What’s worse, the 2024 version of the event saw a significant decline in television viewership compared with the previous edition. According to Sports Business Journal’s audience analysis, NBC drew an average of 1.37 million viewers for 2024’s final round, down 28% from the 1.89 million viewers who watched the comparable Sunday in 2022. 

The decline was even steeper on 2024’s Saturday, when NBC averaged 1.21 million viewers between 8 a.m. and 6:45 p.m. ET. That represented a 36% drop from the 1.89 million viewers who tuned in during the corresponding Saturday window in 2022. Although a specific reason wasn’t provided for the decline, the focus on commercial breaks hasn’t helped their cause. 

Regardless, as broadcasters followed the tradition into 2026, so did the fans. They took to social media to air their woes. 

Sky Sports branded “imbeciles”

One user was quick to air their frustration over commercial breaks. “Less than an hour after the first shot of the Presidents Cup, I think I have counted 8 commercial breaks and under 20 shots shown,” the user wrote. 

Even in the UK, the broadcast was awful, per this user. “You are imbeciles @SkySportsGolf. An absolute disgrace. A shambles. Shame on you for messing paying golf viewers around. Get your act together. No @presidentscup build up, none of the ceremony, all those channels & you can’t find a space to shift the French Open to. Idiots,” the user commented.

Someone else chimed in. “How is the Presidents Cup broadcast already missing shots? There are only two groups on the course, and we didn’t see three of the four tee shots on 2…,” the fan posted.

Others had similar problems. “TV coverage for the Presidents Cup is already horrendous. There [are] 8 dudes on the course. There’s no reason to miss a shot lmfao,” the user commented. 

The next user took things a step further, claiming the broadcast is worse than regular events. “I forgot that TV coverage in team competitions is even worse than regular events. No tee shot coverage on 2 from the first group. We have 8 guys on the course right now, we should see every single one of their shots. Even with 20 guys on the course, we should see every shot. We might get half…,” claimed the user. 

That said, poor coverage at events seems to have become an unavoidable tradition that doesn’t seem to go away. It would be interesting to see what the viewership numbers will be like for this year’s Presidents Cup.