A marquee golf tournament featuring Rory McIlroy and Cameron Smith at Royal Melbourne should be appointment viewing—but for Australian fans, the 2025 Australian Open has become more memorable for its commercials than its competition.

Viewers flooded X with complaints about 9Now and Fox Sports coverage during the tournament’s opening days. The backlash was immediate and pointed.

“Please take the Australian Open away from @9Now next year,” one viewer wrote. “90% percent of the live cast is ads, promos or replays, horrible to watch.”

The pattern emerges clearly across the complaints: excessive advertisements, replays, and promos at the expense of live golf. Multiple viewers reported seeing only a handful of shots from marquee players during extended viewing windows. The frustration extends beyond 9Now’s streaming platform. Fox Sports and Golf Channel’s international feed faced similar criticism for delayed start times and disjointed coverage.

Another fan was more direct.

“The coverage is a joke!!! All we see are ads and replays and short films over and over. I think I’ve see 5 shots from Rory in 2 hours, same for Smith.. It’s truly pathetic.. sort it out!!”

A third complaint focused on continuity.

“Can we PLEASE have some golf on Australian Open coverage? No continuity at all. No idea who is where. All we get is irrelevant talk and advertisements.”

The timing makes the backlash particularly sharp. Royal Melbourne hosts the Crown Australian Open for the first time since 1991, bringing a $2 million purse and automatic Masters qualification for the winner. McIlroy headlines a field that includes Smith, Adam Scott, and Min Woo Lee. Networks recognized the significance. Channel 9 started coverage at 7:00 am AEDT on Thursday to capture McIlroy’s morning tee time—the earliest Thursday start since Tiger Woods competed in Australia in 2009.

Yet the broadcast quality hasn’t matched the field quality. The complaints document a viewing experience where fans couldn’t track leaderboard positions or follow tournament flow. One viewer’s count of just five McIlroy shots in two hours crystallizes the disconnect between tournament prestige and broadcast execution.

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Rory McIlroy’s Australian Open broadcast faces economic reality

The pattern isn’t unique to Australia. Research shows that typical PGA Tour broadcasts dedicate less than 25% of airtime to actual golf shots. The remaining time is split between commercials and non-action segments. Golf Channel’s coverage of this week’s tournament follows similar patterns, with viewers in multiple markets reporting the same frustrations.

But the economic reality complicates fan expectations. Nine Entertainment and Foxtel hold split broadcast rights for the Australian Open, with Nine providing free-to-air coverage while Foxtel monetizes through Kayo Sports subscriptions. Both networks face substantial rights fees and rely on advertising revenue to recoup investments. Golf Australia CEO James Sutherland has emphasized the tournament’s strong field assembly, yet broadcast partners must balance prestige coverage with commercial viability.

Golf presents unique challenges for traditional ad models. The sport’s continuous action and unpredictable shot timing create friction with scheduled commercial breaks. Unlike time-structured sports, golf tournaments can’t pause for ads without disrupting the viewer experience. Networks have responded with formats like “Playing Through”—showing golf in a small screen while running full ads—but viewers consistently cite this approach as particularly frustrating.

The Australian Open’s return to Royal Melbourne was supposed to showcase the tournament’s prestige. McIlroy previously described the event as deserving major championship status. Instead, broadcast complaints have become the dominant storyline as Round 2 continues. Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen leads at 9-under, while McIlroy battles to make the projected cut at one-over par.

Neither Nine, Fox Sports, nor tournament organizers have responded to the viewer backlash. The silence leaves an unresolved question: can networks find sustainable models that serve both commercial requirements and viewer expectations—or will fans continue choosing frustration over access?