UK public-service broadcaster the BBC has defended its decision not to show the first six hours of play at golf’s Open Championship on Monday.
The tournament ran into an extra day of play following adverse weather conditions on Saturday, with the final round beginning on Monday morning at 7.45am.
However, the BBC opted to start showing live coverage at 1.45pm after sticking to its usual morning schedule, which included reality entertainment shows Homes Under the Hammer and Bargain Hunt, on the BBC One and BBC Two channels.
The lack of comprehensive coverage of the final round drew criticism from many viewers on social media, with golfer Luke Donald, who teed off at 10.50am, saying: “If you give the viewer the choice, they’d want to see eight, 10 hours of coverage.”
The BBC said: “The BBC has brought unprecedented coverage of this year’s Open to the widest possible, free-to-air audience – with extended scheduling across all days of competition, including two extra hours on both Friday and Saturday.”
The broadcaster added that its key aim was “to fully tell the most important story – who will win the Open – and make the very best use of our resources on this extra day’s play".
Pay-television broadcaster Sky will replace the BBC as the UK’s live rights-holder for the Open from 2017.