Will there be TV commercial interruptions during the US Open 2023? All you need to know 

The TV broadcast of last year’s US Open was interrupted multiple times by TV commercials. Channels broadcasting the major championship, including NBC, USA Network and Peacock, received major backlash due to continued interruptions. The US Golf Association also received numerous complaints regarding the same. Following this, USGA CEO Mike Whan issued a promise the issue will be fixed this year.

Ahead of the US Open 2023, Whan has now revealed that the USGA and NBC network has discussed and settled on reducing the TV commercials this weekend. The official informed there will be a 30 per cent drop in commercials breaks during weekend coverage at the Los Angeles Country Club. According to Whan, the telecast of the 123rd US Open will have 19 fewer commercials compared to last year during its daily runtime.

Interestingly, the USGA CEO said that he decided to take action regarding the commercials after reading through fan complaints online. Speaking to the media at LACC ahead of the US Open 2023, Mike Whan said:

“This is one of the unfortunate outcomes of your CEO being on Twitter. I’m sure most of my staff would like me to give up on my social media presence. I am sure my wife would like me to give up, she always says, ‘Why do you have to read it in the morning that you’re an idiot and then go to work?’ I don’t know, somehow it grounds you.”

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USGA CEO takes action against TV commercial interruptions during US Open broadcast

It is pertinent to note that the social media backlash from viewers watching the 2022 major was a big one. Taking action, Mike Whan took to his personal Twitter account to tweet “I’m on it!” to the complaints raised by fans. Interestingly, NBC agreed to cut the commercial interruptions on Sunday to give the audience an improved experience.

“To me last year when you’re here all day and you’re in meetings all day and everything else, sometimes you don’t really understand the fan experience until midnight and reading social media. I shouldn’t admit that because I can only imagine the amount of crazies that will come out this week. But I was reading in Boston last year and I thought there was an overwhelming amount of comments about commercial interruptions.

"First off, I probably shouldn’t engage because engaging in social media is like sticking your face first into the fan. That’s exactly what I did.”

The USGA chief stuck to his words and has now informed there will be limited commercial breaks during the US Open 2023 broadcast. It is noteworthy that NBC Sports is set to present the most expansive TV coverage in USGA history at the major championship this weekend. It’ll be interesting to see how the broadcast and commercials turn out this time around.