Viewers Tune In for Their Favorite Players, Not the Tournament...Wavve Brings Fandom to Golf Coverage

Golf broadcasts are shifting their focus from the tournament as a whole to specific players. Instead of competition among the leaders, a new trend is emerging in which the round is covered around a favored player’s shots, expressions, and movement. Along with this, “fandom-style broadcasting” has also appeared.

OTT service Wavve announced on the 20th that it will provide a close-up broadcast of Hwang Yu-min, called “Field Cam,” during the final round of the Hana Financial Group Championship on the KLPGA Tour. “Field Cam” is Wavve’s original golf broadcast that follows one player selected by the service.

The broadcast covers the period from tee-off to the end of the match. While existing broadcasts delivered the flow of play and rankings while alternating between multiple players, Field Cam fixes the camera on a single player.

The target audience for this broadcast is fans who want to watch their favorite player’s day rather than the tournament outcome. In line with the shift in golf broadcasts from leaderboard competition to a focus on specific players, Wavve introduced a dedicated “Field Cam” for Hwang Yu-min during the final round of a KLPGA event.

Wavve selected Hwang Yu-min as its second “Wavve Pick” player. Hwang is competing in the race for Rookie of the Year on the LPGA Tour this season and will play in the Hana Financial Group Championship as a recommended player. This content is centered on Hwang Yu-min’s final round, which Wavve chose as a “Wavve Pick.”

Wavve’s Field Cam will follow Hwang Yu-min throughout the entire final round. Hwang is known for an aggressive style based on long driving distance, and her nickname is “Doldaegaejang.” The Field Cam is expected to capture movement scenes that are usually shown only briefly in regular broadcasts, as well as her preparation for the next shot and her expressions during play, all at close range.

The program is hosted by Soyou, announcer Choi Si-eun, and commentator Park Won. Rather than broadcasting from a commentary booth, the format has them walking the course like gallery spectators. They will convey the atmosphere on site while introducing Hwang Yu-min’s style of play and key viewing points.

The hosts will also introduce gallery etiquette and items to prepare. Through this, the program aims to provide useful information for viewers visiting the golf course.

After the match, the final round journey wraps up with a format that combines Hwang Yu-min’s key moments and an interview, focusing on turning one player’s day into a single piece of content rather than simply reporting the result. This format follows one player’s day and movement path rather than the full context of the competition.

This kind of Field Cam format is not meant to replace existing golf broadcasts, but to serve as a separate supplementary screen. Field Cam has the limitation that it is difficult to grasp the overall standings and major match situations at a glance, but it has the advantage of allowing continuous observation of a single player.

For that reason, Field Cam is used less to show the overall state of play, as conventional broadcasts do, and more as a way to provide fans with a high level of immersion by keeping the camera on one player. Rather than broadly conveying the overall flow, it focuses attention on one player’s performance and movement.

Wavve unveiled its first Field Cam on the 13th at the KB Financial Golden Life Championship. The first Field Cam subject was Jeon In-ji, and the participants at the time were singer Soyou, announcer Hong Jae-kyung, and pro An Shin-ae. They walked the course and, in the broadcast, delivered Jeon In-ji’s shots, movement scenes, and expressions.

Pro An Shin-ae explained the course and match situations based on her own playing experience. The content also included an interview with a member of Jeon In-ji’s fan club, “Flying Dumbo,” and the program realized this direction by incorporating not only the player’s performance but also fan support and the atmosphere on site.

Wavve selected Hwang Yu-min as the second Field Cam subject. The selection is seen as tied to an attempt to place a player’s individual style of play and fandom at the center of broadcast content.

This shows that sports fan content consumption is centered on the team or player they support, and that this consumption pattern is being reflected in golf broadcasts as well. A Wavve official described Field Cam as a new golf broadcast from a gallery’s perspective, allowing viewers to watch their favorite player closely throughout an entire round, and said that even viewers who are not familiar with golf can comfortably experience the excitement of the scene.

Source: IT DAILY · Lee Jae-young
Original: https://www.itdaily.kr/news/articleView.html?idxno=241741

References

• https://www.itdaily.kr/news/articleView.html?idxno=241741