Money Hungry ESPN

For the first time in 150 years of the British Open, the coverage will be broadcast entirely on cable TV. This comes at a time when people are trying to cut back on expenditures. Traditionally, the first two rounds of the tournament are broadcast on cable TV, then for the final two rounds coverage gets put on the regular networks, usually CBS, NBC or ABC. For the British Open, coverage during the week is usually on ESPN and then switch to ABC for the weekend. ESPN has decided not to continue with tradition and lock people like myself out of the coverage. Because I am a graduate student and my family, with a stay at home mom, survives entirely on my salary, we just have basic cable, which does not include ESPN. Presumably they make more money restricting coverage solely to their cable network. Ok, of course they make more money. But don't they miss out on getting greater ratings, with more viewers, by showing it on ABC as well? This is especially true considering the tournament this year is being played at the home of golf, St. Andrews golf club. This gives the impression that the cable networks are all about money. And how they can make more of it. Over the years coverage on regular TV networks has become more and more limited. We see this with the NBA playoffs - all games are broadcast on TNT or some other network until the finals. Most people have cable with dozens of channels, but a portion of the fan base miss out. But it's not about the fans it's about money. Should we expect anything else from a corporation? Perhaps not, but then again our court systems have continued to rule that corporations have the same rights as individuals.