Nov 23, 2018; Las Vegas, NV, USA; Phil Mickelson (right) reacts after the winner’s belt didn’t fit as Tiger Woods (left) looks on after The Match: Tiger vs Phil golf match at Shadow Creek Golf Course. Mandatory Credit: Rob Schumacher-USA TODAY Sports
November 24, 2018
Major cable companies across the country said they will refund customers who bought the right to watch “The Match” between Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson on Friday — an event that ultimately was streamed for free.
Comcast, Charter Spectrum and Cox Communications all have vowed to issue refunds for the purchase price of $19.99, USA Today reported Saturday.
The ballyhooed pay-per-view event was produced by Turner Sports. Because of a problem with the interface for B/R Live, another Turner property, the event was made available via live stream at no cost.
Mickelson won the $9 million, winner-take-all event in Las Vegas in 22 holes.
“Comcast will proactively issue a $19.99 credit to any Xfinity TV customer who purchased ‘The Match’ pay-per-view event,” the company said in a statement. “We hope Turner and Bleacher Report will do the same given that the event was made available by them for free on The Bleacher Report website.”
On Saturday, Charter Spectrum and Cox Communications issued statements to USA Today confirming they would refund customers who had paid.
“We are issuing proactive credits to anyone who paid for The Match through Cox,” Cox Communications said in its statement. “Since Turner streamed the event for free to a broader audience at the last minute due to technical issues we are happy to make it right for those who already paid.”
Turner Sports and AT&T, which operates Direct TV, haven’t commented on whether they will issue refunds.
–Field Level Media
