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Tom Oakley Bio – He is a successful American actor and producer, known for his work in the film and ...

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Tom Oakley Bio – He is a successful American actor and producer, known for his work in the film and ...

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Sergio Ermotti (11 May 1960, age 62) is a Swiss manager and former investment banker who has had a notable ...

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Sergio Ermotti (11 May 1960, age 62) is a Swiss manager and former investment banker who has had a notable ...

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JellyBean is the online alias of Issa, a young and talented YouTuber who has gained millions of fans with their ...

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JellyBean is the online alias of Issa, a young and talented YouTuber who has gained millions of fans with their ...

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Uttar Pradesh Police Character Certificate Application, Verification, Approval & Download 2022: Uttar Pradesh government has made it compulsory to have ...

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Uttar Pradesh Police Character Certificate Application, Verification, Approval & Download 2022: Uttar Pradesh government has made it compulsory to have ...

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TGL golf league made its much anticipated debut on Tuesday after a year-long delay.

Rory McIlroy and Tiger Wood’s new venture got underway as The Bay Golf Club defeated New York Golf Club in the debut event at the Sofi Centre in Florida.

Offaly native Shane Lowry, and teammates Ludvig Åberg and Wyndham Clark made light work of Xander Schauffele, Rickie Fowler and Matt Fitzpatrick after a 9-2 win.

The golf league was postponed for a year until 2025 after the purpose-built Sofi Arena sustained severe damage as the white roof had fallen through after a storm.

And the league’s debut and received a mixed reactions after its opening night from fans on social media.

The indoor league combines virtual golf with the real deal as competitors aim their tee and approach shots at a 60 foot screen which mimics whichever course they’re ‘playing’.

A strict 40-second shot clock is enforced for each player, and penalties are applied for exceeding the time limit, encouraging quick decisions and maintaining the match’s tempo.

The format is as follows. A three-man alternate shot for nine holes, followed by six holes of singles, in which one player from each team faces another one-on-one.

Each of the three player’s play two singles holes. Each hole is worth one point. In the event of a tie after 15 holes, a three-man closest-to-the-pin competition will decide the winner.

A match win in regulation or overtime is worth two points, while a loss in overtime earns one point. A regulation loss earns zero points.

PURSE

TGL offers a whopping $21 million purse that is up for grabs, with a $9 million payout awarded to the winning team at the end of the season.

That’s $2.25 million for each of the four players on the winning team at the season’s end.

TGL SHEDULE

Regular season

January 7: New York GC v The Bay GC

January 14: Los Angeles GC v Jupiter Links GC

January 21: New York GC v Atlanta Drive GC

January 27: Jupiter Links GC v Boston Common GC

February 4: Boston Common GC v Los Angeles GC

February 17: Atlanta Drive GC v Los Angeles GC, Atlanta Drive GC v The Bay GC, The Bay GC v Boston Common GC

February 18: Jupiter Links GC v New York GC

February 24: Los Angeles GC v New York GC, Boston Common GC v Atlanta Drive GC

February 25: The Bay GC v Jupiter Links GC

March 3: The Bay GC v Los Angeles GC, New York GC v Boston Common GC

March 4: Jupiter Links GC v Atlanta Drive GC

Post-Season

Semifinals: March 17, March 18

Finals Series: March 24, March 25

IT’S no exaggeration to say that Coronation Street is a truly national treasure – part of the fabric of this country.

For 65 years it has weathered wars, recessions, and even pandemics and through every decade it’s been there entertaining millions of viewers.

PA

The Rovers Return isn’t for shutting up shop just yet – Corrie shouldn’t be counted out[/caption]

Rex

ITV

Sue Cleaver is also leaving the soap after 25 years playing cobbles icon Eileen Grimshaw[/caption]

It was the only soap that remained on-air through covid when lockdowns forced productions to halt.

But sadly it is now facing a crisis that could see the end to the cobbles as we know and love it – and it’s not one of its own making.

I’ve covered soaps professionally for more than a decade and I’ve seen them at their best and their worst – but now is the most challenging time for them all.

The perfect storm of massively increased television production costs has hit a TV advertising market in free-fall – and it’s very, very bad news for Coronation Street.

As Corrie’s Sally Ann Matthews said bluntly – “ITV’s got no money”.

Big stunts like the dramatic tram crash that destroyed half the cobbles, or the huge devastating sinkhole are increasingly a thing of the past. Filming on location is all-but ruled out over cost concerns.

Budget restraints mean that there are fewer appearances of beloved characters and an over-reliance of younger, newer, cheaper stars.

And it can’t be ignored that Corrie’s core audience is ageing – and to be blunt – dying off.

The days of people gathering around the telly of an evening to watch live are over.

Despite that Coronation Street still pulls in a respectable 5m each night – more than Emmerdale and almost twice as much as BBC rival EastEnders.

It is still the most-watched show on TV – week in, week out. But it’s a far cry from the 20m who used to watch.

And with fewer viewers comes much less advertising revenue and money to pump into the show.

There was all-round shock last year when ITV boss Kevin Lygo admitted that the phenomenal Mr Bates vs the Post Office – despite being critically-lauded and a huge hit for the channel – made no money.

In fact, it lost ITV more than £1m with Lygo admitting: “Mr Bates has made a loss of something like £1m and we can’t continually do this.”

Add to that the rise of streaming and Netflix, Paramount Plus, DIsney Plus with their millions to pump into its own dramas – and you can begin to see what Corrie and the other soaps are up against.

But it’s not just that. Changes to the tax system a few years ago now meant that TV productions aren’t able to lock-in cast without employing them on salaries.

It effectively means that the cast are more free to take on other work – whether it’s acting jobs, personal appearances or lucrative social media influencing.

A source revealed: “There are soap stars who were making very good livings from their jobs – but doubling their incomes from influencing.

“You can’t blame them for quitting what can be a relentless, full-on job when a few Instagram posts can bring in more money. It’s a real worry that left bosses fearing that more could follow suit.”

ITV

Colson Smith revealed this week that he’d been axed from the soap[/caption]

ITV

Corrie legend Sue Devaney is also being written out in a hard-hitting and long-running dementia storyline[/caption]

Lime Pictures

Hollyoaks has successfully clawed its way back from the brink of oblivion[/caption]

Already Corrie is losing a number of stars – some through quitting and others through necessity with new boss Kate Brooks having to take tough decisions.

Colson Smith and Sue Devaney have been told they are being written out, while Charlotte Jordan and Sue Cleaver both opted to leave the show this coming year.

When Channel 4 soap Hollyoaks suffered a similar crisis under Channel 4’s own cash woes – it slashed episodes by 40 per cent, made more than 100 staff redundant and axed 20 cast members.

And with a new boss too in Hannah Cheers, the Chester-based soap has actually managed to come out of it stronger – both creatively and financially – and clawed its way back from the brink.

Corrie isn’t in those dire straights yet – but there are fears that if ITV’s cash issues continue then the decline could speed-up and the show won’t make it to broadcast anymore.

Instead there are swirling rumours that ITV’s future is more with its streaming service ITVX rather than traditional television.

One source said: “Ultimately TV is dying and streaming is the future. Even Corrie will eventually be a streaming show but that’s not a bad thing. It has had so many reinventions over the years that it will just be another evolution.”

And with viewers increasingly becoming more and more digitally-savvy – they could embrace it on ITVX and see a huge revival.

That’s not something unprecedented either. 

When Neighbours was brutally axed in 2022 – it looked like the end. The same issues that have been battering Corrie, knocked Neighbours out fully.

Until, that is, Amazon came along with its mountains of money – and now Neighbours is consistently in the top ten most watched shows on Prime – a huge achievement.

So for all the talk of a Corrie crisis – don’t count it out – there’s life in the cobbles yet.