Discovery Inc. and the PGA Tour have announced GolfTV as the brand for their upcoming live and on-demand subscription streaming service launching outside the U.S.
The service is part of a 12-year, $2 billion distribution deal between the companies announced earlier this year. The new streaming service will launch internationally on Jan. 1, 2019, and will include 2,000 hours of live golf tournaments including The Players Championship, the FedExCup Playoffs and the Presidents Cup.
Users in all markets can subscribe to GolfTV, which will add live PGA Tour coverage on a by-market basis as the rights are activated. In 2019, live coverage will be included on GolfTV in Australia, Canada, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, Portugal, Russia and Spain. Poland and South Korea will be added in 2020; Belgium, China, Germany and South Africa in 2021; Denmark, Finland, India, Norway, Sweden and the United Kingdom in 2022; and France in 2024. Current international PGA Tour Live users will be transitioned to GolfTV ahead of the Jan. 1 launch.
Discovery has not yet disclosed pricing for the service.
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“Our long-term goal is to create a must-have experience that truly enhances the way global fans watch, play and engage with the game every day,” said Alex Kaplan, president and general manager of Discovery Golf, in a statement. “Unveiling the new GolfTV brand is an exciting next step in our journey. Building on Discovery’s heritage of real-life storytelling and direct-to-consumer platform experience, we’ve already established a world-class GolfTV team. With work well underway, our carefully considered plans will allow us to continually enhance GolfTV as we roll-out and further develop the product.”
The announcement today follows Discovery and the PGA’s deal from June, which covers international multiplatform rights including linear TV rights. Discovery CEO David Zaslav said the service is an extension of sports programming efforts like Eurosport and the 2018 Winter Olympics.
“The long-term partnership between the PGA Tour and Discovery will create the new global Home of Golf, including delivering over 2,000 hours of live content year-round and this prestigious sport’s greatest moments, stories and athletes,” Zaslav said in a statement. “Following our successful first Olympic Games in PyeongChang, Discovery will contribute its strong global distribution and promotional infrastructure, in-market relationships, global sports expertise with direct-to-consumer platforms and brands to create a valuable new long-term Home of Golf offering in every market outside the U.S.”
(Photo credit: Golfible)