More Details About PGA Tour Live On ESPN+: 4300 Hours, 15-Person Announce Team And Continued Coverage During Network Windows
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As the new year and new TV deal are close, the PGA Tour and ESPN+ are rolling out more details of their ambitious coverage plans.
Standout elements of this figure to be Featured Hole coverage (assuming the right holes are selected), the early “Main Feed” essentially providing a traditional broadcast prior to Golf Channel’s coverage, the Marquee Group and the continuation of Featured Groups (depending on the groups) when the Golf Channel, NBC and CBS take over.
Whether ESPN influences any of this or some experimental efforts ala Peyton and Eli, remains to be seen. But at $6.99 a month, plus access to ESPN+’s Masters and PGA Championship feeds, along with +’s other offerings, it’s a steal for fans.
TOUR, ESPN+ Announce Details of Expanded and Extended Coverage Beginning in January
PGA TOUR LIVE on ESPN+ set to launch January 2022
Four new streaming feeds more than triples live coverage
to more than 4,300 exclusive hours
PONTE VEDRA BEACH, FLORIDA – ESPN+ and PGA TOUR announced details for the inaugural season of PGA TOUR LIVE on ESPN+, with extended and expanded coverage that more than triples the total coverage – adding more than 3,200 new hours of live streaming available for a total of more than 4,300 exclusive hours. All PGA TOUR LIVE on ESPN+ coverage will be available to ESPN+’s more than 17.1 million subscribers.
In 2022, PGA TOUR LIVE on ESPN+ will include live coverage of 35 tournaments – from the TOUR’s Hawaii events in January all the way through the FedExCup Playoffs and into the fall – with at least 28 events having four full days of coverage and four simultaneous live feeds each day.
“The start of the PGA TOUR in 2022 will tee off a new and exciting opportunity for fans to watch the best golfers in the world,” said Burke Magnus, President, Programming and Original Entertainment, ESPN. “The new and expanded PGA TOUR LIVE on ESPN+ is an incredible offering for golf fans – with more than three times the coverage from last season, while also bringing them access to thousands of other sporting events and original programming, all for $6.99 per month.”
With the launch of PGA TOUR LIVE on ESPN+ comes new streaming feeds that will bring expanded coverage of events totaling more than 4,300 exclusive hours. Beginning with The American Express (January 20-23, 2022), PGA TOUR LIVE on ESPN+ will offer fans four live feeds for each tournament:
Main Feed: primary tournament-coverage featuring the best action from across the course;
Marquee Group: new “marquee group” showcasing every shot from each player in the group;
Featured Groups: traditional PGA TOUR LIVE coverage of two concurrent featured groups;
Featured Holes: a combination of par-3s and iconic or pivotal holes.
When network television coverage begins, the four streams will pivot to two featured groups and two featured holes so fans can continue to engage with PGA TOUR LIVE on ESPN+ in addition to the telecast.
Rick Anderson, Chief Media Officer, PGA TOUR said, “The PGA TOUR couldn’t be more excited to launch a new era in content delivery with Disney and ESPN+, which will greatly expand and diversify our audience reach. There will be more content available to our fans than ever before with an exciting and diverse group of on-air talent delivering the action.
This expanded, unprecedented coverage, with over-the-top (OTT) streaming and emerging technologies moving to ESPN+, is part of the TOUR’s new nine-year domestic media rights portfolio announced in March 2020.
The weekly production crew behind PGA TOUR LIVE on ESPN+ will increase from approximately 85 people to more than 210, with 16 cameras on the course, and a 15-person talent crew calling the action across the four channels. The expanded talent roster is still being finalized and will include current studio hosts John Swantek, Jonathan Coachman, Lisa Cornwell and Ned Michaels and on-course analysts Christina Kim, Karen Stupples, Mark Immelman, Chantel McCabe, Mark Wilson, Stuart Appleby and Michael Collins.
“We are excited about the growth of PGA TOUR LIVE and the opportunity to reach a larger audience on ESPN+,” said PGA TOUR Vice President and Executive Producer Greg Hopfe. “Four separately produced streams will showcase more action than ever before from top players and fan-favorite holes at each tournament. We look forward to being able to share nearly every shot from golf fans’ favorite players on ESPN+.”
PGA TOUR LIVE on ESPN+ will cover both early January Hawaii events – Sentry Tournament of Champions and Sony Open in Hawaii – for the first time with Featured Groups coverage in the mornings, followed by Featured Holes in the afternoons.
The complete four feed PGA TOUR LIVE on ESPN+ offering will begin at The American Express. For more information, please visit frequently asked questions about PGA TOUR LIVE.
PGA TOUR LIVE originally launched in 2015. ESPN+, launched in 2018, has grown to reach 17.1 million subscribers. The combined PGA TOUR LIVE on ESPN+ will provide significant growth opportunities for PGA TOUR content via ESPN+’s digital reach, innovative platform and young and diverse audiences.
PGA TOUR LIVE will be part of any ESPN+ subscription, at no additional cost, alongside more than 15,000 other live sporting events, acclaimed studio programs, original series and documentaries and a library of other on demand programming.
Golf programming on ESPN+ also includes The Masters (115 hours of live coverage, plus 50 hours of The Masters Films from 1960-2020), The PGA Championship (200 hours of live coverage, plus 30 hours of library and classic programming), as well as the original series America’s Caddie with Michael Collins, which will return in 2022 with new episodes throughout the PGA TOUR season.
ESPN+ is available through the ESPN App (mobile and connected devices), ESPN.com or ESPNplus.com for just $6.99/month or $69.99/year. It is also part of The Disney Bundle, a one-stop streaming subscription offer that gives customers access to Disney+, Hulu and ESPN+ for $13.99/month.
