PGA Tour LIVE on ESPN+ to Launch in January
The PGA Tour and new partner ESPN+ announced details of the inaugural season of PGA Tour LIVE on ESPN+.
In previous years, PGA Tour LIVE was its own entity through NBC Sports and Golf Channel, however, both of those are going away in the coming years.
According to the Tour’s press release, this new partnership will add more than 3,200 new hours of live streaming for a total of 4,300 exclusive hours.
“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. 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,” said Burke Magnus, President, Programming and Original Entertainment, ESPN.
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 PGA Tour signed a nine-year deal with ESPN+ back in March of 2020.
New Features
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.
“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,” said PGA Tour Chief Media Officer Rick Anderson.
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.