Discovery has made a new deal with the European Tour that will expand its new GolfTV streaming business.
With the agreement, GolfTV will carry more than 40 European Tour events per year in some European territories starting in January.
GolfTV gets multi-platrights to show those events live in some markets.
Financial terms were not disclosed.
“Welcoming the European Tour and The Ryder Cup into the GolfTV world is a significant step in our journey to becoming a premier global destination for golf entertainment. To offer fans the chance to watch some of the biggest tournaments of the year week in and week out, featuring the world’s greatest players and their national heroes, is the perfect foundation of must-have content that fans can’t live without,” said Alex Kaplan, president and general manager of Discovery Golf.
“To become the true ‘digital home of golf,’ we know we must think differently and go further than anything that has been done before,” Kaplan said. “Forging a deeper relationship with the European Tour to help develop and grow its digital assets is a perfect example of that, and it highlights our long-term aim to build a true ecosystem around golf, leveraging Discovery’s global presence and expertise to achieve this at scale.”
Discovery will work with with the European Tour on the operations of its digital platforms from 2019. Discovery will focus on developing and optimizing key aspects of the European Tour digital operation, such as technology, monetization and advertising. The European Tour will continue to provide content and editorial services for the digital platforms, and service its existing news and media clients.
Discovery has a very a strong vision for GolfTVas a multi-platform destination for golf and we are delighted to be combining our global reach in 2019,” said Keith Pelley, chief executive of the European Tour.
“Our partnership with Discovery, combined with our other broadcast deals, means that every fan in every territory will now be able to watch the European Tour. This new partnership is therefore an exciting move for us, allowing us to showcase the stars of the European Tour and our innovative content to a new audience,” Pelly said.
The European Tour events GolfTV will carry include:
- Every Race to Dubai event throughout the season.
- All Rolex Series events, including the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship, Dubai Duty Free Irish Open, Aberdeen Standard investments Scottish Open, BMW PGA Championship, Italian Open, Turkish Airlines Open, Nedbank Golf Challenge and season-ending DP World Tour Championship, Dubai.
- All World Golf Championships (WGC)*** events, including the Mexico Championship, the Dell Technologies Match Play, the FedEx St. Jude Invitational and HSBC Champions.
- Golf Sixes and the Hero Challenge.
- The European Challenge Tour and Staysure Tour.
GolfTV has exclusive linear and digital rights to these events in markets including Italy, Romania, Russia, Spain and Turkey. Golf TV has digital streaming rights in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. Portugal, Balkan countries, Eurasia, India, Latin America, Indonesia, Thailand, Singapore and a number of territories in Asia.
Also GolfTV will have live coverage of the next two Ryder Cups from Whistling Straits, Wisc., in 2020 and Marco Simone Golf & Country Club, Italy, in 2022 will be available to fans in selected territories through GolfTV.
The Ryder Cup European rights excludes Denmark, Finland, France, Norway, Sweden, UK & Ireland, Germany, Austria, Switzerland.
