ESPN+ continues expanding its sports catalog with the launch of PGA Tour Live on ESPN+ in January 2022. The deal is part of the PGA Tour’s 9-year domestic media rights agreement that it made with ESPN+ back in March of 2020. The streaming service announced today that it will offer 4 new streaming feeds, which more than triples live coverage to more than 4,300 exclusive hours.
With over 17.1 million ESPN+ subscribers, PGA Tour Live will be included for every subscriber for no additional charge. Golf fans can watch everything ESPN+ has to offer and live coverage of 35 PGA Tour tournaments for only $6.99 per month, or $69.99 per year. That’s access to the PGA Tour’s Hawaii events in January all the way through the FedExCup Playoffs and into the fall. There will be 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.”
Upon launch, PGA Tour Live on ESPN+ will give viewers more access to new streaming feeds that will bring expanded coverage of events totaling more than 4,300 exclusive hours. When The American Express tees off (January 20-23, 2022), PGA Tour Live on ESPN+ the four simultaneous live feed viewers can watch are as follows:
- 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 hole
The four streams will shift to two featured groups and two featured holes once network TV coverage begins, so ESPN+ subscribers can still enjoy exclusive access with PGA Tour Live.
In January, PGA Tour Live on ESPN+ will cover the Sentry Tournament of Champions and the Sony Open in Hawaii. This will be the first time with Featured Groups coverage in the mornings, followed by Featured Holes in the afternoons.
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.”
With the move, the production crew will expand 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 on-air talent for PGA Tour Live on ESPN+ hasn’t been finalized as of yet but it 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+.”
The latest agreement between the PGA Tour and ESPN+ has helped the streaming service establish itself as the go-to place for golf programming. PGA Tour Live joins The Masters, The PGA Championship, and the original series America’s Caddie with Michael Collins, as part of the comprehensive golf catalog on ESPN+.