Discovery Strikes Landmark $2B International PGA Tour Golf Deal
James Marsh/BPI/REX/Shutterstock Discovery has struck a landmark deal to acquire the in..
James Marsh/BPI/REX/Shutterstock
Discovery has struck a landmark deal to acquire the international television rights to PGA Tour golfing. The move, which is thought to be the ballpark of $2B, is the latest high-profile sports agreement for the factual giant, following its successful Olympics debut earlier this year.
The deal, which gives Discovery online and TV rights, will give it access to more than 140 golf tournaments a year including around 40 high-profile PGA Tour events. The deal will last for 12 years and covers all territories outside of the U.S.
It is expected to air much of the event on its Eurosport Player digital service, which now has over 1M subscribers. The popularity of the service was boosted as a result of the PyeongChang Winter Olympics. Discovery is expected to sub-license rights in some markets, as per other sports deal. The PGA deal will be overseen by Eurosport executive Alex Kaplan, who joined Discovery last year from the NBA, where he was Senior Vice President, Global Media Distribution.
The PGA deal comes as the popularity of golf outside of the States increases; half of the leagues top 50 players are from outside of the U.S. including UKs Justin Rose, Spains Jon Rahm and Chinas HaoTong Li.
“This long-term partnership between the PGA Tour and Discovery will create the new global home of golf,” said David Zaslav, chief executive of Discovery.
PGA Tour Golf Commissioner Jay Monahan said it was “a tremendous opportunity to accelerate and expand our media business outside the United States.
