Discovery and Tiger Woods have struck a multi-year agreement that will weave content crafted with the golfing legend part of the company’s soon-to-launch golf-focused streaming service, part of a joint venture with the PGA Tour.
GolfTV is slated to launch in January of 2019, and Woods will collaborate with Discovery “on a wide range of programming, content creation and storytelling opportunities that will offer fans an authentic and regular look into the life, mind and performance of the game’s ultimate icon,” the parties said in a statement on Tuesday. Fans will get a sense of everything from Woods’ practice routines to life on the road through various programs that will be offered as part of the service.
Discovery and the PGA Tour struck a deal valued at $2 billion in June of this year. GolfTV will replace the PGA Tour Live streaming service in international markets. The coverage of live events will hit Australia, Canada, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, Portugal, Russia and Spain in 2019. Poland and South Korea will follow in 2020, and Belgium, China, Germany and South Africa in 2021. In 2022, GolfTV will launch in Britain, Denmark, Finland, India, Norway and Sweden. France will launch in 2024.
Discovery, best known in the U.S. for operating cable networks like Discovery Channel, TLC and OWN, has in recent months worked to snap up international sports rights for such things as the Olympics. Discovery also owns the Eurosport network.
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“I love the vision of GolfTV and the ambition for it to become the premier destination for golf entertainment worldwide,” Woods said in a statement. “To have my own platform to communicate is the culmination of a lot of hard work from my team and the team at Discovery. We’re going to build content for everyone, whether you’ve been playing golf for a long time or just starting out. I’ll be sharing stories and giving insight into my approach that has never been seen before. This is such an exciting time for golf and for me, so to be part of the vision to grow the game all around the world is fantastic. I can’t wait to share my knowledge on GolfTV.”
Woods and GolfTV will develop weekly practice and instructional videos; exclusive access into Tiger’s preparation routines; behind-the-scenes access before and after PGA TOUR rounds; and unique and exclusive post-round commentary. The content will be exclusively owned by GolfTV globally, including in the United States, where Discovery will have an opportunity to work on distribution strategy.
