PONTE VEDRA BEACH, FLORIDA, and EL SEGUNDO, CALIFORNIA (February 18, 2015) – The PGA TOUR and DIRECTV today announced a five-year extension that will continue expanded weekend coverage of four PGA TOUR tournaments each season for DIRECTV customers through the “PGA TOUR Experience,” beginning with this week’s Northern Trust Open.
This enhanced coverage, introduced in 2013 and to continue through 2019, includes exclusive features for DIRECTV viewers accessible through a four-in-one Mix Channel displaying:
- The CBS Sports network feed;
- “Launch Pad,” a channel dedicated to analyzing golf’s most explosive shot – the long drive;
- “ShotLink® Channel,” a data-intensive view of tournament competition;
- A “Follow-A-Group” channel that lets viewers follow select groups of players around the course.
In addition to weekend coverage of the Northern Trust Open, DIRECTV’s “PGA TOUR Experience” will also be available for the 2015 AT&T Byron Nelson Championship (May 30-31), the Memorial presented by Nationwide (June 6-7) and The Barclays (August 29-30). This coverage is in addition to DIRECTV’s exclusive bonus coverage of the four major championships.
“PGA TOUR Experience has proven to be a popular addition to DIRECTV’s interactive coverage of major tournaments,” said Dan York, DIRECTV’s chief content officer. “Viewership of this distinctive sports content continues to grow year over year, and viewers are staying engaged longer. Watching PGA TOUR events on DIRECTV is like nirvana for golf fans.”
“Over the past two seasons, DIRECTV has brought our fans innovative new coverage of TOUR events through the ‘PGA TOUR Experience.’ We are thrilled to continue our relationship for five more years and offer our fans this unique content,” said Rick Anderson, PGA TOUR Executive Vice President, Global Media.
Each of the bonus channels is fully produced and has its own announcers. The Mix Channel also displays a constant leaderboard alongside the channel’s four video cells, providing tee times, live scoring and the leaders’ location on the course. Each channel in the Mix can be tuned to full screen.
The Launch Pad channel will feature the following holes in 2015: the par-5 No. 17 at Riviera Country Club (Northern Trust Open), the par-5 No. 16 at TPC Four Seasons Las Colinas (AT&T Byron Nelson Championship), the par-4 No. 17 at Muirfield Village Golf Club (the Memorial presented by Nationwide), and the par-5 No. 16 at Plainfield Country Club (The Barclays).
The Launch Pad provides a unique, analytical view of tee shots that require not just distance but strategy. Dedicated cameras are positioned on the tee box and landing area of the selected Launch Pad hole and swings are broken down and analyzed using super slow motion replays, Protracer shot tracking, split-screen comparisons and graphic enhancements. Distances and results are measured against statistical data.
ShotLink® Channel provides a data-rich analysis of the game that includes both video and data simultaneously. An interactive menu, available by pressing the red button on the remote, includes selectable items such as: Top Five Leaders; Leaderboard, which displays an in-depth scorecard for each player with hole-by-hold stats for the current or any previous round; and the players’ current year stats.
This spring the two companies expect to launch a partnership that will enable consumers, who visit PGATOUR.COM and PGATOURSuperstore.com, to receive a PGA TOUR Superstore Gift card when they sign up for qualifying DIRECTV service packages.
For more information on DIRECTV’s expanded golf coverage, visit www.DIRECTV.com/golf.
About DIRECTV
DIRECTV (NASDAQ: DTV) is one of the world’s leading providers of digital television entertainment services delivering a premium video experience through state-of-the-art technology, unmatched programming and industry leading customer service to more than 39 million customers in the U.S. and Latin America. In the U.S., DIRECTV offers its over 20 million customers access to more than 195 HD channels and Dolby-Digital® 5.1 theater-quality sound, access to exclusive sports programming such as NFL SUNDAY TICKET™, Emmy-award winning technology and higher customer satisfaction than the leading cable companies for 14 years running. DIRECTV Latin America, through its subsidiaries and affiliated companies in Brazil, Mexico, Argentina, Venezuela, Colombia, and other Latin American countries, leads the pay TV category in technology, programming and service, delivering an unrivaled digital television experience to more than 19 million customers. DIRECTV sports and entertainment properties include ownership interests and management of four Regional Sports Networks: ROOT SPORTS Rocky Mountain, Pittsburgh, Southwest and Northwest; and has minority ownership interests in Game Show Network. For the most up-to-date information on DIRECTV, please visit http://www.directv.com/.
About PGA TOUR
The PGA TOUR is the world’s premier membership organization for touring professional golfers, co-sanctioning more than 130 tournaments on the PGA TOUR, Champions Tour, Web.com Tour, PGA TOUR Latinoamérica, PGA TOUR Canada and PGA TOUR China.
The PGA TOUR’s mission is to entertain and inspire its fans, deliver substantial value to its partners, create outlets for volunteers to give back, generate significant charitable and economic impact in the communities in which it plays, and provide financial opportunities for TOUR players.
Worldwide, PGA TOUR tournaments are broadcast to more than 1 billion households in 225 countries and territories in 32 languages. Virtually all tournaments are organized as non-profit organizations in order to maximize charitable giving. In 2013, tournaments across all Tours generated more than $134 million for local and national charitable organizations and in early 2014 the TOUR’s all-time charitable contributions surpassed $2 billion.
The PGA TOUR’s web site is PGATOUR.COM, the No. 1 site in golf, and the organization is headquartered in Ponte Vedra Beach, FL.
