NEW YORK—Versant Media Group continues to make acquisitions following its spinoff from NBCUniversal earlier this year with a definitive agreement to acquire Full Swing, a leading sports technology company with patented hardware and integrated software used by consumers, competitive athletes, coaches, and commercial venues for about $530 million from Bruin Capital and a group of minority investors.

Full Swing, which is best known for its golf simulators and its tracking and analytics software, will add an interactive sports platform to Versant’s portfolio, spanning immersive simulation, launch monitors, virtual greens, integrated software, and performance data.

Built first in golf and now extending into baseball and other sports, Full Swing supports data-driven practice, play, training, and entertainment across at-home, commercial and professional environments with simulated sports and family entertainment experiences.

At a time when traditional cable network brands are looking to expand their presence beyond the declining pay TV eco system, Full Swing will strengthen the company’s golf business, which includes Golf Channel, GolfNow and GolfPass, and will provide a new way to engage the growing golf community.

The acquisition will also create opportunities to develop content, commerce, training, and venues while supporting Full Swing’s continued growth as a sports technology company, Versant said.

“Full Swing is exactly the kind of strategic platform that reflects how we are building Versant: investing in our core markets, extending the reach of our iconic brands and creating new ways to serve passionate audiences,” said Mark Lazarus, CEO of Versant. “Sports are becoming more interactive, more data-driven and more connected, and Full Swing allows us to build on that momentum. Starting from our strength in golf, we see an opportunity to scale a multi-sports technology platform for athletes, coaches, consumers, and fans.”

"This is an exciting next chapter for Full Swing. Joining Versant gives us the scale and distribution to bring our technology to even more golfers, athletes and fans, while staying focused on what we do best — building the most connected and immersive way to play and train,” added Ryan Dotters, CEO of Full Swing. “We're proud of what our team has built, and we look forward to growing it alongside Versant's portfolio of iconic brands."

Following the closing of the transaction, Full Swing will operate within Versant’s Digital Platforms and Ventures portfolio, and Dotters will join Versant, reporting to McIntosh. The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions and is expected to close in the second half of 2026.

Gibson Dunn acted as legal advisor to Versant. Moelis & Company LLC. acted as financial advisor, and Kirkland & Ellis LLP acted as legal counsel to Bruin.

LOS ANGELES and PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Florida—Amazon’s Prime Video has announced a new deal that will allow it to exclusively stream a revival of the PGA Tour’s “The Skins Game” on Black Friday this year.

The agreement adds to Amazon’s growing lineup of live sports, which will also include NFL and NBA coverage on Nov. 28, and marks the first time since 2008 that the event has aired on TV.

Prime Video said it will “exclusively broadcast the special event globally, produced by Pro Shop and Propagate Content in coordination with PGA Tour Studios."

“We’ve taken up the mantle to bring back The Skins Game, and we’re proud to work alongside PGA Tour Studios, Prime Video and Propagate Content to reintroduce this iconic event and reclaim its rightful place on the sports calendar,” said Chad Mumm, co-founder and president of Pro Shop. “By keeping the traditional format intact and adding some creative twists, we’re giving fans an experience that honors the past while delivering pure, high-stakes competition where the pressure builds with every shot.”

Charlie Neiman, head of sports partnerships, Prime Video, added: "Partnering with PGA Tour Studios, Pro Shop and Propagate Content to broadcast this storied event with four of the game's most captivating stars opens more than 15 hours of exclusive live sports coverage on Prime Video, and underscores our commitment to delivering innovative, premium sports programming to fans around the world.”

Originally introduced in 1983 as an unofficial money event on the PGA Tour, The Skins Game became a staple on the sports calendar, showcasing high-stakes competition among golf’s biggest stars, including Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer, Fred Couples, Gary Player and Tiger Woods.

Slated to compete in the relaunched “The Skins Game” are 2025 FedExCup Champion, 2025 Ryder Cup points leader and seven-time DP World Tour champion Tommy Fleetwood; 16-time PGA Tour winner Justin Thomas; two-time major champion Xander Schauffele; and eight-time PGA Tour winner Keegan Bradley. The foursome—which has combined to win 34 career PGA Tour events—will compete at the new Panther National in South Florida, the vision of Jack Nicklaus and Thomas in his debut design.

Coverage will begin at 9 a.m. ET on Nov. 28 and lead directly into a busy day of live sports for Prime Video that also includes the third annual Black Friday Football game and a brand-new NBA on Prime doubleheader. Additional coverage details will be announced in the coming weeks, the streamer reported.

The producers said that the format will remain true to the traditional Skins Game structure, where each hole carries a dollar value and tied holes roll over to raise the stakes. In an exciting twist for the reimagined Skins Game, the event will feature a “reverse purse”—all players will begin the competition with $1 million on the scoreboard and fans will watch as the players’ fortunes rise and fall with every hole won or lost, Prime Video reported.

“The Skins Game was always bigger than golf. It was a cultural event that brought sports and entertainment together in a way fans hadn’t seen before,” Propagate Content CEO Ben Silverman said. “At Propagate, we’re thrilled to partner with PGA Tour Studios, Prime Video, and Pro Shop to reimagine this iconic franchise for a new generation, combining tradition with innovation to deliver a spectacle that captures the drama and personality that made The Skins Game legendary.”

Added PGA Tour Senior Vice President, Media Chris Wandell: “The PGA Tour is proud to bring back the iconic Skins Game as the kickoff to the sports calendar’s biggest day of the year. With four of our game’s biggest stars competing in a modern reimagining of this nostalgic event, fans around the world are in for a treat this Black Friday as the TOUR tees off a full day of sports action on Prime Video.”

CHARLOTTE, N.C.—One of the most striking developments to emerge at the 2025 Golfweek Tech Lab gathering here May 15 at the J.W. Marriott was the laser-like focus placed by several startup tech firms, the venture capital community and the PGA Tour itself on fan engagement technology.

Companies like Bleachr, Cue, Mobii and PlayANYWHERE showed the 90 attendees their unique spins on elevating the experience of fans engaging with golf and other sports via their smartphones and other connected devices.

Not to be outdone, the PGA Tour is pursuing its own fan engagement strategy. “One of the big cultural shifts over the past five or six years is meeting the fans where they are,” says Scott Gutterman, senior vice president, Digital & Broadcast, for the PGA Tour, noting the tour is “getting closer and closer to the personalization … that people want.”

Also Read: CBS Sports Adds Innovative AR to Massive PGA Championship Coverage

Speaking during a fireside chat on the way technology is being used to capture a younger audience, Gutterman discussed how the PGA Tour is using AI platforms to “tell a story about every shot”—no small feat, given the 30,000 to 32,000 shots made during a typical tour event.

Each of those mini-stories will ultimately serve as the foundation of a service that delivers highlights to fans of their favorite players on their smartphones “when they’re running around town going to [kids’] soccer games, but they want to keep up,” he said.

Of course, the PGA Tour already relies on a variety of digital platforms, ranging from streaming via ESPN+ to distributing highlights via TikTok, to keep fans engaged with daily play as tournaments unfold.

“When I first arrived at the Tour [20 years ago], the rule was to get people to watch three hours of golf every single day,” Gutterman said. “Now really our stance on this has changed. How do we bring fans to the PGA Tour in any way? How do we meet fans where they are?”

What enables this innovation to drive deeper fan engagement? It would seem to be the same thing responsible for the countless other innovations that improve the lives of people in this country: freedom and the desire to profit.

But what about television broadcasters? Are they free to leverage the latest technologies to deliver the same sorts of personalized experiences with the content they broadcast to engage their “fans,” the viewers, more deeply and unlock new sources of revenue?

Enter Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Carr’s Delete, Delete, Delete deregulation initiative. The public notice announcing it said in part: “The Communications Act directs the FCC to regularly review its rules to identify and eliminate those that are unnecessary in light of current circumstances, recognizing that in addition to imposing unnecessary burdens, unnecessary rules may stand in the way of deployment, expansion, competition and technological innovation in communications that the Commission is directed to advance.”

Setting aside comments and reply comments filed at the agency with regards to NAB’s rulemaking petition aimed at having the agency establish dates certain for the ATSC 1.0 shutoff, I can’t help but read that quote and think about how rules are standing in the way of broadcasters’ “deployment, expansion, competition, and technological innovation.”

Some in this industry seem to be most interested in delete, delete, delete when it comes to ownership rules. But for the long-term health of the industry, it is equally important that the agency eliminate rules stifling tech innovation.

SEOUL—Korean cable television network SBS Medianet has expanded its production base with the purchase of additional Ikegami UHK-X700 cameras for live coverage of a major golf tournament. SBS Medianet has invested in a total of 32 UHK-X700 camera chains during 2024.

The cameras were chosen for their high video quality and versatility including the ability to perform efficiently and effectively in outdoor live broadcasting conditions. Ikegami’s Korean distributor, Dong Hwa AV, negotiated the sales.

SBS Medianet, located at Mapo-gu, western Seoul, commenced operations in 1999. An affiliate of SBS Media Group, it operates seven channels and transmits a variety of popular programs in genres such as entertainment, music, sports and lifestyle. With its wide variety of content, SBS Medianet has played an important role in the development of the Korean entertainment industry.

Ikegami UHK-X700 cameras allow users to operate at 4K-UHD, 1080p or 1080i resolution in standard dynamic range or high dynamic range and standard or wide color gamut. Content can be mastered in full 4K-UHD to ensure a long commercial lifetime for high-budget productions. The cameras can also be operated in multi-format workflows, the companies reported.

Designed for studio or outdoor applications, UHK-X700 cameras each incorporate three 2/3-inch CMOS 4K sensors with a global shutter which provides freedom from rolling-shutter distortion and flash-banding artifacts. The camera is uniformly balanced and has a low center of gravity to ensure easy operation on a pedestal, tripod or shoulder.

Core of the Ikegami UHK-X700’s electronics is an ASIC chip which encapsulates a wide range of high-grade video processing functions into ultra-compact component dimensions. Optional high frame-rate shooting at up to 2x speed in 4K or up to 8x speed in HD can be performed via the BSX-100 base station for applications such as capturing fast motion in sport or stage events.

The UHK-X700/BSX-100 combination allows cameras to be securely linked up to 3 km from their operating location, including power to the camera head. Simultaneous output in HD SDR and UHD HDR video formats is supported, including mixed sources. 4K-UHD video is available as a 12G-SDI feed directly from the camera head, enabling the UHK-X700 to be integrated into a wireless system.

SBS Medianet has used many Ikegami products in the past. In addition to the stability and durability of these cameras, the compatibility of each piece of equipment and Ikegami’s extensive technical support were factors in its choice, the two companies reported.

BRISTOL, Conn. and PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. —TGL, the new tech-infused golf league founded by Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy’s TMRW Sports in partnership with the PGA Tour, has announced its inaugural season schedule, which will premiere in primetime on Jan. 7 on ESPN and ESPN+.

The new league is notable because it features several technology enhancements, including a mix of virtual and real-life play, that its backers and ESPN hope will build new primetime audiences for golf.

The schedule includes 15 regular-season matches, then a four-team semifinals, before culminating with the top two teams competing to win the SoFi Cup in a best-of-three Finals Series on Monday, March 24, and Tuesday, March 25.

“TGL presented by SoFi represents a giant leap forward in innovation and sports entertainment,” Rosalyn Durant, executive vice president, programming and acquisitions at ESPN, said. “We have tremendous respect for the work that the TMRW Sports team has put into launching TGL and we’re confident that our viewers are going to enjoy both the competition and unique presentation.”

TGL presented by SoFi features six teams of top PGA Tour players competing in a season-long, competition that brings golf to primetime on Mondays and Tuesdays.

The league’s founders and ESPN hopes the matches will win over fans with novel, tech-infused approach to golf.

TGL’s home is the custom-built SoFi Center, a 250,000 square foot venue on the campus of Palm Beach State College in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla. Designed to create an electrifying “greenside” fan experience, SoFi Center wraps 1,500 fans around TGL’s field of play, which is about the size of a football field at nearly 100-yards long and 50-yards wide.

In addition to the new venue, TGL will fuse golf with technology on an unprecedented scale with a mix of virtual and real-life action, the league said.

Using a mix of technology throughout SoFi Center’s field of play, teams will face off in two-hour matches across 15 custom-designed holes in a hybrid of virtual and real-life action. Teams will hit their shots from boxes featuring real grass or sand to play custom-designed, virtual holes projected onto a 3,400-square-foot screen (64 feet by 53 feet), nearly 24-times larger than a standard golf simulator screen (16 feet by 9 feet).

Once teams are within about 50 yards of the hole, they will transition to live action and finish each hole within a 22,475-square-foot short game complex that transforms between holes. TGL’s green will use advanced technology to modify the shape of the green on every hole, including a 41-yard-wide turntable that rotates the green and three bunkers to change approach angles and nearly 600 motorized actuators embedded under the synthetic putting surface to morph its topography.

For each match, the course will feature 15 of TGL’s 30 custom-designed holes by renowned golf course designers. The holes are inspired by authentic golf landscapes such as links, canyons and coastal, desert and tropical settings, created to uniquely challenge TGL’s teams of world-class golfers. As holes are announced, images, flyovers] and descriptions will be available on the TGL Media Hub.

The matches will also feature a host of broadcast enhancements: TGL’s technology mix allows for every shot to be broadcast live; a shot clock, forcing teams to hit within 40-seconds; unprecedented audio access with all players mic’d; advanced shot data; a production plan featuring robotic and embedded cameras throughout the field of play; and a high-tech, in-venue lighting and video presentation.

“TGL presented by SoFi will combine teams of world-class PGA TOUR stars with the energy fans have become familiar with in other team sports—a live, courtside experience for golf on an unprecedented scale,” TMRW Sports CEO and Founder Mike McCarley said. “The six TGL teams will go head-to-head in a season of matches from January through March, bringing team golf to primetime for the first time on a consistent basis. In partnership with ESPN, our season will complement the PGA Tour’s FedExCup Season with a fast-paced team competition that aims to captivate a wide range of sports fans with elements, like a shot clock, that are familiar to fans of other sports. TGL’s two-hour matches are perfect for prime time and will help bring more fans closer to some of the biggest names in golf.”

More information can be found here.

HACKENSACK, N.J.—SBS Golf, a leading South Korean public television sports channel, has turned to LiveU for the live production of its 2023 professional golf tournaments.

The SBS deployment of LiveU's IP-video solutions and on-site workflow replaced traditional Radio Frequency (RF) and cabled-cameras, which require line-of-sight and longer set-up times. That reduced costs and offered increased efficiency, the companies said. 

The production covers over 50 KPGA (Korea Professional Golf Association) and KLPGA (Korea Ladies Professional Golf Association) tournaments. SBS's live coverage is transmitted live on its linear pay-TV channels, digital channels and YouTube Live to millions of golf fans in the region.

For the production, multiple LiveU field units are being used around each golf course, connected wire-free to the LiveU receiver in the production van or other outside broadcast (OB) facility. The camera crew simply turn up on the day with the LiveU backpacks. T

he deployment followed extensive testing of the LiveU EcoSystem underpinned by its LRT (LiveU Reliable Transport) protocol. LiveU's reliability was a key factor in the decision to deploy the solutions. 

"We became fascinated by the possibilities enabled by LiveU, seeing that we were good to go so quickly – with lower costs and less work!” explained Young-min Kwon, executive producer, SBS Golf. “There's no heavy labor required before each tournament where previously we had to set up lengthy cables and RF systems, including a crane 40 meters up in the sky. We also saw the resiliency of LiveU's technology for ourselves when the units continued to operate in a thunderstorm on Jeju Island. Our reporter was able to carry on interviewing the players with no interruption."

“LiveU's portability means that our camera crew can follow each player as they take their shots, creating a truly immersive fan experience,” Kwon continued. “It fascinated us that we could even stream live from the halfway houses (snack bars), something we couldn't do before with RF due to signal loss."  

Yaal Eshel, general manager added that “this use case demonstrates the efficiency of our EcoSystem over traditional production methods for golf and other live sports when production teams need to cover so much ground. Using LiveU, camera crews are free to move with the players, transmitting in real-time via the on-site receiver to linear TV and online destinations."

SBS Golf is part of SBS Medianet, a South Korean company by SBS Media Holdings, producing media, broadcast and telecommunication products for non free-to-air networks. 

NEW YORK—The Broadcasters Foundation of America has announced that The 2023 Celebrity Golf Tournament, its second largest annual fundraiser, will be on Monday, September 11 at the Greenwich Country Club in Greenwich, Conn.

Frank Comerford, chief revenue officer and president of local sales, NBCUniversal Advertising & Partnerships, will serve as this year’s chair.

“The Broadcasters Foundation is the only charity devoted exclusively to providing aid to our colleagues in broadcasting who are in dire need,” said Comerford. “For me, chairing the Celebrity Golf Tournament is an opportunity to give back.” 

“We’re grateful that Frank is donating his time and leadership to this year’s Celebrity Golf Tournament,” stated Tim McCarthy, president of the Broadcasters Foundation. “The Celebrity Golf Tournament brings in a significant amount of the much-needed dollars we need to continue to help our colleagues who have fallen on tragic circumstances and need our help.”

Comerford has worked in the television industry for more than 40 years, including over 30 years with NBCUniversal. In his current role, which he’s held since 2013, Comerford oversees all commercial efforts for 43 NBC and Telemundo television stations and associated websites and digital platforms, six regional sports networks, NECN regional news network, multicast networks COZI TV and TeleXitos, NBCLX and NBC Spot On. He is active in the community and serves on many charitable boards, including the Archdiocese of New York Catholic Charity, Xavier High School, and the New York City St. Patrick’s Day Parade Committee.

Over its more than 70 years of existence, the Broadcasters Foundation has distributed millions of dollars in aid to broadcasters who have lost their livelihood through a catastrophic event, debilitating disease, or unforeseen tragedy.

Personal donations can be made to the Foundation’s Guardian Fund. Corporate contributions are accepted through the Angel Initiative, and bequests can be made through the Foundation’s Legacy Society. For more information, please visit www.broadcastersfoundation.org, call 212-373-8250, or email info@thebfoa.org.

As part of its digital offering for tennis fans, the All England Lawn Tennis Club will employ generative AI from IBM Watson to produce commentary for men’s and ladies’ singles matches featured on the app and Wimbledon.com.

The AI Commentary feature will provide fans watching match highlights videos with audio commentary of key moments, along with captions, which they can toggle on or off, said IBM.

The tool has been designed to give fans a more insightful experience when catching up on key moments from matches with highlights videos on the Wimbledon App and wimbledon.com.

Its introduction this year is a step towards making commentary available in an exciting way for matches outside of Wimbledon’s Show Courts, which already have live human commentary, added the company.

To develop the new feature, experts from IBM iX, the experience design partner within IBM Consulting, worked with The All England Club to leverage foundation models from watsonx, IBM’s enterprise AI and data platform, to train the AI in the unique language of tennis.

Generative AI built on the foundation models was applied to produce narration with varied sentence structure and vocabulary to make the clips informative and engaging, added IBM.

Usama Al-Qassab, marketing and commercial director, The All England Club, said: “We are constantly innovating with our partners at IBM to provide Wimbledon fans, wherever they are in the world, with an insightful and engaging digital experience of The Championships. This year, we’re introducing new features for our digital platforms that use the latest AI technology from IBM to help fans gain even more insight into the singles draw and access commentary on a wider variety of matches through our match highlights videos.”

By the looks of how the PGA experimented with AI generated commentary earlier this year one Twitter follower believes it still needs some work before it's ready for prime time.

This article originally appeared on TVBEurope.

NEW YORK; RIYADH; PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla.—In a surprise move that follows months of bitter litigation between Saudi-backed LIV Golf and the PGA, the PGA Tour, DP World Tour and the Public Investment Fund (PIF) have announced a landmark agreement to merge PIF’s golf-related commercial businesses and rights (including LIV Golf) with the commercial businesses and rights of the PGA TOUR and DP World Tour. 

The landmark agreement to unify golf on a global basis will create a new, as yet unnamed, collectively owned, for-profit entity that will manage all of those businesses and rights. In addition, PIF has agreed to make a capital investment into the new entity to facilitate its growth and success, the companies reported. 

In the U.S. the CW Network, which is 75% owned by Nexstar, has a multi-year agreement to air LIV Golf. In response to a question about the impact of the deal, a Nexstar spokesperson said: “This is exciting day to unify and grow the game of golf. There is no change to the LIV Golf event schedule for 2023 on The CW. We look forward to broadcasting seven more exciting tournaments this year featuring the world's best golfers.”

As part of the agreement, the parties have also agreed to end all pending litigation and promised to work together to "establish a fair and objective process for any players who desire to re-apply for membership with the PGA TOUR or the DP World Tour following the completion of the 2023 season and for determining fair criteria and terms of re-admission, consistent with each Tour’s policies," the PGA said. 

“After two years of disruption and distraction, this is a historic day for the game we all know and love,” said PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan. “This transformational partnership recognizes the immeasurable strength of the PGA TOUR’s history, legacy and pro-competitive model and combines with it the DP World Tour and LIV – including the team golf concept – to create an organization that will benefit golf’s players, commercial and charitable partners and fans. Going forward, fans can be confident that we will, collectively, deliver on the promise we’ve always made – to promote competition of the best in professional golf and that we are committed to securing and driving the game’s future."

“We are pleased to move forward, in step with LIV and PIF’s world-class investing experience, and I applaud PIF Governor Yasir Al-Rumayyan for his vision and collaborative and forward-thinking approach that is not just a solution to the rift in our game, but also a commitment to taking it to new heights," the PGA commissioner continued. "This will engender a new era in global golf, for the better.”

“Today is a very exciting day for this special game and the people it touches around the world,” said PIF Governor Yasir Al-Rumayyan. “We are proud to partner with the PGA TOUR to leverage PIF’s unparalleled success and track record of unlocking value and bringing innovation and global best practices to business and sectors worldwide. We are committed to unifying, promoting and growing the game of golf around the world and offering the highest-quality product to the many millions of long-time fans globally, while cultivating new fans."

A number of details, however, still need to be finalized. The merger announcement noted that "all parties will work in the months to come to finalize terms of the agreement, with details to be announced in due course."

All parties will work in the months to come to finalize terms of the agreement, with details to be announced in due course.

BURBANK, Calif.—Nexstar’s The CW Network has inked a multi-year TV and streaming rights agreement with LIV Golf  (“LIV”) to become LIV’s exclusive U.S. broadcast partner starting with the  2023 LIV Golf League season. 

The deal gives the controversial Saudi-funded golf tour a much needed U.S. outlet that will provide a significant boost to its prospects. 

As LIV’s exclusive broadcast  home in the U.S., The CW Network will air 14 global LIV Golf League live events in 2023 and  will stream the events live on The CW App. 

Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed. 

The agreement is part of Nexstar’s ongoing efforts to revamp The CW’s programming since acquiring 75% of The CW.

“Our new partnership between The CW and LIV Golf will deliver a whole new audience  and add to the growing worldwide excitement for the league. With CW’s broadcasts and streams,  more fans across the country and around the globe can partake in the LIV Golf energy and view  its innovative competition that has reimagined the sport for players, fans and the game of golf,”  said Dennis Miller, president, The CW Network. “For The CW, our partnership with LIV Golf  marks a significant milestone in our goal to re-engineer the network with quality, diversified  programming for our viewers, advertisers and CW affiliates. This also marks the first time in The  CW’s 17-year history that the network is the exclusive broadcast home for live mainstream  sports.” 

“This is a momentous day for LIV Golf as this partnership is about more than just media  rights. The CW’s nationwide reach as America’s fifth broadcast network, will provide  accessibility for our fans and maximum exposure for our athletes and partners,” said Greg  Norman, CEO and commissioner of LIV Golf. “The CW recognizes the enormous interest in and  potential of our league and with their support, more fans will experience the energy and innovative competition that LIV Golf is using to reinvigorate the sport. The CW is a world-class media partner, and we are honored to be joining forces to further bring LIV Golf to life as they stake their claim in professional sports.”

LIV’s launch has been marked by a legal battle between it and the PGA Tour, which has suspended golfers who joined LIV, and criticism of LIV given the human rights abuses of the Saudi government. The Saudi Arabian sovereign wealth fund has committed about $2 billion to launch the tour. 

The 2023 LIV Golf League is set to begin on February 24-26 at the Mayakoba Resort’s  El Camaleón course in Mexico. Announced locations to-date also include The Gallery Golf Club  in Tucson, Arizona, The Grange Golf Club in Adelaide, Australia, Sentosa Golf Club in  Singapore, Cedar Ridge Country Club in Tulsa, Oklahoma, Real Club Valderrama in Spain and  The Old White Course at The Greenbrier in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia. The 2023  LIV Golf League will showcase its innovative new golf format featuring simultaneous team and  individual play, with 12 teams competing in a global 14-event schedule for an unprecedented  $405 million in prize purses.  

“Our new multi-year partnership with The CW will unlock our ability to serve both core  golf fans and to reach the casual sports and entertainment viewer as part of our mission to grow  the sport,” said Will Staeger, chief media officer of LIV Golf. “Our innovative product attracts  a younger viewership demographic to the table than the traditional golf fan, and we’re thrilled to  be part of The CW’s growth into its new era of sports programming featuring the biggest stars in  golf and our industry-leading storytelling and format.” 

LIV said it will continue to provide the events inhouse and will maintain its format and style from the 2022 Invitational season. LIV’s  coverage includes a shotgun start, distinctive live leaderboard, enhanced drone coverage,  statistics-driven graphics, and fast-paced coverage featuring nearly twice as many golf shots per  hour than traditional golf coverage, LIV said.  

Weekend tournaments will air live on Saturdays and Sundays on The CW and The CW  App and on Fridays on The CW App. With nearly 90 million downloads to date, The CW App,  available for free to consumers on all major platforms, is the fully ad-supported exclusive home  to the latest episodes and seasons of The CW’s primetime programming, live streaming of its  sports content, and a library of entertaining film and television content for free on-demand  viewing. 

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla.—CP Communications has announced that it provided REMI production and streaming services for the Ohlmeyer Kusserow Group (OKG), a production company that specializes in sports broadcasts, during OKG’s production of two LPGA events in September for ESPN.

Approximately 50 hours of programming from the two tournaments was produced by OKG for ESPN, which was streamed live on ESPN+. 

CP supported OKG for its coverage of the Kroger Queen City Championship at Kenwood Country Club in Cincinnati in early September, followed by the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship at Pinnacle Country Club in Rogers, Ark., later that month, the companies reported. 

During the events, OKG was tasked with coverage of ”follow groups" as opposed to creating the network feed. 

“Covering groups of players that aren’t the leaders has become a model for expanded coverage of events,” explained Kurt Heitmann, CEO, CP Communications. “It’s a way to bring more visibility to the LPGA and their players in a cost-effective manner.”

A combination of six Sony PXW-X400 and PXW-X500 ENG cameras, equipped with compact AVIWEST encoders, were used to provide coverage of two groups of three golfers at a time. A drone was also used for overhead shots of the courses, and a DSLR on a gimbal rig brought the shallow depth of field “film look” to the production. For the beauty cam and birdie mic, CP utilized its proprietary CamSTREAM technology, which is an all-in-one PTZ streaming solution, the companies said. 

Red House Streaming provided the studios, control room, and streaming services for the productions from its facility in St. Petersburg, FL. The eight live streams were ingested via the RHS-36 truck on site, streamed to Red House Streaming for a line cut of the production, and then streamed to LPGA.com and ESPN+, as well as IMG for international distribution. 

“With a smaller budget and a smaller crew working together for the first time, we put together shows that match up with anything airing on PGA Tour Live,” said Chris Ohlmeyer, executive producer and managing partner, OKG. “The golf workflow we are creating will hopefully make it financially sustainable for the LPGA to have their players showcased on ESPN+ like only the PGA Tour has had up to this point.”

The production used CP’s FastReturn secure video management platform to provide return video to camera operators in the field. Plus, with CP’s Unity intercom system, the on-site crew had its own dedicated channel, while a proprietary talent mic system allowed the on-site talent to hear their microphone feeds and give the production a traditional talkback to the producer workflow. “The Unity gives us the advantage of solid yet flexible communication, which makes REMI production easier,” said Frank Rafka, senior RF tech manager for CP Communications. 

As with many golf setups, a lack of cell service was the biggest challenge on the two courses, the companies said. 

Even courses with good coverage can suffer from site saturation during the event due to fan activity. As part of its preparation, CP brought its proprietary bonded cellular survey kit to the courses to maximize the shooting opportunities during the LPGA events. The company is also developing a proprietary portable VPN solution for boosting bonded cellular capabilities, which will launch at the 2022 New York City Marathon in November.

“This production model is challenging on a number of levels, but CP has proved it’s possible to deliver broadcast-quality, multi-camera productions without the traditional broadband expense,” Heitmann added. “We look forward to delivering more production solutions for OKG and the LPGA.”

 BRISTOL, Conn.—ESPN+ is taking advantage of the personalization features available on streaming media for its coverage of the World Golf Championships-Dell Technologies Match Play from Austin Country Club in Austin, Texas. 

Starting on March 23, the PGA Tour Live on ESPN+ will stream four-feed coverage of the action, which features a unique match play format that includes 64 of the top 69 players in the world divided into 16 four-player groups. During the first three rounds Wednesday through Friday, players in each group will play 18-hole matches against each other to determine the 16 players who advance to the weekend’s single elimination rounds.

The four feeds available on PGA Tour Live on ESPN+ include:

• Main Feed – The primary tournament coverage stream, showcasing the best action from across the course, with two dedicated booth announcers, a dedicated walking announcer and coverage drawn from all cameras at the event.
• Marquee Group – Every shot from each player in the group, with two booth announcers and one walking announcer calling the action.
• Featured Holes – Exclusive coverage of key par 3 holes and the course’s iconic, signature holes.
• Featured Groups – Traditional PGA Tour Live coverage following two concurrent featured groups, with two booth announcers and one walking announcer.

A Main Feed and the Marquee Match feed will start at 10:15 a.m. ET on March 23, followed by Featured Matches at 10:30 a.m. ET, and Featured Holes coverage 10:45 a.m. ET. The Featured Holes feed will cover the par-3 Nos. 4, 7 and 11, along with the par-4 13th on the Pete Dye-designed course.

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla.—The PGA Tour and TrackMan have announced that they are expanding the usage of TrackMan’s ball tracking and tracing solution in 2022.  By combining TrackMan’s cutting-edge Doppler Radar and club and ball tracking technology, Tour events will have tracing capabilities for nearly every golf shot hit during the season.  

This agreement will double previous ball-in-motion tracing capabilities on the golf course, allowing nearly every shot to be traced and automatically shared with television and OTT partners and across Tour digital platforms such as PGATour.COM and the PGA Tour app. 

The arrangement with TrackMan begins in 2022 for PGA Tour LIVE and Tour digital platforms, while the domestic television partner agreement begins in 2023.

“We’re excited to increase the volume and depth of tracking and tracing for every shot on the PGA Tour,” said Ken Lovell, PGA Tour senior vice president golf technologies. “TrackMan’s sensors will substantially increase content available for analysis and initiate the development of new insights, while creating the opportunity for us to develop innovative visualizations for fans to view all the incredible shots on Tour.”

The agreement means that fans will see more information beginning in 2022 on how and why the ball moves and arrives at a certain position. This is achieved by using TrackMan technology to capture club speed, ball speed, curve, landing spin, launch angle, spin rate, spin axis, apex, carry and more. The advanced aerodynamic models can also determine the effects of wind, weather, and altitude on a shot so that fans can understand how a shot was impacted by environmental factors, the companies said. 

In addition to doubling the collection of radar and tracing information, the new system will substantially increase the range and sensitivity of the content that will now be layered with video for use on any Tour media platform.

Klaus Eldrup-Jorgensen, co-founder and CEO of TrackMan, added that “we have been working closely with the PGA Tour for more than 15 years, to accurately measure and report data on club delivery, ball launch, ball flight, and tracers for the best players in the world. We are proud to be chosen to implement our new solutions with the PGA Tour, which will ultimately include all shots for all players. The future of golf will be told in new and innovative ways, the fan experience will elevate to a new level, and the stories about how good these guys play is just beginning.”

The new technology being deployed expands tracking capabilities from tee boxes only to shots hit from the fairway and around the green, where the system determines the exact 3D position of the ball at any point in its flight. The TrackMan technology has the ability to lock onto a ball that starts behind the trees and only becomes visible to the radar halfway through its flight. It’s able to accurately track balls up to 400 yards in any conditions; rain, fog, sunrise, and sunset.

For a typical Tour event, around 40 units are placed around the course to track shots with advanced radar and camera units on tee boxes and greens to capture final resting position.

TrackMan also recently developed a mobile system that will be used for the capture of radar and tracing information from the fairway and will automatically integrate into Tour media platforms, which is aided by AWS, the Tour’s Official Cloud Provider. There are no cables or connections with the mobile system, which adds very little weight for the operator. The Tour is testing the mobile system for expanded future use on PGA Tour Champions, the Korn Ferry Tour and in other executions.

The club and ball tracking and tracing system will utilize AWS Fargate, Media Services, and numerous other AWS products to process and deliver radar and tracing on every shot in nearly real-time. The full suite of AWS products will allow TrackMan to reduce their onsite footprint and allow fast and easy access to the devices and information from anywhere around the world.

The club and ball tracking and tracing solution has also become a valuable element to “ShotLink powered by CDW,” the Tour’s real-time data collection and scoring system. As the Tour and CDW continue to innovate the acclaimed scoring system that has benefited tournaments, broadcast partners, players and fans, TrackMan system contributes to the automated data collection efforts by allowing ShotLink to auto-trigger on shots without input from a person, the companies said. 

NEW YORK—CBS Sports is preparing to tee off its 64th consecutive year of covering PGA Tour golf, which will include a number of new elements being added to its production of tournaments.

Among the new features that will be added to CBS Sports' production is live drone coverage; enhanced capabilities and presentation for its SmartCart mobile production unit; and a constant mini-leaderboard graphic. The broadcast is also adding a dedicated PGA Tour rules official and new theme music.

Sellers Shy will oversee CBS Sports’ coverage of the season, having been appointed as the new lead producer for PGA Tour coverage. Shy is just the third lead producer in CBS’ 64 years of covering the PGA Tour, per ViacomCBS.

While some things change, Jim Nantz and Nick Faldo will continue to serve as the lead anchor and golf analyst, respectively, for CBS Sports’ golf coverage. They will be joined by analysts Ian Baker-Finch and Frank Nobilo, lead on-course reporter Dottie Pepper and the rest of the CBS golf announce team, which includes Mark Immelman, Trevor Immelman and Amanda Balionis. Andrew Catalon and Colt Knost are expected to join for select broadcasts as well.

For all PGA Tour events in 2021, CBS Sports’ full coverage will be available to stream live in U.S. markets via the CBS All Access subscription streaming platform (Paramount+ as of March 4). Additional coverage will be available on CBSSports.com, the CBS Sports app and the CBS Sports HQ streaming sports news service.

CBS Sports will produce 20 PGA Tour events in 2021, kicking off with the Farmers Insurance Open from Torrey Pines Golf Course in San Diego on Jan. 30 and Jan. 31.

FORT WORTH, Texas—“This is the most complicated production plan I’ve ever been involved in,” said Sean McManus, chairman of CBS Sports, during a conference call on the network’s return to live PGA Tour coverage with the Charles Schwab Challenge from June 11-14 at the Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth,Texas.

What’s on hand for the CBS Sports crew is a full-fledged PGA Tour event with a reduced crew on the course, more mobile trucks, multiple remote locations and a couple of new features to try and add to the broadcast in the absence of live fans, resulting in “a golf production unlike any other” that took two months of planning, per McManus. But that’s what is called for as sports leagues and broadcasters return from months-long hiatuses because of the coronavirus pandemic.

CBS is working with NBCUniversal’s Golf Channel on the broadcast, with the same production and announcing team handling all four days of the tournament. This will allow for half of the normal amount of people to be on-site than is typical for a PGA tour production. Despite the reduced number of crew people, there will actually be more mobile production trucks at the course so that proper social distancing practices can be maintained, with about nine people working in a single truck.

In addition to the coverage that CBS will be providing, the PGA Tour has announced that it will be collaborating with Twitter by using its PGA Tour Live feed to create a “Twitter Multicast” on Thursday, June 11, from 1-2:30 p.m. ET. There will be nine video streams of Featured Groups coverage with athletes, celebrities and other personalities providing commentary. The guest commentators will include Charles Davis, Annika Sorenstam, Darius Rucker and Dude Perfect. For more information, visit pgatour.com. 

STAYING SAFE

There is an additional wrinkle when it comes to the production crews during these first few weeks. The crew that is working this tournament will also work next week’s RBC Heritage in Hilton Head, S.C. After that, an entirely new crew will take over the production for the next two events on the schedule. In addition, backup crew members are available in the event that anyone on the crew does become ill.

Among the on-site team will be commentator Jim Nantz, who will call the action of the tournament alone in the broadcast tower on the 18th hole—a change of pace from the typical five to six usually in the booth, according to McManus. There will also be only two on-course reporters—Dottie Pepper and Mark Immelman. The rest of the broadcasting team will be working remotely in various locations, including Nantz’s partner Nick Faldo from the Golf Channel Studios in Orlando, Fla. 

Other production elements for the broadcast, like scoring graphics, remote editing, video shading, multiple replay devices and more, will be done from additional remote locations that include Los Angeles, New York, Samford, Conn., and New Zealand.

Some production elements have not been drastically changed, McManus said. The production will feature 23 cameras, including 10 hard cameras, six mini RF cameras, as well as robotic cameras. Other recognizable features for a CBS golf broadcast will still be present, including the 3D Toptracer for following live tee shots and Toptracer RF for players’ second shots; ARL Virtual Eye meanwhile uses Toptracer ball tracing capabilities to use with 3D hole models. CBS’ SwingVision technology will also be available.

EXPANDING USE OF HAWKEYE

However, there are some new additions to the production. ARL Virtual Signage is augmented reality technology that can virtually place statistics, player information and sponsorship partnerships on the course with full trackable camera moves. The Hawkeye Replay Source, meanwhile, sees an operator control camera angles remotely for real-time replays. Hawkeye has been a feature on CBS digital platforms in the past, but will now be integrated into the linear broadcast for the first time. 

In addition, CBS is pushing to have more players mic’d up during their rounds so they can share conversations between players and their caddies while on the course. There will also be a drone camera on-site that the production hopes to be able to use, weather permitting.

Something entirely new for the broadcast that both meets COVID-19 safety protocols and has eyes at being a new permanent element beyond the pandemic is the “Inside the Ropes” feature. This is a tented area that will be placed between the green of one hole and the tee box of another (as of publication the specific location for the Charles Schawb Challenge was not determined) with an unmanned camera and boom mic that players enter and give short answers to prompted questions that can then be woven into the broadcast.

The Charles Schwab Challenge is the first of 11 straight weeks of tournaments on the PGA Tour schedule. According to McManus, this production plan will be in place for the first four tournaments, with possible adjustments as the season progresses. McManus said he would not be surprised, however, if these were the plans for the rest of the year.

“Golf is the most difficult sport to produce to begin with,” McManus said. However, he continued, “we’re learning a lot of lessons, and some of the lessons that we’re learning will allow us to produce golf in a more efficient way.”

“The amount of detail that has gone into planning this, and having a backup plan to the backup plan, it has been extraordinary,” said Nantz on the conference call. “This crew’s ready for it. It’s as well planned out as anything I’ve been a part of.”

The Charles Schwab Challenge takes place from June 11-14 with Golf Channel airing coverage each day and CBS handling coverage on Saturday and Sunday afternoons.

Live sports are back, just not as you remember them prior to the outbreak of COVID-19. This past weekend saw some of the first live, broadcast TV action of multiple sports, highlighted by the return of NASCAR, a PGA golf match for charity and the German Bundesliga professional soccer league.

NASCAR and Fox Sports worked together to bring the first of seven races over the next 11 days to TV viewers on May 17 at the Darlington Raceway in South Carolina. Kevin Harvick was the winner, and he acknowledged the different circumstances of the race, saying that he missed the fans in the stands.

NASCAR’s live race schedule continues on May 20 from Darlington, with other races scheduled up to May 27 at this point. Additional races are expected to be announced.

NBC Sports, meanwhile, was tasked with bringing live golf back to its airwaves on May 17 as well, just in a different format. Rather than a full-fledged tournament, top professionals Rory McIlroy, Dustin Johnson, Rickie Fowler and Matthew Wolfe played a “teamed skins” competition at Seminole Golf Club in Juno Beach, Fla. The players carried their own bags, had an audio pack attached to capture their dialogue and practiced social distancing. 

The broadcast crew also adjusted to the new realities. Commentator Mike Tirico called the action remotely from his home in Michigan, while other commentators Rich Lerner, Paul Azinger and Gary Koch worked from the PGA Tour’s production facility in St. Augustine, Fla. On the course, a skeleton crew manned six cameras and utilized LiveU technology to capture the action. The broadcast also featured some call-in interviews, including Bill Murray and President Donald Trump.

PLUS: How Remote Production Can Help Get Live Sports Back on the Air Amid COVID-19

The skins match raised money for charity, with the winning team of McIlroy and Johnson earning $1.85 million for the American Nurses Foundation, and Fowler and Wolfe earning $1.15 million for the CDC. In addition, more than $5 million was donated by event partners and individual fans for COVID-19 relief efforts.

Another live golf match will take place on May 24—with Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Peyton Manning and Tom Brady—before the PGA Tour is slated to return to its usual schedule (sans fans) in June.

Across the pond in Europe, Bundesliga, Germany’s professional soccer league, returned with live matches, again with safety guidelines for both players and broadcast crews, which included a limit of 300 people allowed in the stands among teams and staff, but no fans—though the league tried to address that by putting up cutouts of fans in the stands. 

Six games were held over the weekend, with Fox Sports’ broadcast of the Borussia Dortmund vs. Schalke match earning a record .33 rating. Bundesliga is expected to continue playing, and broadcasting, the remaining nine weeks of its season.

Because of a technical bogey, Turner let golf fans watch the Phil Mickelson-Tiger Woods match for free at the last minute.

Mickelson won the $9 million winner-take-all contest in 22 holes, but some viewers who ponied up the $19.99 complained online about others not having to pay.

The technical glitch made it hard for people who wanted to access the event via the Bleacher Report Live streaming service at the last minute. To ensure that paying customers wouldn’t miss the match, Turner took down the paywall and some people were able to find the match on social media.

The technical issue apparently did not affect those who bought the event through traditional cable and satellite distributors.

“We experienced some technical issues on B/R Live that temporarily impacted user access to The Match,” Turner said in a statement. “We’ve taken a number of steps to resolve the matter, with our main priority being the delivery of content to those that have purchased the PPV event.”

Turner said it would be releasing numbers showing how many people bought the event in a few days.

It was not clear whether people who paid for the event would receive a refund.

NEW YORK — When it comes to using cutting-edge broadcast technology to cover the 2018 PGA Tour, CBS Sports is going all-out to provide unique, insightful shoots of what’s happening on the course.

“Our philosophy is to use advanced technology to tell the story,” said Harold Bryant, CBS Sports’ executive producer/and senior vice president of production. “We also use it to teach the average golfer to improve their own game.” CBS Sports deploys this technology at various PGA Tour events, working out of the SSCBS mobile production unit equipped and operated by NEP.

SHOT TRACKING

It isn’t always easy for viewers to understand what’s happening on the fairways and the greens; especially when it comes to the shots being taken by golfers and how they play out.

To explain the process, CBS Sports uses Toptracer’s real-time ball tracking (“tracing”) system, which graphically portrays the ball’s trajectory, arc, and apex as it travels from golf club to ground.

[Read: Fox Sports Taps New Production Tech For U.S. Open Coverage]

CBS Sports has been using Toptracer onscreen for eight years, and has been enhancing its application for PGA coverage ever since.

Most recently, CBS combined Toptracer with ARL’s Virtual Eye technology and “ShotLink” shot-by-shot analytical data provided by the PGA Tour, to track the ball’s progress from an actual camera shot as well as via second-view animation showing it “flying over” the golf course. The second animated view — which is on the right side of the broadcast screen — includes ball speed, distance, and apex graphics on the screen in real-time.

“The animation looks so good, you can hardly tell the difference between it and the actual camera shot,” said Ken Aagaard, CBS Sports’ executive vice president, Innovation and New Technology.

READING THE GREEN

Every time a player approaches the cup, armchair golfers at home like to guess how they should putt the ball on the green.

CBS Sports hopes to help lessen the guesswork with “Green Reader” graphics software from Hawkeye (a Sony company). Green Reader is preloaded with a topographic 3D map of each green, and has the ability to calculate and display an onscreen “cone” showing the sweet spot for hitting the putt right. The network is currently experimenting with the technology.

“If you’re hitting it within this cone, there’s a good chance that you’re going to be in the hole or near the cup,” said Bryant. The only drawback for golfers is that they don’t have this graphic to refer to on the green. That advantage rests with CBS Sports’ viewers.

SLOWING DOWN WITH SWINGVISION

Since 2006, CBS Sports has been using high frame rate cameras to cover the shots in slow motion so that viewers can see for themselves how a golfer’s swing actually progressed. The feature — known as SwingVision — has won an Emmy.

“The enhanced color range of HDR really stands out; especially shooting in bright sunlight where SDR would provide washed-out images.” —Ken Aagaard

Typically, high-frame-rate cameras have operated at 4x real-time speed; shooting 120 frames per second vs. the standard 30fps used for broadcast.

But this wasn’t good enough for CBS Sports, which introduced a Sony 4800 16x960 fps camera at the June 2018 FedEx Cup that raised the frame rate to 16 times real-time speed, according to Aagaard. “Peter Kostis is really a whiz at describing a player’s swing, and when you see that swing using a high-frame-rate camera on SwingVision, you can see how accurate he is,” he said.

DON’T FORGET ON-COURSE TALENT

When it comes to on-course coverage from field reporters, the days of talent standing alone with their microphones are over; at least for CBS Sports and their PGA Tour coverage. When CBS Sports Reporter Amanda Balionis does live hits on the course, she has access to a 72-inch touchscreen computer mounted on a mobile golf cart known as the “SmartCart.” Like a TV studio meteorologist, Balionis can call up graphics, stats and footage on the fly.

“SmartCart makes you feel like you’re closer to the action,” said Bryant. “You can use it on site to call up golf swings and shot live to air — and then drive the cart to the next hole to keep up with the action.” CBS is the first U.S. broadcast network to use SmartCart, which it debuted in 2016.

4K/HDR, DRONES AND ATMOS

To cover golf in 4K/HDR for DirecTV’s 4K subscriber service, CBS Sports uses Sony HDC-4300 4K-capable cameras from the SSCBS mobile truck in 4K mode, giving the network valuable experience in using the technology.

Aagaard is more impressed with HDR than 4K.

“You can’t tell much of a difference between 1080p and 4K on side-by-side monitors,” he said. “But the enhanced color range of HDR really stands out; especially shooting in bright sunlight where SDR would provide washed-out images, but HDR shows a full range of shade and light levels.”

CBS Sports is also shooting pre-broadcast overhead shots using drones. “We don’t do this when there are people on the course,” Aagaard said.

As for audio, the network will begin testing Dolby’s Atmos “3D” audio capture system next month. “We were testing HDR two years ago, to stay ahead of the curve,” Aagaard said. “Same thing with Atmos; when it becomes popular with consumers, we’ll be ready.”

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PONTE VEDRA BEACH, FLA. –The PGA Tour and Facebook have reached an agreement awarding the social media giant rights to distribute more than 60 hours of exclusive live coverage on Saturdays and Sundays from eight tournaments leading up to the FedExCup Playoffs for the 2017-18 season.

“We are thrilled to add Facebook to an already impressive lineup of global digital and broadcast partners,” said Chris Wandell, vice president, media business development of the PGA Tour.

[Read: PGA Tour Launches OTT Channel On Xumo]

The coverage, produced under the PGA Tour Live brand, will be distributed via Facebook Watch within the United States and is free of charge to viewers. Similar to the PGA Tour’s subscription OTT service, Facebook Watch coverage will follow two groups that tee off in the morning of the third and final rounds. Coverage will include interactive elements, such as fan questions and comments.

The agreement also covers on-demand programming, including tournament previews, round recaps and extended player highlights, which will be available in the United States on Facebook Watch and around the world via the PGA Tour Live show page.

Coverage via Facebook Watch will begin June 23rd and continue the next day at the Travelers Championship. Other 2018 events include: Quicken Loans National; A Military Tribute at The Greenbrier; John Deere Classic; RBC Canadian Open; World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational; Wyndham Championship; and The Northern Trust.

Typically, coverage from the tournaments will start at 8:30 a.m. ET and end at the beginning of Golf Channel’s lead-in coverage.

With the conclusion of coverage of the featured groups on Facebook Watch, PGA Tour Live featured holes coverage will be streamed worldwide on a non-exclusive basis on Facebook. 

OTTAWA—Televised professional golf is quickly adapting the latest graphic enhancements to give fans the ultimate in immersive and information-rich experiences.

At this month’s U.S. Open Championship, Fox Sports deployed a 75-foot Strada Camera Crane to enable augmented reality graphic elements to be displayed on course, as well as a studio jib for analysis in a studio setting. To increase its shot-tracing efforts, Fox Sports equipped all 18 holes with tracing ability with either live video or through a graphic representation of the hole. Nine tee boxes used Toptracer technology, allowing for live ball trace over video. The remaining tee boxes were equipped with Trackman radar for a combination of ball tracing and enhanced data.

Augmented reality was used to enhance Fox Sports’ coverage of the U.S. Open earlier this month.

A total of 216 microphones were deployed to capture audio and—like last year—three holes were shown in 4K on DirecTV.

VIRTUALLY THERE
The AI technology used at golf’s most recent Major is the latest example of how graphics and video technology are revolutionizing televised coverage of the sport.

With the aid of live virtual reality and live 360 video, PGA Tour fans got to literally immerse themselves into the 17th hole action of The Players Championship last month.

Using three different live VR camera feeds from the Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla., the PGA Tour virtually beamed wearers of Samsung Gear VR headsets (connected to Samsung Galaxy smartphones) onto the 17th green, giving 180-degree-horizontal/60-degree-vertical views as play progressed. (To see the Live VR stream of #17 from The Players, viewers had to download the PGA Tour VR Live App from the Oculus Store and install it on their Galaxy smartphone.)

Additionally, and for the first time in sports, viewers without a VR headset were able to experience the same live content, via live 360 video offered via the PGA Tour’s Twitter and Periscope accounts.

The view through the Samsung Gear VR goggles at The Players 17th hole.

“The experience on the VR headset was very feature-rich,” said Chris Wandell, senior director of media business development for the PGA Tour. “In addition to the virtual reality video, the Live VR app had a live Leaderboard graphic that could be toggled in and out of view. It also had an Active Tracker that told you which players were currently playing the hole.”

The Gear VR and Twitter/Periscope feeds also included an additional live “Picture In Picture” video feed at the top of the viewing window, which was perfectly synced to the VR action and included highlights and updates from the tournament. Both the Gear VR and 360-video feeds were available worldwide.

Virtual reality is just one of the 2017 golf season’s big tech stories. The sport—which has been a perennial favorite on network broadcast television—is also increasing its online presence to enhance the broadcasts.

This year’s VR coverage is a culmination of two years of preparation, according to Wandell. “We did our first VR test of non-live content back in 2015, and we’ve been experimenting very regularly,” he said. Still, this year’s live VR stream from The Players represents another big step in the PGA Tour’s efforts to offer more than conventional coverage.

A case in point: For the first time ever, the PGA Tour placed three of Intel’s True VR stereoscopic cameras at TPC’s 17th hole: one located on the tee, a second on the walkway from the tee box to the green, and the third in the water, less than 15 feet off of the “island” green. This meant that VR viewers could literally “beam” from one camera position to another as the live play evolved around them.

“If VR viewers didn’t want to switch cameras themselves, they could leave it to us and watch the VRCast on their Gear VR headsets, with Intel’s mobile unit handling the switching between the three cameras,” said Wandell.

Reaction was very positive. “Everybody was pretty floored by what they saw, based on the comments we’ve received,” Wandell said. “We also know that our numbers were up significantly from what we expected, so we are exploring additional Live VR events in the future.”

STREAMING FINDS ITS BALANCE
The PGA Tour certainly wowed viewers with VR at The Players, but streaming PGA video is also big news; specifically in the way that U.S. broadcasters are employing streaming to enhance, not undercut, their primary on-air product.

One of Fox Sport’s streaming channels electronically tracks the motion of the ball.
Photo Credit: Fox Sports

“We are simulcasting our golf coverage across multiple platforms, but TV is the undisputed star,” said Clark Pierce, senior vice president, TVE & special projects, product development for Fox Sports. “Streaming is certainly being used to provide extra content to our audiences, but streaming doesn’t cut into our broadcast viewership because TV is where the biggest picture is—and our viewers prefer to watch the biggest picture whenever they can.”

“Our goal is to provide the best coverage to golf viewers, regardless of whatever device they are watching us on,” said Will McIntosh; senior vice president of business and strategy for Golf Channel (part of the NBC Sports Group, and producer of golf coverage for both Golf Channel and NBC Sports). “But since viewers still prefer to watch us on the big screen, that’s where our focus is.”

(Note: For live tournament coverage airing on both Golf Channel and NBC, a single on-site crew oversees production for both Golf Channel—Thursday and Friday and early in the day on the weekends—as well as coverage airing on NBC on Saturday and Sunday afternoons.)

The fact that streaming is a supporting player does not make it unimportant to either Fox Sports or Golf Channel. But streaming’s supporting role does limit the kind of content both broadcasters are paying to put online: You don’t spend the same kind of money on a supporting actor as you do on a star.

This is why Fox Sports and Golf Channel fill their streaming channels with video provided by their existing broadcast production units, rather than new standalone content. Specifically, both are streaming live camera feeds that are not necessarily part of the primary broadcast program; in addition to simulcasting the primary broadcast program online.

At Golf Channel, “our streaming channels are providing coverage of a featured group throughout an entire round, plus ongoing camera views of specific holes,” said McIntosh. Fox Sports features two streaming channels that cover two selected groups, and another that covers a specific hole or holes, according to Pierce. “We are also working on a fourth stream that includes a wealth of graphical features such as ‘tracer’ shots, which illustrate how the balls travelled on the course.”

RCS augmented reality graphics appeared during NBC Golf’s live coverage of the Arnold Palmer Invitational.
BURBANK, CALIF.—Reality Check Systems is a broadcast technology provider that opened its doors in 1997. From our Los Angeles headquarters and London office, our products and services power some of the world’s most-watched live sporting and entertainment events. Earlier this year, NBC Golf asked us to incorporate augmented reality (AR) graphics into its live coverage of the Arnold Palmer Invitational, which took place at the Bay Hill Golf Course in Orlando, Fla. in March and was broadcast on both Golf Channel and NBC.

A U.S. FIRST

Even though the use of AR graphics in sports broadcasts is becoming more common, this was the first U.S. golf broadcast to air AR graphics. The golf course scenery offered a unique environment for AR graphics that you wouldn’t find in other sporting venues. This allowed us to come up with creative ideas for graphics that would merge data from PGA’s ShotLink statistics system with course elements, like the undulations of the green, the lake or even trees.

Our team worked closely with Golf Channel’s creative services department to design a comprehensive 3D graphics package. We developed a leaderboard, promos, course description, tournament ID, popup scores, hole results and more, which would appear embedded in the golf course to viewers through AR. We also wrote a custom script to interface with ShotLink and populate our leaderboard graphic with real-time tournament stats.

To help Golf Channel and NBC get the graphics to air, we built a custom system that they positioned on the 17th hole; it included a Viz Engine for rendering, Viz Trio for graphics control and an Ncam system attached to Golf Channel’s cameras to track graphics in real-time. By locking the graphics to real-time camera movements, the network was able to deliver dynamic AR content for tournament coverage across Golf Channel and NBC.

ON THE FLY

Working with AR comes with its own unique set of challenges, so we remained on-site throughout the entire event to make subtle changes, build custom graphics for the client and ensure everything stayed on track. The Ncam and Vizrt tools made the entire process smooth and efficient. Ncam integrated perfectly with the Golf Channel’s cameras and, with our Vizrt gear in place, we were able to take existing graphics scenes we had previously created and rebuild them on the fly in the AR environment.

With tools like these, the possibilities for AR are endless, and we’ve only begun to scratch the surface. We’ll continue testing the limits of technology to bring sports leagues and networks AR solutions that help them tell better stories and engage audiences.

Steven Heimbold is Principal and CTO at Reality Check Systems. He may be contacted atinfo@realitychecksystems.com.

For more information, contact RCS at 323-465-3900 or visitwww.realitychecksystems.com.