STAMFORD, Conn., and FRISCO, Texas—The PGA of America, NBC Sports and USA Sports have extended their media rights agreement through 2033, in a deal that includes the Ryder Cup, KPMG Women’s PGA Championship, Senior PGA Championship, and the PGA Professional Championship.

The extension of the current agreement, which runs through 2031, includes the 2033 Ryder Cup at The Olympic Club in San Francisco, Calif., with live event and studio coverage continuing to air across NBC Sports (NBC and Peacock) and USA Sports (USA Network and Golf Channel) platforms.

NBC/Peacock will also continue coverage of the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship through 2033. Golf Channel will continue to provide coverage of the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship as well as exclusive presentations of the Senior PGA Championship and the PGA Professional Championship.

“Extending our partnership with NBC Sports and USA Sports through 2033 reflects the strength of our collaboration and our shared vision for the future of the game,” said Terry Clark, PGA of America CEO. “Together, we will deliver comprehensive coverage of the Ryder Cup, KPMG Women’s PGA Championship, Senior PGA Championship and PGA Professional Championship, presenting each at the highest level while elevating our major championships and marquee events as defining stages for the game, our partners and the communities we serve. We will continue showcasing the exceptional talent of PGA of America Golf Professionals and celebrating the very best in championship golf.”

“We are excited to continue our partnership with the PGA of America and USA Sports, and look forward to presenting one of the most intense international rivalries in sports at the historic Olympic Club, in the Ryder Cup’s first competition in the Bay Area,” NBC Sports executive vice president, Programing and Rights Management Justin Byczek.

“USA Sports has a rich history with the PGA of America and the Ryder Cup, dating back to USA Network’s exclusive live coverage of the 1989 Ryder Cup at The Belfry,” added Matt Hong, president of USA Sports. “We’re proud to extend our partnership with the PGA of America and NBC Sports, continuing USA Network’s legacy with the Ryder Cup and showcasing the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship, the Senior PGA Championship, and the PGA Professional Championship on Golf Channel to viewers across the United States.”

In addition to live event and championship programming, Golf Channel’s studio coverage, including Live From and Golf Central, will continue to surround the Ryder Cup, KPMG Women’s PGA Championship, Senior PGA Championship and PGA Professional Championship with live analysis and news coverage.

BRISTOL, Conn.—The PGA TOUR and ESPN are doubling sports betting coverage for the 2026 PGA TOUR Season with a new watch-and-bet experience.

PGA TOUR LIVE Betcast presented by DraftKings will air on ESPN during 12 PGA TOUR events throughout the year, beginning with the WM Phoenix Open, Feb. 5-8, at TPC Scottsdale.

The Betcast at each event will air more than eight hours during each of the four days of play on the ESPN App, alongside the Main Feed, Featured Group and Featured Hole streams. With more than 400 hours in total across the 2026 PGA TOUR Season, the Betcast will feature golf-related betting discussion, live betting analysis, upcoming previews and tournament features, such as tournament winner and matchups.

PGA TOUR LIVE Betcast, which debuted in the 2025 season with 50 hours of coverage across six events, is now presented by DraftKings.

Jonathan Coachman will serve as host, joined by Matt Every and Michael Collins as the show’s analysts. Graham DeLaet, Jeff Eisenband, Steve Scott and Kevin Sylvester will offer additional hosting and analyst support, while Rick Gehman will contribute across the betting feeds throughout the season.

In addition to the WM Phoenix Open, Betcast will include:

• The Genesis Invitational, Feb. 19-22.
• Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard, March 5-8.
• THE PLAYERS Championship, March 5-8.
• RBC Heritage, April 16-19.
• Cadillac Championship, April 30-May 3.
• Truist Championship, May 7-10.
• The Memorial Tournament presented by Workday, June 4-7.
• Travelers Championship, June 25-28.
• Fed Ex St. Jude Championship, Aug. 13-16.
• BMW Championship, Aug. 20-23.
• TOUR Championship, Aug. 27-30.

More information is available on the ESPN website.

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla.—The PGA Tour, Penn Entertainment and ESPN are launching a live betting stream on ESPN+ starting with the WM Phoenix Open.

The ESPN Bet on PGA Tour Live branded stream will provide key data, insights and live betting analysis during coverage of six events across the 2025 PGA Tour season.

ESPN and Penn Entertainment inked a wide-ranging sports-betting agreement in 2023 . As part of that deal, Penn rebranded its sports book as ESPN Bet in states where sports betting is legal and it is licensed, and agreed to pay ESPN $1.5 billion in cash over the 10-year period. ESPN Bet is currently available in 20 U.S. markets.

ESPN Bet on PGA Tour Live, which is set to debut at the WM Phoenix Open on ESPN+ starting Thursday, Feb. 6, is part of a new multiyear agreement between the PGA Tour and Penn Entertainment. That deal designates ESPN Bet as an official betting operator of the PGA Tour.

“Pairing the PGA Tour’s in-depth ShotLink powered by CDW data with the power of the ESPN and ESPN Bet brands is certain to make for a compelling sports-watching experience for fans and bettors of our sport,” Scott Warfield, PGA Tour vice president, gaming, said. “A competition feed with a focus on odds and wagers has been a goal of the PGA Tour since our agreement with ESPN+ first began in 2022, and we are proud to make that vision a reality today with the support of our new partner, Penn Entertainment.”

Added Jason Birney, vice president of operations at Penn Interactive: "We’re pleased to partner with the PGA Tour and grow the ESPN Bet brand through innovative betting-themed broadcasts powered by our sportsbook. ESPN Bet on PGA Tour Live deepens our already robust media and betting integrations with ESPN and creates unique opportunities to engage golf fans in an entertaining way, with compelling up-to-the-minute data and insights.”

The new feed will stream on ESPN+ during the six events, providing live golf coverage in the two hours leading up to the linear broadcast window, with an early look at key storylines from a betting perspective. Throughout the coverage, host Jonathan Coachman, on-course reporter Michael Collins and analysts including Matt Every and Graham DeLaet will present content and discussion on hole-by-hole live betting and tournament markets, the companies said.

Following its premiere at the WM Phoenix Open (Feb. 6-9) and coverage of the famed 16th hole, ESPN Bet on PGA Tour Live will return for the tour’s flagship event, The Players Championship (March 13-16). From there, fans will see ESPN Bet telecasts from three signature events: Truist Championship (May 8-11); the Memorial Tournament presented by Workday (May 29-June 1); and Travelers Championship (June 19-22). The final ESPN Bet on PGA Tour Live program will broadcast from TPC Southwind at Memphis, Tennessee, site of the FedEx St. Jude Championship (Aug. 7-10), the opening event of the FedExCup Playoffs.

“ESPN Bet on PGA Tour Live is an example of the kind of engaging, innovative programming that only the PGA Tour, ESPN Bet and ESPN can deliver,” Tim Bunnell, senior vice president, ESPN Programming and International, said. “Bringing these unique partnerships together is an important strategy in ESPN’s commitment to covering and expanding the audience for world-class golf across PGA Tour Live on ESPN+, TGL, the Masters, PGA Championship, LPGA and more.”

As part of an effort to boost revenue since going public, Reddit has announced a partnership program with major sports leagues that will bring more sports highlights to the Reddit platform and open up new advertising opportunities on Reddit via video ads, automotive model ads (AMAs), and other formats.

The new partnership program will involved many of the most popular sports leagues in the U.S. including the NFL, NBA, MLB, PGA Tour, and NASCAR to bring content to Reddit communities. 

In making the announcements, Reddit noted that the major sports leagues are some of “our most engaged Reddit Pro users and best-in-class examples of the power of engagement within Reddit communities. In addition, sports are one of Reddit’s most popular and fastest-growing (at +26% YOY) interest groups, bringing together highly engaged fans across over 1000 communities.” 

“We believe these new partnerships can enhance our community experience with content that fans want while enabling advertisers to align with expanded fan content on Reddit,” Reddit said in a blog post. “Through our official partnerships with the NFL, NBA, MLB, PGA Tour, and NASCAR, redditors will gain access to video highlights from games and tournaments, player AMAs, behind-the-scenes videos, and more special content posted by the leagues throughout their seasons and including during major events like Super Bowl and NBA All-Star.”

The effort builds on a test with the NFL during the 2023-24 season that saw FanDuel, Samsung, Ford, Volkswagen of America and several others advertise on the platform. “During the test, an alcoholic beverage brand saw a +11.3 point lift in purchase intent, a +9.4 point lift in brand favorability, and a 5.9 point lift in awareness by activating alongside premium video content from the NFL,” Reddit reported. 

“Reddit is the go-to destination for sports fans around the world because it’s the place where they can dive deeper than anywhere else, and connect with other fans beyond the season and throughout the year,” said Reddit’s COO Jen Wong said in a statement. “The country’s major sports leagues see the opportunity to reach global audiences on Reddit. We’re continuing to build more ways for businesses and organizations to engage with Reddit’s communities; this benefits our communities, program partners, and advertisers.”

Reddit also noted that there are over 1,000 active communities in the sports category. Those produced 20.4 billion screen views to communities in the sports category in the last 12 months (up 26% YoY) and 249 million global monthly engagements (posts, votes, comments) in sports communities on Reddit. 

PITTSBURGH—NEP Group has announced a notable expansion of its connected production ecosystem with new facilities and new partnerships with rights holders, sports leagues, broadcasters and OTT providers.  

The expansion is built on technologies and solutions that will be on display at the 2024 NAB Show by NEP executives between April 13 and 17 in Las Vegas. 

In addition to existing partnerships around the globe, NEP reported that the expanded connected production ecosystem is now providing support for such partners as the PGA Tour, NASCAR and MLS in the United States, Dyn Sport in Germany, WRC in Finland, TV4 and the Swedish Hockey League in Sweden, and the International Press Center – Résidence Palace in Brussels, Belgium. 

The expansion includes the new fleet of nine all-IP mobile units that debuted for the 2024 PGA Tour season.

The connected production solutions offered by NEP now include over 20 production hubs, 100 control rooms, 200 mobile units, and 100 flypacks worldwide that NEP said allows it to offer various production options and services tailored to individual needs and comprehensive solutions from content capture to distribution. 

The ecosystem, powered by NEP’s Total Facility Control (TFC) platform, enables seamless operation and collaboration across NEP’s global network of facilities and hubs.

The key expansions over the last year includes bringing nine new production hubs into North America, APAC and Europe, a new hub in Singapore, and expanding the Andrews Hubs in Australia and the VISTA Hub in South Florida. NEP created its global ecosystem to allow for any combination of traditional production deliveries, at one or multiple event venues, with remote capabilities managed off-site, sometimes hundreds or thousands of miles away.

“Our connected production solutions are complementary to NEP’s industry-leading fleet of mobile units and OBs, and our recent partnerships are great examples of this hybrid approach of serving our clients both onsite and remotely,” explained Mike Werteen, president, NEP Americas and global chief commercial officer. “From the new fleet of nine all-IP mobile units that debuted for the 2024 PGA TOUR season, to the connected production hubs established around the globe – we’re providing our clients with more production tools and flexibility to meet their needs, and we’re honored to collaborate with their amazing teams to build the best production solutions for today and the future.”

The solutions are built on NEP’s proprietary broadcast control and networking platform, TFC. It makes using IP 2110 infrastructure fast and intuitive and it empowers production teams to focus on creating incredible content instead of integrating disparate technologies. TFC is used throughout NEP’s connected production facilities across the globe, giving production, video, audio, replay, graphics and engineering operators the ability to program show setups using a touchscreen, scale setups up and down, and share resources between any other facility within NEP’s connected production ecosystem, providing universal control, management and security.

NEP also reported that its technical and commercial staff will be on hand at the 2024 NAB Show, at the Las Vegas Convention Center from April 14-17, 2024. 

Staff will be available by appointment in both private and semi-private meeting spaces in the North Hall. 

NEP’s presence at the 2024 NAB Show also includes expert panel appearances, featuring: Geert Thoelen, Director of Technology, NEP Belgium, Scott Rothenberg, SVP, Technology & Capital Planning, Cameron O’Neill, NEP Japan Country Manager, Ryan Jones, Director, Systems Integration, and Dan Murphy, VP, Product Management. 

For more information on connecting with NEP at NAB, visit NEP’s 2024 NAB Show page. 

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.

LOS ANGELES—The return to production amid the ongoing presence of COVID-19 in Southern California has the support of SAG-AFTRA, the Producers Guild of America (PGA) and the Joint Policy Committee (JPC), as the three groups have agreed to lift their recommendation to pause production issued at the start of January.

When COVID-19 cases were surging in Los Angeles and other areas of Southern California, SAG-AFTRA, PGA and JPC, which represents commercial advertisers and advertising agencies, recommended a hold on independent production of TV, film and commercials, calling it an unsafe environment for in-person production.

Major studios also put a brief pause on production, but in many cases they returned in the middle of January. The trio of SAG-AFTRA, PGA and JPC will lift their recommended restrictions officially on Monday, Feb. 1.

“While commercial and independent production may return to Southern California at this time, the parties maintain that film and television productions must abide by the industry-issued COVID-safety protocols and will continue to monitor and consider orders or recommendations issued by the Public Health Department,” the groups said in a statement. “Additionally, SAG-AFTRA and the JPC will move forward with reviewing commercial productions to help ensure that safety on set is maintained for members and industry personnel.”

Those efforts for maintaining safe sets have their own issues, however. A report from BuzzFeed News details how those appointed to monitor COVID-safety protocols on set are often going unsupported.

For its part, PGA has issued its own safety guide, “COVID Safety Protocols for Producing Independent Productions.” The full guide can be found on PGA’s website. 

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 — Discovery and the PGA Tour today announced a strategic alliance aimed at creating a multiplatform home for golf that will present fans around the world with access to exciting moments, players and championships.

“The long-term partnership between the PGA Tour and Discovery will create the new global home of golf, including delivering over 2,000 hours of live content year-round and this prestigious sport’s greatest moments, stories and athletes,” said David Zaslav, president and CEO, of Discovery.

The 12-year relationship, which begins next year, includes multiplatform live rights outside the United States, to all PGA Tour media properties, which account for about 2,000 hours of content per year, according to a joint announcement. Those properties include six tours operating under the PGA Tour umbrella and about 150 tournaments each year, including The Players Championship, the FedExCup Playoffs and the Presidents Cup.

[Read: Discovery to Shut London Playout Hub]

Discovery will spend more than $2 billion over 12 years to license PGA Tour international media rights and build a global OTT platform outside the United States. The alliance also covers linear rights in 220 markets and territories, it said.

“Following our successful first Olympic Games in PyeongChang, Discovery will contribute its strong global distribution and promotional infrastructure, in-market relationships, global sports expertise with direct-to-consumer platforms and brands to create a valuable new long-term home of golf offering in every market outside the U.S.,” said Zaslav.

The alliance will build a dedicated PGA Tour-branded OTT video streaming service, leveraging Discovery’s direct-to-consumer product and platform expertise, to be home to the Eurosport Player.

Discovery also will broadcast the PGA Tour on its pay-TV and free-to-air channels as well as digital and short-form platforms. It will work with PGA Tour to capture access to the action and leverage the non-live and library rights for all media platforms.

“This is an exciting next step for the PGA Tour, which presents a tremendous opportunity to accelerate and expand our media business outside the United States, better service our international broadcast partners, and drive fan growth with a deeply experienced strategic global partner,” said Jay Monahan, commissioner, PGA Tour.

More information is available on the PGA Tour website.

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PONTE VERDA BEACH, FLA.—PGA Tour broadcasts will have a new tool in its bag with the announcement of an exclusive relationship with Intel to produce and distribute live virtual reality and live 360 video for six future PGA Tour events. This relationship came after Intel had previously provided VR coverage of The Players 2017 tournament in May.

Intel will produce these live VR experiences with Intel True VR Technology. Intel True VR uses panoramic, stereoscopic camera pods to create the immersive VR environment.

The first event that will feature the live VR experiences will be the Tour Championship, Sept. 21-24, at East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta. Live and on-demand VR and 360 coverage will feature holes No. 1, 15 and 18, available through the PGA Tour VR Live app on Samsung Gear VR headsets. The 360 video stream will be available via Twitter and Periscope, the exclusive social media platform to distribute this coverage during the deal term.

The 2017 President’s Cup international team matchup, held from Sept. 28-Oct. 1, at Liberty National Golf Club in Jersey City, N.J., will also feature Intel’s VR coverage. Coverage will include footage from the driving range and fans. Golf Channel hosts Robert Damron, Rex Hoggard and Bailey Mosier will be part of the VR coverage, which will be available through the temporarily rebranded Presidents Cup VR Live app, as well as PGA Tour, Presidents Cup and Golf Channel Twitter and Periscope platforms.

The other tour events on the schedule will take place in 2018 and will include the Waste Management Phoenix Open and The Players Championship. The remaining events will be announced at a later date.