Golf fans will be able to stream up to 140 hours of PGA TOUR action free on Twitter in 2019 following the extension of a multiyear agreement between the two parties.
Having already had a working agreement in place to show live coverage of part of two rounds and highlights of PGA TOUR tournaments since 2016, the PGA TOUR and Twitter have firmed up their relationship with a new long-term deal that will see live coverage now streamed online across all four days of tournament.
Twitter will have free global live streaming of the PGA TOUR live service with the first 60 to 90 minutes of play in all four rounds of tournaments being streamed to social media followers of @PGATOUR.
The new deal will apply to 28 PGA TOUR tournaments across the 2018/19 season, although those will not be any of the four majors—the Masters at Augusta, USPGA Championship, US Open or Open Championship.
The first tournament of the season to have free coverage live streamed on Twitter will be the Desert Classic in Palm Springs, California, on January 17-18 and will be available to golf fans worldwide—not just in the United States.
The Desert Classic coverage will be for the opening two rounds only at Palm Springs with the first tournament to have streaming of all four rounds being the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines, San Diego, on January 24-27.
The agreement will then run through the season-ending TOUR Championship at East Lake, Atlanta, on August 22-25.
“The evolution of our streaming partnership with Twitter over the past three years has led to extraordinary feedback from our fans globally,” said Rick Anderson, Chief Media Officer of the PGA TOUR.
“We continue to reach an ever-growing young, diverse and loyal audience allowing us to expand and improve the product with live programming, real time highlights and video-on-demand content.”
Kay Madati, VP and Global Head of Content Partnerships at Twitter added: “We’re thrilled to grow our lighthouse collaboration with the PGA TOUR, bringing even more content to passionate golf fans around the globe.
“We saw tremendous excitement and growth in 2018 around golf conversation and sponsor enthusiasm for PGA TOUR content on Twitter.
“This year, we will reach and continue to serve highly engaged golf fans every day throughout the PGA TOUR season by pairing those conversations with live programming and real-time highlights, all in one place on our platform.”
Twitter will use the PGA TOUR Live’s Over-The-Top (OTT) subscription service feed. Fans will need to subscribe, however, to watch the rest of the day’s action beyond the first 90 minutes of play window.
In a further strengthening of the relationship between Twitter and the PGA TOUR, Fan Vote Fridays will be launched. Part of the Fans’ First initiative, the feature will allow fans vote on Twitter to decide one of the two Featured Groups the coverage will follow during Friday’s round of the tournaments.
Twitter followers will also access to pre-tournament coverage include live streams from the driving range each week as the leading players prepare for their rounds.
See also: PGA TOUR ‘Should Consider’ Shot Clock