NEW YORK and LONDON, Dec. 20,
2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Discovery and the Ladies European
Tour have today announced a new partnership that will see GOLFTV
showcase the foremost players and events in European women's
golf. The agreement features multiplatform live rights
to all Ladies European Tour events, as well as the next
two Solheim Cups in 25 countries in Europe* - including Denmark, Germany, Italy, Norway, Poland, Russia and Sweden - and brings even more premium
golf content and programming to GOLFTV.
The partnership will bring coverage of the Ladies European Tour
and the Solheim Cup together, in many markets, with the PGA TOUR
and European Tour on GOLFTV, the global live and on-demand
video streaming service that is launching in January 2019. Fans will be able to follow all the
world's greatest golfers, all year round, with a growing portfolio
of content that will make GOLFTV the premier destination for golf
entertainment worldwide.
GOLFTV's live coverage of every Ladies European Tour event
includes the Aberdeen Standard Investments Ladies Scottish
Open, Hero Women's Indian Open and Andalucia Costa
del Sol Open de Espana season finale, as well as
the Golf Sixes on GOLFTV.
The biggest team event in women's golf will also feature on
GOLFTV, with live coverage of the next two editions of
the Solheim Cup at Gleneagles in Scotland in 2019, and at Inverness Club in
Toledo, Ohio, in 2021. GOLFTV will
also present a wide range of Ladies European Tour content and
programming on demand, including highlights and features with
leading players.
Alex Kaplan, President and
General Manager, Discovery Golf, said: "We're excited to
welcome the Ladies European Tour and Solheim Cup to the GOLFTV
family, signifying another milestone in our journey to becoming the
true 'digital home of golf' for fans. As we prepare to launch
the service, GOLFTV continues to build a portfolio of must-have
content and events for golf fans. Our new relationship with the
Ladies European Tour underlines our ambition to showcase women's
golf on a global platform, and feature the world's greatest
players, every week of the year."
Mark Lichtenhein, Chief Executive, Ladies European Tour,
said: "Building on our long-standing relationship with
Discovery, it's fantastic for the LET to be joining GOLFTV's ground
breaking new streaming service. Digital distribution has long been
a critical component for women's golf and it's very exciting to now
be positioned under one roof with the men's game."
Under the agreement, Discovery will have the ability to
sublicense the Ladies European Tour TV and digital coverage as part
of a broader strategy to grow viewership of the Ladies European
Tour, and for golf around the world.
GOLFTV's portfolio, which already includes the PGA
TOUR and European Tour, will also feature
an exclusive global content partnership with 14-time
major champion Tiger Woods. GOLFTV will collaborate with Woods
on a wide range of content opportunities, including instructional
videos to help players improve their game, and exclusive access
into Woods' tournament preparation. Starting later in 2019, the
unique content will offer fans an authentic and regular look into
the life, mind and performance of the game's ultimate icon.
Further information regarding GOLFTV programming and content
will be announced in due course. Fans can
visit GOLF.TV for more information and sign up to keep
up-to-date with the latest GOLFTV developments.
*Full list of territories: Albania, Austria, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech
Republic, Denmark,
Finland, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Kosovo, Macedonia, Montenegro, Norway, Poland, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Sweden, Switzerland and Turkey.
NOTES TO EDITORS
GOLFTV is a digital video streaming platform and will be
available in all international markets (excluding the U.S.,
China and South Korea) from January 2019. It will feature a wide range of
premium programming and content, including the PGA TOUR's Featured
Holes and Featured Groups live streams.
In addition, full live coverage will be rolled out market
by market in accordance with rights activation dates. The
full live rights starting dates by territory are shown below for
Discovery's separate agreements with the PGA TOUR and European
Tour.
PGA TOUR:
Date
|
Markets
|
2019
|
Australia, Belgium
(Flemish), Canada, Denmark, Hong Kong, Israel, Italy, Japan,
Malaysia, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Philippines, Portugal,
Russia, Singapore, Spain, Turkey, Ukraine, Vietnam.
|
2020
|
Hungary, Iceland,
Indonesia, Latin America, Poland, South Korea, Thailand.
|
2021
|
Austria, Belgium
(French), Balkan markets, China, Czech Republic, Germany,
Switzerland, South Africa, Taiwan.
|
2022
|
Finland, India, New
Zealand, Sweden, UK & Ireland.
|
2024
|
France, Middle
East.
|
European Tour:
Rights
|
Commencing
|
Markets
|
Exclusive
Broadcast
and GOLFTV Digital
Streaming Rights
|
2019
|
Albania, Cyprus,
Greece, Hungary, Italy, Malta, Romania, Russia, Spain (sublicense
agreed with Movistar+), Turkey, Ukraine.
|
2020
|
Iceland,
Poland.
|
2021
|
Belgium,
Netherlands
|
GOLFTV Digital
Streaming Rights
(TV
rights-holders
retain right to
simulcast linear coverage)
|
2019
|
Balkan
markets, Bulgaria, Estonia, Eurasia markets (Armenia,
Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova,
Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan), India, Indonesia, Latin
American markets, Latvia, Lithuania, Malaysia, Myanmar,
Portugal, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand.
|
2020
|
Vietnam.
|
2021
|
Hong Kong.
|
2022
|
Czech Republic,
Pan-Middle East, Slovakia.
|
GOLFTV Digital
Streaming Rights
(Excluding Ryder
Cup)
|
2019
|
Germany, Switzerland,
Austria.
|
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About Discovery
Discovery, Inc. (Nasdaq: DISCA,
DISCB, DISCK) is the global leader in real life entertainment,
serving a passionate audience of superfans around the world with
content that inspires, informs and entertains. Discovery delivers
over 8,000 hours of original programming each year and has category
leadership across deeply loved content genres around the world.
Available in 220 countries and territories and 50 languages,
Discovery is a platform innovator, reaching viewers on all screens,
including TV Everywhere products such as the GO portfolio of apps
and Discovery Kids Play; direct-to-consumer streaming services such
as Eurosport Player and Motor Trend OnDemand; and digital-first and
social content from Group Nine Media. Discovery's portfolio of
premium brands includes Discovery Channel, HGTV, Food Network, TLC,
Investigation Discovery, Travel Channel, Turbo/Velocity, Animal
Planet, and Science Channel, as well as OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network
in the U.S., Discovery Kids in Latin
America, and Eurosport, the leading provider of locally
relevant, premium sports and Home of the Olympic Games across
Europe. For more information,
please visit www.corporate.discovery.com and follow
@DiscoveryIncTV across social platforms.
About Ladies European Tour
The Ladies European Tour
(LET) is headquartered at the Buckinghamshire Golf Club near
London and celebrates women's golf
on a global stage. Since its formation 40 years ago, in 1978, the
Ladies European Tour has crowned more than 250 different winners as
players from 28 countries have lifted more than 730 championship
trophies. The LET operates tournaments across six continents and
The Solheim Cup, which has been played 15 times biannually since
1990, has become one of the biggest female sporting events in the
world. The LET Access Series is the official developmental tour and
bridges the gap from amateur to professional golf, giving young
players the opportunity to gain valuable competitive experience and
progress onto the main tour. Follow @LETgolf on Twitter and
Instagram or online at ladieseuropeantour.com.
About GOLFTV
GOLFTV is the new 'digital home of
golf' for the global fan community. At the heart of GOLFTV is
a live and on-demand video streaming service, showing every moment
of the PGA TOUR, featuring the world's greatest players, to a
global audience every week. Established with innovation at its
core, GOLFTV brings new drive, creativity and immersive technology
to the world of golf. It aspires to offer fans a new way
to consume, watch, play and engage with the game every
day. GOLFTV is part of Discovery, a global leader in
real-life entertainment with an extensive portfolio
of direct-to-consumer platforms. Visit GOLF.TV and follow
@GOLFTV on Twitter for the latest updates.
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SOURCE Discovery, Inc.