Twitter, continuing to push into live video streaming, reached a deal with the PGA Tour that makes the social service the exclusive free distribution platform for select golf tournament coverage through the remainder of the 2016-17 season.
The PGA Tour’s free video streams on Twitter will encompass more than 70 hours of live competition coverage across 31 tournaments this year. The deal is aimed at generating ad revenue by getting in front of golf fans across the world, as well as promoting the PGA Tour Live subscription service, priced at $40 per year (or $5.99 per month), which is operated by MLB Advanced Media’s BAMTech.
Twitter will begin live streaming at the CareerBuilder Challenge on Jan. 19, 2017, and conclude at the season-ending Tour Championship in Charlotte, N.C., in August. Coverage typically will include the first 60 to 90 minutes from the early Thursday and Friday morning hours of PGA Tour Live’s subscription window. That will include pre-game analysis, interviews, range coverage, and live competition from the first two holes of each day’s PGA Tour Live Marquee Groups.
The live streams will be available globally on Twitter at PGATourLive.twitter.com and on @PGATour, as well as connected devices like Apple TV and Amazon Fire TV, to both logged-in and logged-out users. The expanded deal comes after the PGA Tour last year teamed with Twitter to offer live-streaming portions of the first two events of the 2016 FedEx Cup playoffs.
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“Streaming PGA Tour Live programming to Twitter’s global audience, as well as the millions of users who follow @PGATOUR and hundreds of PGA Tour player accounts, will provide new and innovative ways for sports fans to engage with our premium OTT offering,” said Rick Anderson, PGA Tour’s chief media officer.
Under the pact, Twitter has the opportunity to sell advertising with mid-roll spots, combined with original clips produced by the PGA Tour available for sponsorship and promotion on Twitter. The partnership also includes an extension of the PGA Tour and Twitter’s Amplify program, with PGA Tour planning to increase its highlight videos and regular content creation across Twitter and Periscope.
