Premium golf coverage for South Korean fans
December 4, 2019
Multichannel programmer Discovery and JTBC GOLF, an affiliate of JTBC, one of the biggest TV stations in South Korea, have forged a long-term partnership to grow golf viewership and engagement in South Korea. The new collaboration will present the PGA Tour throughout the country on all screens and devices.
Beginning in 2020, golf fans in South Korea will be able to enjoy live action, highlights and programming from the PGA Tour on the JTBC GOLF linear TV channel and simulcast via JTBC GOLF’s digital services. Coverage of the PGA Tour will include some of the biggest tournaments on the golf calendar, including The Players Championship, the FedExCup Playoffs and the Presidents Cup.
A range of content from Discovery’s GOLFTV powered by PGA Tour platform will be featured on JTBC GOLF’s digital services under the partnership. In addition to the rights agreement, Discovery and JTBC GOLF will also collaborate to explore new ways to bring premium golf coverage and content to South Korean audiences in the future.
Under the multi-year agreement, JTBC GOLF will sublicense (from Discovery) exclusive linear TV and select digital rights to the PGA Tour. It follows the strategic alliance between Discovery and the PGA Tour, announced in June 2018, that includes the management of the PGA Tour’s international multi-platform rights.
“The golf fan community in South Korea is one of the most passionate in the world. As we strive to super serve fans with everything associated with the game, it is particularly exciting to embark upon a partnership with JTBC GOLF that will further extend golf viewership and engagement in the country,” said Alex Kaplan, President and General Manager, Discovery Golf.
“In addition to the roll out of GOLFTV internationally, our partnership with JTBC GOLF is a leading example of Discovery delivering against its ambition to build scale around golf and execute a robust distribution and broadcast-partner strategy for the portfolio,” Kaplan added.
“We are very pleased to announce that the JTBC GOLF has been awarded the exclusive TV and Digital broadcasting rights of PGA Tour from 2020 and onwards under the strategic partnership with Discovery Golf,” said Seongwan Hong, President and CEO of JTBC GOLF.
“JTBC GOLF is undoubtedly the best golf channel in Korea, and has been presenting premium golf contents to Korean viewers, such as The Open, US Open, PGA Championship, LPGA Tour and other major LPGA tournaments, European Tour and KPGA. We are delighted to place PGA Tour under our premium golf chain and to provide viewers with a superlative golf experience. In the midst of a rapidly digitalising media and sports environment, we believe that by fostering this meaningful strategic partnership, JTBC GOLF and Discovery Golf will create more synergies to better serve Korean viewers, including active utilisation of cross-media platforms,” Seongwan Hong concluded.
Discovery first unveiled the GOLFTV brand in October 2018 with the live and on-demand international video-streaming service launched internationally (outside of the United States) in January 2019. Discovery’s ambition to create a global golf ecosystem was underlined by the acquisition of Golf Digest, the world’s No. 1 golf media brand, in May 2019.