ESPN has secured an agreement with World Sport Group, OneAsia’s media partner, to televise its first live golf programming in theUK. The sports media company will bring fans eight days of live, multi-platform coverage from the Australian PGA Championship and the Emirates Australian Open next month.
On TV, ESPN will broadcast live and exclusive coverage of the Emirates Australian Open between November 10 and 13. The tournament will welcome back reigning champion, Australian Geoff Ogilvy, as he sets out to retain the title in his home country, competing against a line-up including former world number one Tiger Woods as well as Jason Day, Dustin Johnson, Fred Couples, Matt Kuchar, Nick Watney, Hunter Mahan, Rickie Fowler and Bubba Watson.
Live golf action on ESPN will then continue with coverage of the PGA Championship fromAustralia’sSunshineCoastbetween November 24 and 27. ESPN will bring fans five hours of live coverage from each tournament every night, along with highlights of the action during the day.
Online, daily video highlights of both tournaments will be available along with reports and analysis throughout on ESPN.co.uk.
The Australian PGA Championship will welcome a host of big names to the tournament including former world number three Adam Scott, twenty-times PGA title holder Greg Norman and major championship winner 2009 PGA Championship winner Y.E. Yang.Northern Ireland’s Darren Clarke is the latest addition to the line-up as he looks to add to his 2011 titles after his victory at this year’s British Open.
These additions expand ESPN’s broad multi-platform sports programming line-up. The sports media company has secured its first live darts programming, including the 2012 Lakeside World Professional Darts Championships next January. Additionally, it has bolstered its football offering with the renewal of its rights toItaly’s Serie A, Dutch Eredivise and UEFA Europa League.
Jeroen Oerlemans, Vice-President TV Channels, ESPN EMEA, said: “As we continue to expand our content in theUK, we’re delighted to add two of the most important golf tournaments in the final months of the season. Through ESPN.co.uk and other media around the world, ESPN has a long association with golf that we will look to expand here in theUK.”
The 2011 PGA Championship and Emirates Australian Open form part of ESPN’s line-up of top quality UK and international sport, including: the Barclays Premier League, the FA Cup, Aviva Premiership Rugby, Clydesdale Bank Premier League, UEFA Europa League, Serie A, Bundesliga, the NFL’s Monday Night Football, NBA, UFC, AFL, French Top 14 rugby, DTM, and much more.