ESPN Picks Up Media Rights to Tiger and Rory Primetime Golf League
The Walt Disney Co. has snapped up the exclusive U.S. media rights to TGL, the Monday-night golf league backed by Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy. And while tech serves as the nerve center of the new venture, the rights deal has been structured so that linear-TV will function as TGL’s primary mode of distribution.
Per terms of the deal, all TGL matches will air on ESPN or ESPN2, while being simulcast on Disney’s direct-to-consumer service, ESPN+. Both linear networks reach 71.3 million U.S. TV households, placing them among the ranks of the most-distributed sports channels in the traditional cable bundle. Now in its fifth year of operation, ESPN+ boasts 25.2 million subscribers.
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The inaugural TGL match will tee off in primetime on Tuesday, Jan. 9, on ESPN/ESPN+, with the second event scheduled to air in the same configuration seven days later. Both telecasts will benefit from an in-house promo push, as ESPN’s coverage of the first TGL outing will air the night following the network’s presentation of the College Football Playoff National Championship Game, while the Jan. 16 match follows on the heels of ESPN/ABC’s NFL Wild Card showcase.
Once the big January events are out of the way, TGL will air on a regular Monday night schedule. A full breakdown of 2024 TGL matches will be released at a later date.
While financials were not disclosed, a TGL rep characterized the Disney partnership as a multiyear deal, while emphasizing that Disney is paying a monetary fee in exchange for the rights to air the matches. In other words, this is neither a time-buy nor a revenue-sharing arrangement.
This is the latest move for TGL parent TMRW sports, which announced a long-term partnership with SoFi on Tuesday. Creative Artists Agency’s merchant bank, Evolution Media Capital, advised TMRW Sports on the domestic rights deal, and is serving in a similar capacity as the startup looks to secure international distribution.
In keeping with TGL’s mission to place fans at the center of the action, the ESPN telecasts will feature mic-ed up duffers, multiple data overlays and various interactive elements. In what may qualify as the most user-friendly development, all TGL matches will clock in at a brisk two hours, well shy of TV’s standard 4.5-hour rounds of golf.
“Innovation and creativity are core to our ESPN mission, and TGL will bring those tenets to life for golf fans,” Rosalyn Durant, ESPN exec VP, programming and acquisitions, said by way of announcing the deal. “It’s an exciting landscape for presenting golf, and we look forward to bringing it to fans.”
Since Woods and McIlroy unveiled the TGL concept in August 2022, the venture has drummed up backing from the likes of Fenway Sports Group’s Tom Werner, Mets owner Steve Cohen and Arthur Blank’s AMB Sports and Entertainment. Earlier this summer, Serena Williams, her husband, Alexis Ohanian, and sister Venus Williams purchased Los Angeles Golf Club, one of TGL’s six founding teams. Links assassins Tony Romo (+0.3 handicap) and Steph Curry (+1.3) are also investors.
Under the TGL format, each team is composed of three players, who’ll compete on a virtual course in front of crowds of flesh-and-blood fans. The 11-week campaign will run through March 25, before giving way to a postseason format that will air on consecutive weeks in April.
Among the pros joining Woods and McIlroy on the simulated tour are 2023 Masters champ Jon Rahm and 2017/2022 PGA Championship winner Justin Thomas.
Because the PGA Tour is an investor in TGL, players are free to participate in both leagues.
Per internal projections, each of the six TGL teams are expected to generate $12.4 million in revenue by 2026, with sponsorship contributing the greatest chunk ($5.5 million) of that windfall. Those extrapolations, which were laid out in a 56-page investor deck reviewed by Sportico, also include estimates for ticketing, licensing and events. That said, the document does not offer guidance as to what a U.S. media deal might contribute to the TGL revenue stack.
Golf aficionados and curiosity seekers alike can get a first look at what TGL has cooking on Saturday, Dec. 30, when ABC will air a special introduction to the league, its six teams and some of the bleeding-edge tech that will power the new venture. The preview will air on one side of the Music City Bowl, which is set to kick off on ABC at 2 p.m. ET.
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