Turner Sports Rolls Out New Interactive Features For PGA Championship

Turner Sports is putting a heavy emphasis on interactive content in its plans for TNT's coverage of next week's PGA Championship from the Atlanta Athletic Club. The net will employ this strategy in an effort to complement its TV airtime on digital outlets as well as to reach fans who are away from their sets. Turner Sports Senior VP & GM Matt Hong said, "We continue to be multiplatform, and really behind multiplatform we just want to make sure we're ubiquitous." An example of increased interactivity is the "360 Degree Camera" feature within the PGA Championship Live video player on PGA.com. Users can use this to control camera angles and positions during live action. Hong likened it to some real estate websites that allow users to see every angle of a property. Also new this year is a "Snap & Share" tool allowing users to create their own highlights and share them on social networks. In terms of additions to the TV presentation, the net's on-air talent will have access to a "Magic Wall" digital touchscreen, similar to those used during CNN shows and Turner's NCAA men's basketball coverage earlier this year. The PGA Championship iPhone app will be entirely free this year thanks to a sponsorship activation by Mercedes-Benz. The app debuted in '09 for $1.99 and last year was released as a free version with an optional $1.99 upgrade for video. TNT will air Thursday's and Friday's rounds, plus early coverage Saturday and Sunday before CBS takes over after 2:00pm ET.

ACROSS THE UNIVERSE: Turner Sports operates PGA.com in partnership with the PGA Of America, similar to its relationship with Golf.com and the PGA Tour for its official site. Hong noted Turner also has a content providing and ad sales relationship with Yahoo Golf, allowing the media company to "synergize content" and "sell to sponsors across all four sites." All four sites will feature the same live video.