GoPro beginning with this week’s Waste Management Phoenix Open is turning its cameras toward the PGA Tour as part of its latest content partnership with a sports property. On the heels of its work with ESPN at X Games Aspen and the launch of its new “NHL After Dark” web series, GoPro will offer viewers of the PGA Tour Live and Skratch TV OTT platforms five different live streams fed by 12 different cameras at TPC Scottsdale, with coverage focused on the famous 16th hole. GoPro VP/Int’l Marketing Bryan Johnston said, “Traditional broadcasts do a great job, but they offer more of a long lens experience.” Coverage began during yesterday’s Pro-Am with some participants wearing cameras mounted to their chests and hats. During this week’s Tour event, cameras will be positioned for close-ups of tee shots and sand traps, in addition to other spots. PGA Tour Live talent will wear chest-mounted cameras, and there will also be “fan cams.” Negotiations between GoPro and the Tour were handled in-house.The live stream offers GoPro an opportunity to show off its HeroCast technology, which it touts for its ability to capture and stream broadcast-quality video. Johnston: “HeroCast allows a league, a broadcaster, a network a very eloquent solution to something they’ve desired for a longtime. … It allows perspectives and an efficiency that leagues have been looking for and fans have been looking for.” Similar to its NHL deal, GoPro will also produce episodic content involving PGA Tour events and athletes, including Justin Thomas, who the brand recently signed to an endorsement deal.
