Twitter is "in talks" to screen the U.S. PGA Championship in the U.K. "after Sky lost its exclusive broadcast rights to the event," according to Ahmed & Bond of the FINANCIAL TIMES. The social media company is "holding negotiations to obtain the digital streaming rights" to the '17 tournament for the U.K., according to several people briefed on the discussions. A deal with Twitter "would fit" the U.S. company’s strategy of "obtaining live sports rights in a bid to grow its user base in its effort to reach profitability." If Twitter is successful in securing the U.S. PGA rights, "it would be a blow to Sky," the satellite broadcaster that has exclusively shown the event on its British sports channels for the past decade. Other people familiar with the process said that a British "free-to-air" broadcaster was also in talks for TV rights to next month’s tournament at Quail Hollow Club in North Carolina. The rights "could be attractive to the BBC," which has scaled back its live golf coverage due to the need to make cost savings. Together, the TV and digital deals for the tournament are "expected to recoup" up to $10M, "similar to what Sky had paid for past tournaments" (FT, 7/16).
