Discovery is buying Golf Digest from Condé Nast for an estimated $30M, "expanding its reach beyond its golf-streaming sweet spot," according to sources cited by Keith Kelly of the N.Y. POST. Discovery is "suddenly swinging a big club in global golf" after it signed a deal to carry PGA Tour events outside the U.S. and started GolfTV. The $30M price tag is a fraction of the estimated $430M that Condé Nast "paid to buy the monthly magazine and several smaller titles" from the N.Y. Times back in '90 (N.Y. POST, 5/13). VARIETY's Todd Spangler notes Discovery said that it will "weave Golf Digest’s business into the programmer’s GolfTV streaming-video division." Discovery added that it will "retain Golf Digest’s editorial team," led by Editor-In-Chief Jerry Tarde, who also will "become Global Head of Strategy and Content for Discovery Golf." Golf Digest’s ad sales team will be "phased out," as Discovery and the PGA Tour are "expanding their pact with a new content and sales relationship in the U.S., which will include managing Golf Digest’s advertising and marketing organizations." Discovery said that it "plans to boost Golf Digest’s presence outside the U.S. to grow its digital ad sales." Golf Digest will "continue to publish a U.S. monthly print magazine and Discovery will assume the global licenses for editions in nearly 70 countries" (VARIETY.com, 5/13).
