Tommy Fleetwood celebrates victory after the singles matches of the 2018 Ryder Cup.Getty Images
In an effort to amplify and simplify the business around the Ryder Cup, the PGA of America, European Tour and NBC Sports Group have formed a digital media partnership that will go into effect next year.
The deal will have the rights holders selling sponsorships around NBC-created programming as much as a year before the biennial tournament.
Talks started soon after the 2016 Ryder Cup in Chaska, Minn., according to Golf Channel President Mike McCarley.
“We all started talking about what would this look like if we really tried to build a year-round content plan around the Ryder Cup,” McCarley said. “We quickly got to the idea that we needed fewer partners, but partners that are more engaged and bought into the process.”
The Ryder Cup business has long been crowded with companies. It has two different rights holders in PGA of America and the European Tour. Up until last year, Turner handled digital media, with Sky handling television in Britain and NBC handling television in the United States, not to mention other media partners around the world.
Last year, Turner told the PGA of America that it would step away from the business. Last September, Comcast agreed to buy Sky for $39 billion. The PGA of America was keen to engage NBC, which has held Ryder Cup rights since 1991, to pick up Turner’s digital rights. NBC holds the Ryder Cup’s media rights through 2030.
“Right now, content on digital and content on television is six days,” McCarley said. “Now there is a year-out event. What if it’s a two-year content property? What would content creation look like if you had all of the partners aligned around one property and developing and creating content together? Obviously with Sky coming into the Comcast family from a content creation standpoint for us, made the whole equation that much easier and that much simpler.”
The PGA of America and European Tour will lead the sales efforts. Expect NBC’s new digital platform to help boost their plan to sell worldwide Ryder Cup partnerships. BMW and Aberdeen Standard Investments are current Ryder Cup worldwide partners. The PGA of America is looking to add up to four additional partners.
“It makes it simple for partners on a worldwide basis,” said Jeff Price, PGA of America’s chief commercial officer. “It is one deal that will tie up sponsorship content and the media assets. Our goal is to make sure that partners are woven into everything we do. It fits well together and is the logical next step to grow the tremendous assets.”
Price would not disclose how revenue between the PGA of America, the European Tour and NBC would be divided. Advertising on the new platform will be limited to Ryder Cup worldwide partners and suppliers, Price added.
“The key is making a designation and not selling on an ad hoc basis,” he said. “It’s how they can customize the value proposition. We want a core group that will enhance the experience and allow them to activate.”
The deal comes as the PGA of America also looks to revamp its other digital assets after Turner’s exit. Turner had operated PGA.com and the PGA of America now plans a major overhaul with far more interactive features, including online lessons with PGA of America professionals and other direct engagement with the group’s nearly 29,000 members.
Starting next year, NBC Sports Digital also will develop and operate three of the PGA of America’s championship websites: the PGA Championship, KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship and the PGA Professional Championship.
