Sony Pixel Power calrec Sony

Live From THE PLAYERS: PGA TOUR World Feed Is Set To Wow International Fans, Rightsholders

12/03/2025

Live From THE PLAYERS: PGA TOUR World Feed Is Set To Wow International Fans, Rightsholders The world feed will feature dedicated TOUR graphics and announcers By Ken Kerschbaumer, Editorial Director

Wednesday, March 12, 2025 - 6:03 pm

Print This Story | Subscribe

Story Highlights

Early this year, the PGA TOUR officially opened its PGA TOUR Studios, a massive production facility located next to TPC Sawgrass, the legendary course that is home to THE PLAYERS tournament this week. Today marks a new era in PGA TOUR world-feed production: the new facility will be producing a world feed that not only has its own graphics look but offers much more golf for international rightsholders.

PGA TOUR's Kate Sharpe (left) and Greg Hopfe in the production-control room that will provide a next-level world feed

The PGA TOUR has offered an enhanced international feed (EIF) for its events for more than 25 years, producing it from the PGA TOUR production facility at the World Golf Village in St. Augustine, FL, about 22 miles from the organization's new studio. The EIF basically took the NBC Sports or CBS Sports programming feed and delivered it to viewers, complete with the respective broadcaster's announcers and graphics. The only difference between the domestic and international feeds was that, when the broadcaster would go to break or a domestic-related promo, the international feed would fill the break with other content and PGA TOUR announcers.

Now, in PGA TOUR Studios' new 165,000-sq.-ft. facility, Production Control Room 1B will be the week-in/week-out home of a team of around 30, producing a world feed that will better meet the needs of international rightsholders and fans.

PGA TOUR Commissioner Jay Monaghan weighs in on the importance of that capability to the future of the TOUR: For the first time, we will be able to customize our broadcasts for markets around the world. As the game and our membership becomes increasingly global, we will now be able to present the PGA TOUR to fans everywhere, from Seoul to Stockholm, in a more localized and relevant way.

According to PGA TOUR SVP/Executive Producer Greg Hopfe, the TOUR expects to use the domestic feed for about 70% of the coverage at THE PLAYERS. However, NBC has set up the Grass Valley Kayenne switcher in the TOUR production truck onsite to send a secondary signal that has PGA TOUR wipes instead of Peacock wipes, providing international viewers a much more consistent and cohesive world feed.

We don't get [NBC] graphics, he notes, but we get their technology, like tracing, and we have our own announcers. Each week, the PGA TOUR team will feature a host, two analysts, and an on-course reporter from a group of more than 30 (this week's talent includes John Swantek, Craig Perks, Billy Kratzert, and Colin Swatton).

The world feed will also have some of its own cameras to complement what comes in from NBC and give the world-feed team more looks. We don't need to throw a ton more resources at it, says Hopfe. We'll have one camera at the 17th and 18th to be with the finishing groups and then another four that can be with international groups that we don't think will get much domestic coverage.

Using PGA TOUR announcers for the entire broadcast gives the world-feed team the freedom to cut around the incoming NBC feed. The PGA TOUR production has four Hawk-Eye replay operators building clips for the show, and world-feed producer Steven Roth and director Emmett Loughran can hear the NBC production team and see NBC's preview and a multiviewer of NBC's replay options.

It allows us to show a lot more international players, adds Hopfe. If NBC wants to show an American player who is seven shots back, we can go in and show something else that best meets the needs of our international rightsholders.

To PGA TOUR VP, Broadcast Technology, Mike Raimondo, the biggest challenge was setting up NBC and CBS with the new in-house graphics packages. We had to make sure that the Shotlink data properly populated the new graphics package, and that took some time. Other than bringing in more Hawk-Eye operators so we can bring in more content, it has been fairly straightforward.

PGA TOUR SVP, International Media, Kate Sharp notes that the international players move the needle for rights partners as well as for sponsors and international fans.

A test at the Genesis Open this year proved just how improved the world feed is going to be. The international feed has four two-minute breaks per hour. For the Genesis Open, that translated into showing 600 shots during the four hours of final-round coverage, versus 350 shots on the domestic feed.

And we had more shots of the internationals, like 27 shots of Hideki Matsuyama, compared to two shots, and 78 shots of Ludvig berg, Sharp adds. We can tailor it to what we know the international audience is going to want to see. Yes, we're still going to do the storyline of the tournament and the top guys, but we can also show the guys that we want to, and that will help not just our business partners but all of our international fans.

This weekend marks step one in what is going to be the transformation of the world feed in the coming years. The new PGA TOUR Studios facility has additional control-room and production areas that could offer more-regionalized feeds for different areas of the world, better serving the needs of sponsors and rightsholders alike.

Now that we have more operational control, we can do what we want with it, says Sharpe. This is not just a better product; it is a better way to message our tournaments and our brand to our international fans. We think it will create more value and gives our partners and potential partners more opportunities to also engage with us.
LINK: https://www.sportsvideo.org/2025/03/12/live-from-the-players-pga-tour-...
See more stories from svg

More from Sports Video Group

25/04/2025

Super Bowl Streaming Success: A Conversation with Tubi's Chief Product & Technology Officer Mike Bidgoli

Super Bowl Streaming Success: A Conversation with Tubi's Chief Product & Tec...

25/04/2025

Tariff Turmoil: Trump's Trade Policy Sparks Uncertainty at NAB and Increases Focus on Software Adoption

Tariff Turmoil: Trump's Trade Policy Sparks Uncertainty at NAB and Increases...

24/04/2025

Live From NFL Draft 2025: NFL Media Splits Sprawling Production Between Green Bay and L.A.

Live From NFL Draft 2025: NFL Media Splits Sprawling Production Between Green Ba...

24/04/2025

Live From NFL Draft 2025: Van Wagner Turns Titletown Into Center of Fan Entertainment Outside Lambeau Field

Live From NFL Draft 2025: Van Wagner Turns Titletown Into Center of Fan Entertai...

24/04/2025

Live From the NFL Draft: NFL Media Splits Massive Production Between Green Bay and L.A.

Live From the NFL Draft: NFL Media Splits Massive Production Between Green Bay a...

24/04/2025

Comcast Fills SpinCo Sports Executive Ranks With Matt Hong as President, Jeff Behnke as SVP of Production

Comcast Fills SpinCo Sports Executive Ranks With Matt Hong as President, Jeff Be...

23/04/2025

Audio Helps Chess.com Checkmate Cheating

Audio Helps Chess.com Checkmate Cheating Matches are produced using REMI workflows By Dan Daley, Audio Editor Wednesday, April 23, 2025 - 7:00 am Print Th...

23/04/2025

Tech Focus: Intercoms, Part 1 - Key to Onsite, REMI, Hybrid Operations

Tech Focus: Intercoms, Part 1 - Key to Onsite, REMI, Hybrid Operations Intercoms keep increasingly disparate production locations together By Dan Daley, Audio ...

23/04/2025

Speaking My Language: Bringing AI to the Fore With Real Time Audio Translation for French football

Speaking my language: Bringing AI to the fore with real time audio translation f...

22/04/2025

Pushing the Game: Growing the Popularity of the 2025 Women's Six Nations Through Collaboration and Ever More Broadcast Coverage

Pushing the game: Growing the popularity of the 2025 Women's Six Nations thr...

22/04/2025

New Sponsor Spotlight: RedFlag AI CEO Max Eisendrath on Creating a One-Stop Shop for Sports Content Protection

New Sponsor Spotlight: RedFlag AI CEO Max Eisendrath on Creating a One-Stop Shop...

22/04/2025

Live From The Crucible: BBC Sport's Phil Bigwood Discusses Transitioning the Triple Crown of Snooker to Sunset+Vine

Live from The Crucible: BBC Sport's Phil Bigwood discusses transitioning the...

22/04/2025

You Are There': FOX Sports, Sony, Hawk-Eye Innovations Break Down the Latest Trends in NFL Camera Coverage

You Are There': FOX Sports, Sony, Hawk-Eye Innovations Break Down the Latest...

21/04/2025

Award-Winning Producer/Director Don Mischer Dead at 85

Award-Winning Producer/Director Don Mischer Dead at 85 He directed Olympic Opening Ceremonies and Super Bowl Halftime Shows By Ken Kerschbaumer, Editorial Dire...

21/04/2025

The Strength of Kindness: Collaborative Effort Helps Special Olympics World Winter Games Reach a Wider Audience

The strength of kindness: Collaborative effort helps Special Olympics World Wint...

21/04/2025

Nashville Juggles A Cornucopia Of Sports With Its Star on the Rise

Nashville Juggles A Cornucopia Of Sports With Its Star on the Rise NFL, NHL, MLS, MLB AAA, NASCAR want a place in Music City By Dan Daley, Audio Editor Monda...

21/04/2025

SVG Sit-Down: Telstra Broadcast Services CEO Karen Clark on the Challenge of Live Global Distribution

SVG Sit-Down: Telstra Broadcast Services CEO Karen Clark on the Challenge of Liv...

21/04/2025

Award Winning Producer/Director Don Mischer Dead at 85

Award Winning Producer/Director Don Mischer Dead at 85 By Ken Kerschbaumer, Editorial Director Monday, April 21, 2025 - 12:30 pm Print This Story | Subscr...

21/04/2025

The Fox Sports Way: How AR Graphics, XR Tech, and LED Displays Have Become Centerpieces of FOX Sports' Biggest Events

The Fox Sports Way: How AR Graphics, XR Tech, and LED Displays Have Become Cente...

18/04/2025

NHL Playoffs 2025: TNT Sports Hits the Road for Onsite Productions With Mobile Units from NEP Group, Game Creek Video

NHL Playoffs 2025: TNT Sports Hits the Road for Onsite Productions With Mobile U...

18/04/2025

EVS's Sbastien Verlaine on U.S. Expansion, Next-Generation Products

EVSs S bastien Verlaine on U.S. Expansion, Next-Generation Products Beyond replay, offerings also target asset management and media infrastructure By Ken Kersc...

18/04/2025

ESPN Unleashes 4DREPLAY as NCAA Women's Gymnastics Championships Hit ABC

ESPN Unleashes 4DREPLAY as NCAA Women's Gymnastics Championships Hit ABC Men's championships to follow Saturday night on ESPN2 By Brandon Costa, Direct...

18/04/2025

Visualizing Victory: The Latest in AR, XR, and Virtual Production in Live Sports

Visualizing Victory: The Latest in AR, XR, and Virtual Production in Live Sports This panel discussion featured leaders from ESPN, CBS Sports, Warner Bros. Disc...

18/04/2025

NHL Playoffs 2025: With 16 Games in First Six Days, ESPN Deploys Variety of Remote-Production Models in U.S., Canada

NHL Playoffs 2025: With 16 Games in First Six Days, ESPN Deploys Variety of Remo...

17/04/2025

The Curling Group Puts On Inaugural Curling All-Star Game in Nashville

The Curling Group Puts On Inaugural Curling All-Star Game in Nashville The location in Music City is intended to broaden the sport's appeal By Dan Daley, ...

17/04/2025

SVG Sit-Down: Cisco's Bryan Bedford on Providing End-to-End Support for Clients, How Industry Trends Impact Workflows

SVG Sit-Down: Cisco's Bryan Bedford on Providing End-to-End Support for Clie...

17/04/2025

FIFA's Oscar Sanchez on the Task of Producing a North American World Cup

FIFA's Oscar Sanchez on the Task of Producing a North American World Cup The head of host broadcast production spoke during SVG Europe's Football Summit...

17/04/2025

NBA Playoffs 2025: As Play-In Tourney Continues, TNT Sports Preps Escalated Game-Day Tech for Postseason

NBA Playoffs 2025: As Play-In Tourney Continues, TNT Sports Preps Escalated Game...

17/04/2025

NBA Playoffs 2025: ESPN's Postseason Run Highlighted by New Cameras, Player Mics, Flagship Mobile Unit

NBA Playoffs 2025: ESPN's Postseason Run Highlighted by New Cameras, Player ...

16/04/2025

SVG Digital Engagement Forum 2025: All Sessions Now Available to Watch on SVG PLAY

SVG Digital Engagement Forum 2025: All Sessions Now Available to Watch on SVG PL...

16/04/2025

SVG College Sports Media Awards 2025: Today is the Final Deadline to Enter!

SVG College Sports Media Awards 2025: Today is the Final Deadline to Enter! All entries must be received by end-of-day April 16 By Brandon Costa, Director of D...

16/04/2025

Ross Video's Kevin Cottam on Carbonite HyperMax, Other Innovations at NAB 2025

Ross Video's Kevin Cottam on Carbonite HyperMax, Other Innovations at NAB 20...

15/04/2025

From Homer to Mickey, How ESPN Is Blazing the Live Animated Broadcast Trail

From Homer to Mickey, How ESPN Is Blazing the Live Animated Broadcast Trail ESPNs Amy Nelson, Sparky Sparrgrove, and Spike Szykowny offer an inside look at the ...

15/04/2025

SVG College Sports Media Awards 2025: Final Deadline to Enter is Wednesday

SVG College Sports Media Awards 2025: Final Deadline to Enter is Wednesday All entries must be received by end-of-day April 16 By Brandon Costa, Director of Di...

15/04/2025

Football Summit 2025: BBC Sport and Sunset+Vine Share Plans for UEFA Women's Euro 2025

Football Summit 2025: BBC Sport and Sunset Vine share plans for UEFA Women's...

15/04/2025

SVG New Sponsor Spotlight: ScorePlay Cofounder and CEO Vic Tixier on Media Management Solutions For Sports People By Sports People

SVG New Sponsor Spotlight: ScorePlay Cofounder and CEO Vic Tixier on Media Manag...

15/04/2025

Inside IOWN: Envisioning a High-Speed, High-Capacity Future for Live Productions

Inside IOWN: Envisioning a high-speed, high-capacity future for live productions By Joe OHalloran Tuesday, April 15, 2025 - 09:38 Print This Story As dele...

15/04/2025

Neither Fair Nor Objective, Mediapro Reacts Strongly to LaLiga Decision to Award Production Contract to HBS

Neither fair nor objective , Mediapro reacts strongly to LaLiga decision to awar...

15/04/2025

HBS and NVP Take LaLiga Production and Distribution for First and Second Division Matches on Five-Year Contract

HBS and NVP take LaLiga production and distribution for first and second divisio...

15/04/2025

LA28 Details Venue Plans for 2028 Summer Games

LA28 Details Venue Plans for 2028 Summer Games By Ken Kerschbaumer, Editorial Director Tuesday, April 15, 2025 - 1:37 pm Print This Story | Subscribe St...

14/04/2025

NAB 2025 in Review: Broadcast Audio Faces a Future of Tariff-Induced Higher Costs

NAB 2025 in Review: Broadcast Audio Faces a Future of Tariff-Induced Higher Cost...

14/04/2025

Changing the World: Behind the Collaborative Production of the 2025 Special Olympics World Winter Games

Changing the world: Behind the collaborative production of the 2025 Special Olym...

14/04/2025

From Paris to Milano Cortina: The International Paralympic Committee on the Movement's French Triumph and Looking Ahead to Italian Success

From Paris to Milano Cortina: The International Paralympic Committee on the move...

14/04/2025

SVG College Summit 2025: Jimmy Platt, ESPN's College Football Playoff, Women's Basketball Final Four Director, to Keynote

SVG College Summit 2025: Jimmy Platt, ESPN's College Football Playoff, Women...

14/04/2025

NAB 2025 in Review: SVG Audio Roundtable Reflects On a Changing Industry

NAB 2025 in Review: SVG Audio Roundtable Reflects On a Changing Industry Global sports, speech intelligibility, digital microphones are on the table By Dan Dal...

14/04/2025

NAB 2025 in Review: The Pairing of AI and Audio Is Possible

NAB 2025 in Review: The Pairing of AI and Audio Is Possible But it won't necessarily happen tomorrow By Dan Daley, Audio Editor Monday, April 14, 2025 - ...

14/04/2025

WNBA Draft 2025: ESPN's Onsite Effort Fits Into NYC Grid for National Telecast From The Shed at Hudson Yards

WNBA Draft 2025: ESPN's Onsite Effort Fits Into NYC Grid for National Teleca...

11/04/2025

The Teeter Totter Podcast featuring Mario Zecca and Corey Alberty: Super Bowl LIX with Fox Sports Director Rich Russo

The Teeter Totter Podcast featuring Mario Zecca and Corey Alberty: Super Bowl LI...