PGA TOUR telecasts to reach 209 countries, 500 million households

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PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. -- International coverage of the PGA TOUR continues to grow, as tournament telecasts in 2008 will reach more than 500 million households outside of the U.S. in 209 countries and be broadcast in 35 languages on more than 70 channels.

The PGA TOUR's International Television Department, which began representing all international television rights in 2007, most recently has added as new broadcasting partners Viasat Sport in Russia, Neo Sports in India and Melita Sports in Malta.

Also new this year is the introduction of high-definition telecasts through PGA TOUR Productions for 27 FedExCup tournaments, beginning with this week's Buick Invitational. Among the broadcasters that will carry the Buick Invitational in high-def are RDS in Canada, Viasat Sport HD and TV2 Sport HD in Scandinavia, and Sport 1 HD in The Netherlands.

"The high-definition feed not only benefits those who have HD capability but also allows broadcasters who do not yet have an HD channel to deliver the PGA TOUR to their audience in higher quality in widescreen format," said Tim Leisure, Senior Vice President, International Television. "HD will continue to become more prominent internationally and, in doing so, offer golf fans a true feel for the natural beauty and challenges of the golf courses. We're pleased to begin providing HD feeds and be in a position to take advantage of the growth of HD capabilities throughout the world."

In all, the TOUR will deliver nearly 1,000 hours of competition on the PGA TOUR, Champions Tour and Nationwide Tour to a worldwide audience.

Key partnerships in 2008 include Japan (NHK and Jupiter Golf Network), United Kingdom (Setanta), Spain (Golf+), Korea (SBS), China (Golf Channel, Guangdong TV) India (Ten Sports, Neo Sports), Germany (Premiere), Scandinavia (Viasat, TV2 Sport, Sport-N), Australia (Fox Sports), South Africa (Supersport), Latin America (Golf Channel, ESPN) and Canada (Canwest).

Not only is television coverage expanding; so, too, is the distribution of new media content in Japan and China.

The TOUR has granted SMJ of Japan exclusive rights to build and distribute tournament content via the official Japanese mobile site of the PGA TOUR. SMJ will distribute video previews and highlights from each day of the tournament, as well as provide live scoring, news, statistics and photos.

The TOUR also is finalizing details on the creation of official PGA TOUR mobile and Internet sites in China, which began televising PGA TOUR competition for the first time in 2007.

"These developments are a clear sign of international appeal of the PGA TOUR, which is strengthened by the significant presence of international stars who now are playing here," said Leisure.

The TOUR membership this year includes 78 players representing 19 countries outside the U.S. In fact, the first two tournaments this season have been won by international players: Daniel Chopra of Sweden (Mercedes-Benz Championship) and K.J. Choi of South Korea (Sony Open in Hawaii).