- The Players Championship will live stream more than 32,000 shots from 144 different golfers.
- The PGA Tour expanded its partnership with IMG Arena earlier this year to allow them to distribute data to sportsbook operators in the US.
- Live betting on the PGA Tour could be greatly expanded with the new streaming announcement.
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – In an announcement made by the PGA Tour, The Players Championship in 2020 will live stream every shot made by every player. It is the first time in the history of professional golf that viewers will have a chance to follow any player this way.
The PGA Tour, along with NBC Sports, will work to bring spectators more than 32,000 shots made by 144 golfers over a total of 72 holes.
“The PGA Tour is the most content-rich sport on the planet and we have been focused on expanding the amount of content we bring to our fans from our competitions,” said Chief Media Officer of the PGA Tour, Rick Anderson in a press release.
“Our vision is to bring every shot in every PGA Tour golf tournament live and on-demand to our fans, and this is the first step to making that happen.”
The tournament will span from March 12-15 and will be available to those with a subscription to PGA Tour Live, NBC Sports Gold, or Amazon Prime Video.
How Does This Affect Betting On The PGA Tour?
With viewers now being able to watch every shot, the betting opportunities for US sportsbooks to provide has exploded. Live-betting has become increasingly popular, especially in states with mobile sports wagering apps.
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This also means the PGA Tour stands to profit from distributing its live data. Last month, The PGA Tour extended its existing partnership with IMG Arena to allow the company to distribute tournament data to sports betting operators across the US.
However, USA sportsbooks may hold off in order to test and see how fast the streaming times can be. Those who normally stream sports online can notice a slight lag when compared to TV broadcasts and radio broadcasts.
This may stop legal sports betting operators from wanting to offer certain live betting lines on The Players Championship. The event will have 120 cameras positioned throughout the course and each group will have its own dedicated stream.
It’s also not the first time the event will feature new initiatives by the Tour.
“The Players Championship has long been the tournament where the Tour debuts the newest technology, including Live@17, our first Virtual Reality experience, and PGA Tour Augmented Reality iPhone app, just to name a few,” said SVP of Media for the PGA Tour Luis Goicouria.
Given the Tour’s experience with rolling out unique technology and their push to provide data to US sportsbooks, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see more betting lines for The Players Championship next year.
Hasan began his career working in local and state government offices while studying marketing at Florida State University. After graduating, he began to write on the sports betting industry as a whole. This includes online gambling in the U.S. as well as news regarding the latest happenings in sports. In his free time, Hasan is both a creative writer and a life-long fan of the Florida State Seminoles football team. He also produces music, plays soccer, and travels.
