By Rahul Banerji
The PGA Tour has entered an agreement with social media giant Facebook to distribute daily highlights packages globally on Facebook Watch for 2020, the first event highlighted being last week’s Farmers Insurance Open.
The PGA Tour will publish daily recaps and player-specific highlights from more than 30 events, including The Players Championship and FedExCup Playoffs, it said in a statement.
The highlights will feature content from Tour telecasts, besides content from PGA Tour Live, the over the top (OTT) service that will offer over 1,200 hours of coverage in 2020.
“We’re excited to expand our partnership with Facebook by delivering additional content for our fans,” said Chris Wandell, Vice President Media Business Development at the PGA Tour.
“This is in response to our fans’ appetite for additional coverage packaged in a way that is convenient for them to consume.”
Packaged experience
The Tour will create a highlights experience for fans around the world on Facebook Watch and can be accessed by following the PGA Tour Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/PGATour.
Content will be posted daily at the completion of each tournament round. As part of the agreement, the Tour will also engage fans in its Facebook Group, The Gallery, with interactive elements such as Facebook Lives and Facebook Watch Parties.
“We’re thrilled to add PGA Tour recaps to our growing portfolio of sports highlights on Facebook Watch,” said Sidhant Rao, Facebook Sports League Partnerships.
In 2018, the Tour and Facebook teamed up to stream live coverage from The Players Championship and several other Tour events leading into the 2018 FedExCup Playoffs.
Charity high
Meanwhile, the PGA Tour has revealed that it and its tournaments have surpassed $3 billion in all-time charitable giving.
The total, which included a record $204.3 million in 2019 to bring the all-time total to $3.05 billion, includes donations made by tournaments on the PGA Tour and its various subsidiaries.
“It’s truly a pleasure to thank our fans, sponsors, tournaments, players and volunteers for helping us generate over $3 billion for charity and positively impact millions of lives,” said Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan.
“As remarkable as this milestone is, what really matters are the countless stories (of impact) that every tournament has. Together, we look forward to continuing to reach – and celebrate – millions more.”
The Tour achieved the $3 billion mark just six years after surpassing $2 billion in 2014 and the $1 billion mark in 2005.
In addition, the record $204.3 million in 2019 bests the previous record of $190 million in 2018. The Tour’s first charitable donation of $10,000 was at the 1938 Palm Beach Invitational.
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