Ten Golf Signs Deal with Asian Tour & Extends European Tour Agreement

The Asian Tour have replaced ESPN-Star Sports as their official broadcasters and entered into a six-year deal with soon-to-be-launched TV channel Ten Golf on Tuesday, it has been reported.

The deal that will be operational from 2013 will see Ten Golf showcasing the cream of Asian talent along with 20 live events of the Tour each year. 

The channel also extended their rights with the European Tour for a similar period, which will add up to 200 days of live golf between these two tours every year. 

Sources have put the cumulative deal at $12 million for the six-year period. 

Confirming the news, Asian Tour senior director (commercial) Eric Lynge said: “We are thrilled with this new partnership. The appeal of the Asian Tour has grown tremendously in India especially with the success of Order of Merit winners Jeev Milkha Singh, Arjun Atwal and Jyoti Randhawa over the years.” 

This is part of vigorous acquisitions done by the channel to constantly expand content on their 24-hour platform after they entered into a three-year contract with the Professional Golf Tour of India (PGTI) and then the US Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) recently. 

On the other hand, European Tour’s director of broadcasting Mark Lichtenhein said that inclusion of golf in 2016 Olympics will only bolster its popularity in India. “We are delighted to extend our relationship with Ten Sports and believe that there is enormous potential for golf in India particularly following its reintroduction as an Olympic sport in 2016,” Lichtenhein told TOI. 

Meanwhile, Ten Golf has also inked a one-year licensing deal with NBC Universal International Television Distribution for 400 hours of programming from the US-based Golf Channel. The channel will air popular golf events – including PGA Championship and Ryder Cup besides programmes like: Golf Central and Playing Lessons.

by Ismail Uddin