PGA Tour, Warner Bros. Discovery Restructure International Media Rights
With little to no fanfare, the PGA Tour and Warner Bros. Discovery announced a restructured media rights relationship.
In a joint letter sent out Monday to its media partners worldwide, the PGA Tour and Discovery outlined a new relationship where PGA Tour content will continue to be available on either discovery+ or Eurosport, which is mainly seen in European markets with Eurosport also accessible in certain Latin America markets.
It's a restructuring that according to both sides will not affect the golf fan’s experience in any way and more reflects the evolving landscape of media rights.
In 2018, the then-12-year, $2 billion agreement between the PGA Tour and Discovery announced a goal to build a world-class, direct-to-consumer platform by launching GOLFTV.
But four-and-a-half years later, in November 2022, Warner Bros. Discovery and the PGA Tour shuttered GOLFTV, reflecting the broader evolutions in the media sector and changing consumer consumption habits.
"Together we agreed restructuring the management of future international rights was a logical step given the changes under the partnership driven by a broader evolution in the media sector and changing consumer consumption habits, as the focus shifts from niche services such as GOLFTV to broader and scaled streaming offerings," the PGA Tour said in a statement. "Our main goal was providing zero disruption to the fan experience in 2023, which was accomplished."
The restructured agreement hands back to the PGA Tour rights to Asia, Africa, Australia, New Zealand and those areas in Europe and Latin America not covered by discovery+ and Eurosport.
The letter to its media partners didn’t outline the value of the restructured deal nor did it summarize the term of the agreement.
"As consumer behavior changed, so did Warner Bros. Discovery’s own business; focusing more on scaled broad entertainment propositions rather than single sport or 'view and do' products," Warner Bros. Discovery said in a statement. "In an evolving media landscape, we have found that including sport within a broader consumer offer provides greater value to subscribers and their wider household, as well as opening up sports to an even bigger audience."
What is clear is Warner Bros. Discovery's cash position, which has become precarious since Warner Bros. and Discovery merged last April, has become a major focus.
In a CNBC.com story in December, it was reported that WBD’s total debt of about $50 billion was tens of billions more than the company’s market capitalization.
At the same time, WBD’s shares have fallen from $25.50 on April 4, the first day of trading for the new company, to $9.48 on Dec. 30.
According to CNBC, David Zaslav, president and CEO of Warner Bros. Discovery, told his division heads in the fall to pretend their units were family businesses. Then, according to people familiar with the matter, Zaslav told them to start from scratch and prioritize free cash flow, then come back with new strategic plans for their units.
Was the shuttering of GOLFTV part of that new strategic plan?
Zaslav is struggling with the potential renewal of its media rights deal with the NBA on TNT that expires after the 2024-25 season and suggested at an investor conference in November that “we don’t have to have the NBA.”
That NBA deal being a combined $24 billion, and a potential new long-term package reportedly as much as $75 billion, makes the PGA Tour deal look like pocket change, which may be why discovery+ and Eurosport will continue to host Tour content.