ESPN Acquires Exclusive Rights to Tiger Woods’s TGL Golf League

By Jon Lafayette
( Broadcasting & Cable )
published

Matches start Jan. 9 on virtual course in Palm Beach

Rory McIlroy (l.) and Tiger Woods at the 2023 Masters.
Rory McIlroy (l.) and Tiger Woods at The Masters earlier this year. (Image credit: Christian Petersen/Getty Images)

ESPN said it acquired the U.S. rights to the new TGL team golf league being developed by Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy’s TMRW Sports.

The deal involves a partnership among the PGA Tour, ESPN and TGL, which is presented by SoFi.

ESPN TGL Golf

(Image credit: ESPN)

TGL action will appear on ABC, ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPN Plus, starting with a preview show that will appear on ABC on December 30.

The first TGL match will air in primetime on ESPN and ESPN Plus on January 9.

“Innovation and creativity are core to our ESPN mission and TGL will bring those tenets to life for golf fans,” Rosalyn Durant, executive VP, programming and acquisitions at ESPN, said. “TGL is going to be a two-hour presentation unlike anything you have seen before. All players will wear live microphones and viewers will have unprecedented access during competition. It’s an exciting landscape for presenting golf and we look forward to bringing it to fans.”

Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

The league will consist of six teams of PGA Tour players. Matches will be played at SoFi Center in Palm Beach, Florida, on a virtual course paired with a “tech-infused” short-game complex. All players will be miked up. 

The first season will have 15 regular season matches, followed by semifinals and finals matches.

“We believe ESPN is the right home for TGL presented by SoFi and recognize the strategic benefits of Disney’s portfolio,” said Mike McCarley, a former NBC Sports exec who is now founder and CEO of TMRW Sports and TGL. “ESPN is often the first stop for sports fans, no matter the platform, and we’re honored by ESPN’s view that TGL complements their current offering of major league sports.

“ESPN has embraced the concept from our very first meeting and we’re looking forward to launching TGL in prime time on ESPN and bringing our teams of the PGA Tour’s biggest stars to their ESPN’s legion of sports fans,“ McCarley said. “The two-hour match format has been designed for today’s sports fan, as it’s rooted in the traditions of golf, but adds technical elements that are unique to a modern, sports-arena environment.“

Jon Lafayette
Jon Lafayette

Jon has been business editor of Broadcasting+Cable since 2010. He focuses on revenue-generating activities, including advertising and distribution, as well as executive intrigue and merger and acquisition activity. Just about any story is fair game, if a dollar sign can make its way into the article. Before B+C, Jon covered the industry for TVWeek, Cable World, Electronic Media, Advertising Age and The New York Post. A native New Yorker, Jon is hiding in plain sight in the suburbs of Chicago.