PGA Tour Studios to produce ‘true world feed’ for Players Championship fans and right holders
Kate Sharpe and Greg Hopfe in the world feed production control room
Earlier this year, the PGA Tour officially opened PGA Tour Studios, a massive production facility located right next to TPC Sawgrass, the legendary course that is home to the Players Championship this week (13-16 March).
The tournament also marks a new era in PGA Tour World Feed productions as a production gallery in the new building will be producing a world feed complete with its own graphics look as well as much more golf for international rights holders.
The PGA Tour has offered an enhanced international feed (EIF) for its events for more than 25 years, produced out of its production facility at the World Golf Village in St. Augustine, FL, about 22 miles down the road from the new building.
The EIF basically took the NBC Sports or CBS Sports programming feed and delivered it to viewers, complete with NBC or CBS announcers as well as the graphics. The only difference was that when NBC or CBS would go to a break or a domestic-related promo the PGA Tour international feed would fill the break with other content and with PGA Tour announcers.
But now, with the new PGA Tour Studios 165,000sqft facility open, Production Control Room 1B within that facility will be home, week in and week out, to a team of around 30 people who will produce a true world feed that will better meet the needs of international rights holders and fans.
PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monaghan said: “For the first time we will be able to customise our broadcasts for markets around the world. As the game and our membership becomes increasingly global, we will now be able to present the PGA Tour to fans everywhere, from Seoul to Stockholm, in a more localised and relevant way.”
Greg Hopfe, PGA Tour, SVP and executive producer, says the PGA Tour anticipates using the domestic feed for about 70% of the coverage at the Players but because NBC has set up the Grass Valley Kayenne switcher in the PGA Tour production truck at the compound to send a secondary signal that has PGA Tour wipes instead of Peacock wipes international viewers will be able to see a world feed that is much more consistent and cohesive.
“We don’t get their graphics, but we get their technology like tracing and then we have our own announcers,” he said. Each week the PGA Tour team will feature a host, two analysts, and an on-course reporter from a group of more than 30 (this week’s talent includes John Swantek, Craig Perks, Billy Kratzert, and Colin Swatton).
The world feed will also have some of its own cameras to complement what is coming in from NBC and give the world feed team more looks.
“We don’t need to throw a ton more resources at it, so we’ll have one camera at the 17thand 18th to be with the finishing groups and then another four that can be with international groups that we don’t think will get much domestic coverage,” he added.
Using their own announcers for the entire broadcast gives the PGA Tour world feed the freedom to also cut around the incoming feed from NBC. The production has four Hawk-eye replay operators building clips for the show and world feed producer Steven Roth and director Emmett Loughran can hear the NBC production team and also see NBC’s preview as well as a multi-viewer of NBC’s replay options.
“It allows us to show a lot more international players,” added Hopfe. “If NBC wants to show an American player who is seven shots back, we can go in and show something else that best meets the needs of our international rights holders.”
Mike Raimondo, PGA Tour, VP, broadcast technology, says that the biggest challenge was setting up NBC and CBS with the new in-house graphics packages.
“We had to make sure that the Shotlink data properly populated the new graphics package and that took some time,” he explaiend. “Other than bringing in more Hawk-eye operators so we can bring in more content it’s been fairly straightforward.”
Kate Sharp, PGA Tour, SVP of international media, says the international players move the needle for rights partners as well as sponsors and international fans. A test at the Genesis Open earlier this year proved just how improved the world feed is going to be.
The international feed has four two-minute breaks per hour and for the Genesis Open that translated into showing 600 shots during the four hours of coverage of the final round compared to 350 shots on the domestic feed.
“And we had more shots of the internationals, like 27 shots of Hideki Matsuyama compared to two shots and 78 shots of Ludvig Åberg,” she said. “We can really tailor it to what we know the international audience is going to want to see. Yes, we’re still going to do the storyline of the tournament and the top guys, but we can also show the guys that we want to and that will help not just our business partners but all of our international fans.”
This weekend marks step one in what is going to be a transformational evolution of the world feed in the coming years. The new PGA Tour Studio facility has additional control room and production areas that could serve the needs of offering up more regionalised feeds for different areas of the world that can serve the needs of sponsors and rights holders alike.
“Now that we have more operational control, we can really do what we want with it,” added Sharpe. “This is not just a better product, but it is a better way to message our tournaments and our brand to our international fans. We think it will create more value and gives our partners and potential partners more opportunities to also engage with us.”