• PGA Tour agrees to data partnership extension with IMG Arena
• IMG Arena to provide global operators with official data
• PGA looks into signing a new media rights deal

A new partnership extension has secured IMG Arena rights to provide official PGA Tour data globally. Meanwhile, the PGA Tour is looking for a new media rights deal.

PGA Tour Extends Data Deal with IMG Arena

The PGA Tour has agreed to expands its existing data partnership with IMG Arena. As a result, the PGA will now extends its official data to betting operators globally, becoming the latest mainstream athletic organization to seek closer ties with gambling operations.

IMG Arena and the PGA first signed a deal back in November 2018 agreeing to distribute the golf body’s official data across North America specifically to aid sportsbooks provide more accurate odds on separate events.

As part of the new partnership, this data will become available globally. The data concerned involves live, shot-by-shot matches and specifics events breakdowns that sportsbooks from the entire world will be able to access and build their offer based upon.

The PGA Tour has been collecting its official data through the ShotLink system, a solution the golf body invested in the development itself. ShotLink is powered by CDW and it uses a number of walking scorers, lasers and greenside cameras to provide some of the richest and most reliable data linked to each individual shot during a Tour event, all in real-time.

ShotLink Provides PGA with Reliable Data

With this renewed partnership, ShotLink’s golf solution will now become available to a number of respected global operators as early as 2020, the companies have specified. Commenting on the occasion, IMG Arena SVP and Managing Director Freddie Longe said: ”As the sports betting market in the United States evolves, extending our relationship with the PGA Tour is an important next step for IMG Arena”

For the first time, sports fans will have access to shot-by-shot action, from tournaments all-year-round using official PGA Tour ShotLink data. We continue to feel that golf has the audience, interest and following to become one of the leading in-play betting sports globally.

PGA Tour COO Ron Price welcomed the deal highlighting the importance the PGA put by safeguarding golf and preventing fraud. Yet, the organization was now looking to achieve better fan engagement through the use of specific next-generation solutions, leading to better overall performance.

Commenting on the partnership with IMG Arena, Mr. Price noted that the company was capable of providing viewers with reliable and quick data and live streaming. Moreover, IMG Arena was capable to work with official rights holders and achieve the agreed-upon results, which as prompted the PGA Tour to seek an extension of the partnership, Mr. Price noted.

New Media Rights Deal for PGA Tour

Meanwhile, the PGA Tour has been looking for a new media rights deal in the United States, drawing interesting from Amazon, ESPN, Fox and AT&T, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) revealed. More specifically, the Tour is looking to increase its media coverage by upping the current deal with CBS and NBC worth $400 million up by a significant, although unspecified amount.

The PGA is now looking into having its own dedicated golf channel which will allow it to broadcast all of its tournaments. This channel should come as part of the new media rights agreement, the WSJ has specified.