You might have noticed Golf Channel has began showing Asian Tour scores on its ticker at the bottom of your TV screen. Now you know why.
The Asian Tour and Golf Channel have entered into a quietly announced agreement to broadcast their events in the United States. The tournaments will typically be shown live, giving Golf Channel extra tournaments to air, mostly in the dead of the night on the East Coast and late night on the West Coast.
The deal is for 10 years -- just the latest in a string of long-running contracts for sports properties. Asian Tour Media, which is a joint venture with the Asian Tour and IMG, negotiated the deal with Golf Channel.
“Our long-term partnership with Golf Channel is another wonderful endorsement of the value and appeal of the Asian Tour, which is represented by the finest players from across the region and tournaments of the highest caliber,” said Kyi Hla Han, chairman of the Asian Tour in a release.
This week's Asian Tour event, the Thailand Golf Championships, will air from 11:30 p.m.-4:30 a.m. ET starting Wednesday.
If Asian Tour events aired, say, midday, then maybe this would prove a big problem for Golf Channel, which already airs the world's five biggest tours. Since the only people up to watch the Asian Tour, however, will be the board ops in Orlando, night owls and the very committed, there's no need to rekindle my push for Golf Channel 2 (and the death of the Universal Sports Network).
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