Golf’s PGA Tour has entered into global partnerships with action camera manufacturer GoPro and internet video network SkratchTV that aim to deliver never-before-seen perspectives and episodic video content to fans around the world.
The Tour, SkratchTV and GoPro will commence the initiative today (Wednesday) at the Phoenix Open, where, for the first time ever, the PGA Tour will stream the Pro-Am from the famous 16th hole at TPC Scottsdale’s Stadium Course.
The new Pro-Am show will be hosted by Erik Anders Lang from SkratchTV, creator and host of a new digital series called ‘Adventures In Golf’. PGA Tour Entertainment will utilise GoPro’s HeroCast technology and production expertise to capture and broadcast unique coverage of the Pro-Am, including on-course interviews using live GoPro cameras on talent, player-worn perspectives, and in-stadium fan-cams.
“This partnership with the PGA Tour and SkratchTV will enable our team to capture unique views of the game and to tell the stories from the Tour, and about golf lifestyle, in a whole new way,” Todd Ballard, vice-president of global sports entertainment marketing for GoPro, said.
“The Waste Management Phoenix Open will serve as a starting point to collect content for our upcoming, season-long initiatives, and it will be a great opportunity to showcase our integrated broadcast technology.”
As part of the relationship, GoPro will produce episodic videos that aim to take fans inside PGA Tour events, giving them unique access to the tournaments and athletes, including recently signed GoPro athlete and PGA Tour member, Justin Thomas.
GoPro will also use its spherical capture technology to create virtual reality experiences from some of the most iconic locations in the game. Both spherical and episodic content will be distributed on the GoPro Channel, the GoPro App, YouTube and GoPro’s social media channels.