ESPN has secured the media rights to TGL presented by Sofi, a tech-forward, match-format TV golf competition founded by Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy, and former NBC Sports executive Mike McCarley. The series will debut on Jan. 9.
All of the golf matches will air on ESPN or ESPN2 and will be simulcast to ESPN+. There will be 15 regular season matches, plus semifinals and finals. Additionally, ABC will air a TGL presented by Sofi preview show on Dec. 30, ahead of the league debut.
The first TGL match will air in primetime on ESPN and ESPN+, the night following the College Football Playoff National Championship.
Rosalyn Durant, ESPN executive vice president of programming and acquisitions, and McCarley announced the multi-year deal on Thursday.
“Innovation and creativity are core to our ESPN mission and TGL will bring those tenets to life for golf fans,” Durant said in a statement. “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.”
“We believe ESPN is the right home for TGL presented by SoFi and recognize the strategic benefits of Disney’s portfolio. 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,” McCarley said in a statement.
“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. 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,” McCarley continued.
TMRW Sports was launched last year by Woods, McIlroy, and McCarley and TGL is their first project.
There will be six teams in the golf league and the company has already been selling them to New York Mets owner Steve Cohen, Fenway Sports Group, and other sports owners. The teams will consist of current PGA Tour players, including Woods and McIlroy.
