Mark Richards

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Tuesday, September 12, 2006

PGA TOUR, Turner Sports New Media announce media partnership

After months of keeping this secret, I can officially let the cat out of the bag: Turner Sports will take over the production of PGATour.com in January 2007. The negotiations have been going on for a while now, but was only finalized last week. This is a very sweet deal for Turner as we will now run the top 2 golf websites in the industry in PGATour.com and PGA.com. The opportunities in this space are now endless.

My initial role will be to help bring the site's current systems in-house. We have an enormous amount of work to complete by the January 1, 2007 deadline. I've never been a part of a site migration project so this is an exciting opportunity for me. What will my long-term role be with the property? Who knows, but it will sure be an interesting ride.

Here's the official press release:
http://www.pgatour.com/info/company/story/9655485

PGA TOUR, Turner Sports New Media announce media partnership

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, FL and ATLANTA - The PGA TOUR and Turner Sports New Media, a division of Time Warner, announced today the signing of a multi-year Internet and Mobile agreement. Turner Sports New Media will partner with the PGA TOUR to produce and sell PGATOUR.com, the official site of the PGA TOUR.

PGATOUR.com is the number one site in golf, leading other sites in key user metrics, including number of fans, times spent per fan and consumption per fan. PGATOUR.com leads coverage of the tournament competition of PGA TOUR players and of other facets of golf with a strong combination of exclusive assets, including exclusive live scoring, exclusive use of ShotLink distance data, including Emmy Award winning TOURCast coverage; exclusive audio and video coverage, highlights, unparalleled "access" and much more.

"We are excited about the future of the New Media business, and especially with our new partnership with Turner Sports New Media," said Ed Moorhouse, Co-Chief Operating Officer of the PGA TOUR. "With the coming of the FedExCup in 2007, truly a new era in golf, the timing is perfect to partner with Turner, a leader in the digital media space and to increase investment in our New Media offerings, beginning with PGATOUR.com. We look forward to even more innovation, compelling coverage and entertainment value on these platforms."

"Golf lends itself perfectly to the New Media platforms as there is a great deal, over 30 hours worth, of competition each week that fans want to know about," said David Levy, president of Turner Sports. "The Internet and mobile platforms are the best way to deliver this additional information to fans in their offices, homes or on the go. In addition, our new alliance with the PGA TOUR speaks volumes about the reputation that Turner Sports New Media has established in the marketplace. From production to sales to technology, Turner Sports has a reputation of maximizing opportunities and building league brands."

"We couldn't be more pleased to partner with Turner Sports New Media in this venture," said Paul Johnson, Vice President of PGATOUR New Media. "Turner brings world-class digital media capabilities, and has shown it can partner successfully with leagues to create compelling fan experiences and businesses. The partnership positions the TOUR and Turner to take the fan experience to the next level in the golf new media landscape."

Turner Sports New Media also handles PGA.com. This venture is structured to unlock the synergies between the properties and create an even stronger, more dominant position for each in the golf new media landscape.

In addition to the above, Turner will provide promotion across its family of media brands to support and grow the venture and the TOUR will continue to promote via PGATOUR.com via its various promotional assets.

The PGA TOUR and Turner Sports New Media are planning enhancements to PGATOUR.com, including the depth of coverage and the fan experience. These will be announced in more detail closer to the 2007 season launch.

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