Golf Channel
| Headquarters | Orlando, Florida, U.S. |
|---|---|
| Ownership | |
| Owner | Comcast |
Golf Channel, known as The Golf Channel before the July 2008 dropping of The, is an American cable television network with coverage focused on the game of golf. Founded in Birmingham, Alabama, the American headquarters and studio are currently located in Orlando, Florida. Golf Channel is available in the United States, Canada a few nations in Asia and Latin America through cable, satellite, and wireless transmissions. Worldwide, it is available in over 100 million households.
History and programming
The network was launched on January 17, 1995. The idea of a 24-hour-a-day golf network came from media entrepreneur Joseph E. Gibbs of Birmingham, Alabama, who first got the idea for the channel in 1991. Gibbs felt there was enough interest in golf among the public to support such a network, and commissioned a Gallup Poll to see if his instincts were correct. With the support of the polling behind him, Gibbs and legendary golfer Arnold Palmer then secured $80 million in financing to launch the network, which was among the first cable networks developed to cover one singular sport. The first live tournament the channel televised was the Dubai Desert Classic, held from January 19-22, 1995.
Golf Channel features a range of golf programming, including PGA Tour, European Tour, LPGA Tour, Champions Tour and Nationwide Tour events. The channel devotes considerable time to news coverage of golf, including a nightly program, Golf Central. There are highlight shows of past tournaments, and a reality television competition show, The Big Break, whose premise is to help aspiring professionals gain exemptions into PGA Tour and LPGA events. In 2005, Golf Channel helped set up a special match play event called Big Stakes Golf, in which teams of two paid a $100,000 entry fee to play in a special tournament where the winning team split a $3,000,000 first-place prize, the largest in golf history. In the end, mini-tour professionals Garth Mulroy and David Ping won the grand prize.
In 2007, Golf Channel embarked on its 15-year agreement as the exclusive cable television home for the PGA Tour. The network’s annual coverage will feature early-round coverage of the entire FedEx Cup season, including the World Golf Championships, The Tour Championship and The Players Championship, the PGA Tour’s crown jewel. In total, early-round coverage of 30 events will air on Golf Channel. Also included in the package will be 13 full, four-round events beginning with the season’s first three tournaments – SBS Championship, Sony Open in Hawaii, and the Bob Hope Classic – and the five official money events following The Tour Championship. The network also will provide full coverage of three tournaments played opposite golf’s majors and World Golf Championships. Every PGA Tour event will be aired live and then rebroadcast in prime time, a first for the PGA Tour.
Programs
Tournament coverage
- Champions Tour Coverage
- European Tour Coverage
- Inside The PGA Tour
- LPGA Tour Coverage
- Nationwide Tour Coverage
- PGA Tour Coverage
- Quest For The Card
News and analysis
- Golf Central
- Grey Goose 19th Hole
- Morning Drive
Entertainment
- Being John Daly
- Donald J. Trump's Fabulous World Of Golf
- Golf In America
- Golf's Amazing Videos
- Pipe Dream
- The Big Break
- The Haney Project
- Top 10
Instruction
- Champions Tour Learning Center
- Golf Fitness Academy
- Playing Lessons From The Pros
- School Of Golf
- The Golf Fix
Travel
- GolfNow
On-air staff
Programs staff talent on which they appear are in parentheses.
- Tom Abbott (LPGA Tour Play By Play Host, European Tour Studio Host, The Big Break Host)
- Billy Andrade (PGA Tour Lead Analyst & On Course Reporter, Champions Tour On Course Reporter)
- Michael Breed (The Golf Fix Host)
- Billy Ray Brown (Champions Tour On Course Reporter, PGA Tour On Course Reporter)
- Steve Burkowski (European Tour Studio Host)
- Curt Byrum (Champions Tour Lead Analyst, Nationwide Tour Lead Analyst, PGA Tour Lead Analyst)
- Donna Caponi-Byrnes (Champions Tour On Course Reporter)
- Brandel Chamblee (Golf Central Analyst, PGA Tour Lead Analyst)
- Kay Cockerill (LPGA Tour Tower Analyst, Nationwide Tour On Course Reporter)
- Jay Coffin (Grey Goose 19th Hole Panelist)
- Jane Crafter (LPGA Tour On Course Reporter)
- Beth Daniel (LPGA Tour Lead Analyst)
- Nick Faldo (PGA Tour Lead Analyst)
- John Feinstein (Golf Central Contributor)
- Jerry Foltz (Nationwide Tour Play By Play Host, PGA Tour On Course Reporter, Quest For The Card Host)
- Terry Gannon (PGA Tour Play By Play Host)
- Matt Gogel (PGA Tour Tower Analyst & On Course Reporter)
- Jim Gray (Golf Central Contributor)
- Martin Hall (School Of Golf Host)
- Brian Hammons (Champions Tour Play By Play Host, PGA Tour Play By Play Host)
- John Hawkins (Grey Goose 19th Hole Panelist, Golf Central Contributor)
- Rex Hoggard (Golf Central Contributor)
- Kraig Kann (Grey Goose 19th Hole Host, Golf Central Host)
- Erik Kuselias (Morning Drive Host)
- Rich Lerner (Golf Central Host, PGA Tour Play By Play Host)
- Todd Lewis (Golf Central Host & Reporter, European Tour Studio Host)
- Mark Lye (PGA Tour Tower Analyst & On Course Reporter, Champions Tour Tower Analyst & On Course Reporter, Golf Central Analyst)
- John Maginnes (Nationwide Tour On Course Reporter)
- John Mahaffey (Champions Tour Tower Analyst)
- David Marr (Champions Tour Play By Play Host & Tower Analyst, Champions Tour Learning Center Host)
- Win McMurry (Grey Goose 19th Hole Contributor, Golf Central Update Host)
- Randall Mell (Golf Central Contributor)
- Alex Miceli (Golf Central Contributor)
- Frank Nobilo (Golf Central Analyst, PGA Tour Lead Analyst)
- Peter Oosterhuis (PGA Tour Lead Analyst & Tower Analyst)
- Phil Parkin (Nationwide Tour Tower Analyst, LPGA Tour Tower Analyst)
- Craig Perks (Nationwide Tour Lead Analyst)
- Judy Rankin (LPGA Tour Lead Analyst)
- Mark Rolfing (Golf Central Contributor)
- Tim Rosaforte (Golf Central Insider)
- Jeff Rude (Grey Goose 19th Hole Panelist)
- Charlie Rymer (LPGA Tour Tower Analyst, Golf Central Analyst)
- Steve Sands (Golf Central Host & Reporter)
- Val Skinner (LPGA Tour On Course Reporter)
- Holly Sonders (Morning Drive Update Host)
- Annika Sorenstam (Morning Drive Contributor)
- Stephanie Sparks (Nationwide Tour On Course Reporter, LPGA Tour On Course Reporter, The Big Break Host)
- Lauren Thompson (Top 10 Host, GolfNow Host)
- Kelly Tilghman (Golf Central Host, PGA Tour Play By Play Host)
- Scott Walker (Golf Central Host & Reporter)
- Whit Watson (Golf Central Host & Reporter)
- Gary Williams (Morning Drive Host)
Former on-air staff
- Brian Anderson
- Adam Barr
- Casey Bierer
- Grant Boone
- Vince Cellini
- Charles Davis
- Steve Duemig
- Inga Hammond
- Brian Hewitt
- Jim Kelly
- Peter Kessler
- Nancy Lopez
- Andrew Magee
- Jennifer Mills
- Tom Nettles
- Iain Page
- Dottie Pepper
- Steve Schlanger
- Brian Tennyson
- Ted Tryba
- Bob Valvano
- Scott Van Pelt
- Megan West
Golf Channel HD
Golf Channel HD is a 1080i high definition simulcast of The Golf Channel. It launched in January 2007. Formerly in some markets Golf Channel shared an HD channel slot with sister network Versus which programmed based on the priority of each network's event; this channel was known as VS/Golf HD. As of December 8, 2008, both channels are now distributed individually in high definition.
Comcast planned to have Golf Channel HD available to 12.5 million viewers by January 2009, with a promise of 750 hours of HD content in 2009.[1]
Golf Channel UK
There was a British version of the channel called Golf Channel UK for a time. It was operated by sporting goods retailer JJB Sports, and was available on BSkyB satellite television. It broadcast many of the shows from the U.S. channel, but was unable to attract a viable audience as it offered little live golf, and it ceased broadcasting on 31 December 2007. All the major tours have their main UK contract with either Sky Sports or Setanta Golf, and BBC Sport covers several major tournaments each year.
