Sky Sports has signed a deal to show three more Ryder Cups and six more years of European Tour golf.
Sky Sports has been awarded three more Ryder Cups and another six years of European Tour golf in a new deal with the European Tour.
The agreement means
Sky Sports viewers can continue to enjoy regular tournament coverage of some of golf's best players, including Rory McIlroy, Luke Donald and Lee Westwood, as well as Europe's mouth-watering contests with the United States until the end of 2018.
The deal will take the partnership between
Sky Sports and the European Tour into its 25th year, a relationship that has witnessed a huge increase in events, prize money and countries visited, while the Ryder Cup has become one of the biggest sporting events in the world.
The new contract provides
Sky Sports with TV, mobile, online and tablet rights for:
RYDER CUP - Exclusive live coverage of three Ryder Cups: Gleneagles in 2014, Minnesota in 2016 and Paris in 2018. The 2012 Ryder Cup from Medinah will also be live on
Sky Sports as part of the existing deal.
EUROPEAN TOUR - A minimum of 28 events from the Race to Dubai including for the first time on
Sky Sports, exclusive live coverage of all four days of both the BMW PGA Championship from Wentworth and the Aberdeen Asset Management Scottish Open at Castle Stuart.
WORLD GOLF CHAMPIONSHIPS - Exclusive live coverage of all four World Golf Championship events: the Accenture Matchplay Championship, Cadillac Championship, Bridgestone Invitational in the USA and HSBC Champions tournament in China.
Growth
Barney Francis, Managing Director of
Sky Sports, said: "Our viewers have seen the growth of the Tour, the rise of the Ryder Cup and European golfers on top of the world rankings. Now they can be promised even more.
"This new deal brings three more Ryder Cups, more exclusive tournaments and six more years of golf right through the calendar - all in HD, online and through mobile devices.
"We have a valuable partnership with the European Tour; they have the events our viewers want to see and we have enjoyed the European Tour's continued growth. We now look forward to taking this relationship well into its second decade."
George O'Grady, Chief Executive of the European Tour, added: "We are delighted to extend our already tremendously successful agreement with
Sky Sports for another six years, including three Ryder Cup matches.
"We commend
Sky for their pioneering and innovative technological advancements during the term of our previous agreements, embracing the move into High Definition coverage of the whole of the Tour and, for the first time ever, the development of groundbreaking 3D transmission of The Ryder Cup. Our television supporters have benefitted from seeing virtually every shot played in this unique match.
"The Tour has unquestionably benefitted from this outstanding commitment over those previous agreements, during which time we have seen so much new talent emerge from all the countries that we visit. We are pleased to announce this agreement when the top three in the Official World Golf Ranking are all European Tour members representing Sky's home territory of GB and Ireland."
Draw
Colin Montgomerie,
Sky Sports commentator, Ryder Cup-winning captain and eight-time Order of Merit winner, added: "Golf has continued to attract a wider audience, helped by the draw of the Ryder Cup, the growth of the Tour and ever-rising standards of play.
"It is gratifying to see so many of our players in the world's top 10 and to watch Luke Donald and Rory McIlroy challenging each other as world number one.
"We are all now used to seeing the story develop through every week of the year on television. And it is great news that this coverage will continue for another six years."
Sky Sports began showing live European Tour golf in 1993 when it screened less than 60 hours of coverage from five tournaments. This year, the broadcaster will screen more than 4,400 hours of golf programming from more than 200 tournaments including the 2012 Ryder Cup, European and PGA Tours, the Masters, US Open and US PGA Championship, the World Golf Championships, plus ladies and seniors events. Broadcast innovations include interactivity (1999), HD (2006) and 3D (2010).
The new deal with The European Tour follows recent renewals for
Sky Sports with; UEFA Champions League [to 2014/15], Football League [to 2014/15], Scottish Premier League [to 2018], England and Wales Cricket Board [to 2017], Formula 1 [to 2018] and Rugby Football League [to 2016].
