A week before the start of the PGA Championship, there was a drone flyover, and it was streamed live on Facebook so fans could see the front nine holes at Quail Hollow Club in Charlotte, N.C. The drone took off two days earlier than expected, but once raindrops could be seen on the camera, the back-nine portion of the flight was unavailable due to inclement weather.
But the effort to use technology to bring fans closer to the event was certainly made, as Turner Sports partnered with CNN Aerial Imagery and Reporting to have the drone and FAA-certified pilot provided. About 18,000 tuned in, and some excited fans on their desktops left their real-time comments.
This is indicative of the type of coverage the PGA Championship will receive starting today as the tournament’s digital platforms are managed by Turner Sports and the event receives television coverage on CBS and TNT. While Jordan Spieth chases a career Grand Slam, there are stakeholders chasing eyeballs and looking to engage fans.
“First and foremost, Turner’s philosophy looks through the lens of significant changes in ways fans are consuming sports events, particularly live events,” Turner Sports general manager of PGA.com Gary Treater said. “We try to present immersive fan experiences across all platforms.
“We just look at that audience differently on TV, mobile and social.”
Here are the top six ways fans can experience more technology as part of the live coverage of the PGA Championship this week:
1. Live OTT Coverage
The PGA Championship App is available on Roku for the first time, bringing the streaming experience to television screens after the app was previously available through iOS and Android devices. Along with video on demand, there was live coverage Thursday morning with a choice of watching one of the two featured groups on the course. Two more featured groups will be showcased in the afternoon. Each day’s live coverage includes four featured groups.
Also, the app on smartphones and tablets now can share their content onto TV screens through devices like Roku.
“For quite a number of years, our audience has trended mature, so we would kind of cater to that audience,” Treater said, noting that iOS was the first platform for the app before it came to Android a few years ago. “We’ve seen the last couple years a younger demo interact, so we just decided this year was the year to kind of go in and provide those fans there with the ability to access it on the Roku platform.”
“The idea is to provide an alternative experience to broadcast and cover it differently. It’s an immersive experience into featured groups,” Treater added, noting that a second-screen experience was being provided.
The live streaming provided by the PGA Championship LIVE can also be found on PGAChampionship.com. Special for this year is dedicated live coverage of “The Green Mile”, Quail Hollow’s difficult three-hole finishing stretch.
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2. Production features
For its broadcasts of the third and final rounds on Saturday and Sunday, CBS will use Trackman’s newest broadcast technology for the first time on all 18 holes, using 3D radar tracking to provide viewers with a sense of distance, height, curvature and more. Tracing live tee shots on various holes show the apex, ball speed, distance and curve.
ARL Virtual Eye uses Trackman’s ball-tracing capabilities on tee shots within a 3D hole model while simultaneously showing the golfer hit the tee shot, as well as provide a flyover animation to give a second shot perspective once the ball comes to rest. Virtual Eye now has the ability to record and playback where it previously could only be used live.
On TNT and PGA.com, Trackman will also be used along with GolfTrax’s laser-generated data. Both broadcast properties will use Toptracer wireless technology to provide ball-tracking graphics and stats, with TNT focusing on displaying ball flight and trajectory on approach shots.
“If the technology can enhance the viewing experience, let’s continue to try to evolve,” Treater said, adding that graphics would not just be thrown on the screen.
“We try to give it to our analysts to work into the storyline. It helps connect the dots on how great these players are and what they’re doing with the club and with the ball.”
3. On-course content
For fans on site who are watching a specific hole, they can get alerted to something spectacular that has happened elsewhere on the course.
Turner’s Roar Alert is new to the PGA Championship after its debut last year at the Ryder Cup, and according to Treater, it enables fans to receive a push notification and receive content on their phones regarding a great shot that happened three holes away. It’s a geofenced feature that could send folks hustling toward a different part of the course.
4. Social media streaming
Fans throughout the U.K., through the BBC’s live coverage, can stream the tournament throughout the week on Twitter and the Give Me Sport Facebook page.
Live coverage of marquee groups on Twitter on all four days is available in the U.K., Ireland and Japan as well as world feed access on Twitter in Latin America and the Caribbean.
“By delivering this season’s final major to fans of all ages across BBC, Facebook and Twitter, we hope to serve the core golf audience and invite new fans to enjoy Major Championship golf across the platforms they frequent,” PGA of America Chief Executive Officer Pete Bevacqua said in a statement.
For fans in the U.S.? They do get live look-ins four times a day on Facebook and inside the app.
Another win for social media is that an exclusive interview with the winner will be designated for video that will appear on Facebook Live, according to Matt Wickline, Senior Director of Social Media at Turner Sports.
5. Snapchat
A deal with Snapchat enables Live Stories from the PGA Championship to appear in the Discover section of the app, representing an attempt to reach outside golf’s conventional age range.
It helps that a number of PGA golfers have their own Snapchat accounts, so fans already know to get on the app to follow them. And so at the PGA Championship, there will also be multiple custom PGA Championship filters provided. The event’s final day on Sunday will include a special Snapchat live story highlighting top moments.
6. 360 Video
PGA.com’s Facebook and Periscope platforms offered 360-degree looks from Quail Hollow’s putting green before the start of the tournament.
The 360-degree video was done without being intrusive, providing fans — especially younger ones — an extra layer of coverage on multiple platforms, according to Wickline.