Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson are set to face off against each other in a $9 million match-play event at Shadow Creek in Las Vegas on Thanksgiving weekend. That one-on-one contest between two of the biggest names in golf will be aired by Turner Sports through its B/R Live pay streaming service as well as DirecTV and AT&T U-Verse.
Now that AT&T has acquired Time Warner (and rebranded the company WarnerMedia), the media giant will use several of its networks to provide comprehensive coverage of the event. In addition to the live coverage on Turner’s young OTT platform, HBO Sports and TNT will provide linear programming in advance of the golf event while Bleacher Report and House of Highlights will offer behind-the-scenes video clips and highlights.
“The iconic Tiger Woods and five-time major champion Phil Mickelson are generational talents who have transcended the game of golf and their rivalry continues to be one of the most compelling in sports,” said Turner president David Levy in a statement. “This one-of-a-kind, winner-take-all matchup provides a great opportunity to show fans the benefits of AT&T and WarnerMedia coming together. For the first time since AT&T’s acquisition of Time Warner (now WarnerMedia), Turner, DirecTV and HBO will present a multi-faceted presentation of the live event and accompanying content across a vast array of platforms.”
B/R Live launched with a free trial back in March but has now transitioned to a pay service as a hub for live sports. For UEFA Champions League and Europa League coverage, for instance, customers can purchase soccer matches per game, per month, or per year. Turner has not yet revealed the price for the Woods-Mickelson match.
SportTechie Takeaway
While sports streaming competitors ESPN+ and DAZN are designed as monthly subscription services, B/R Live follows more of a premium model with PPV offerings. This highly anticipated match will be a broad introduction to the platform for sports fans. The multi-channel and -platform distribution of content also shows what a media behemoth AT&T has become since its acquisition of Time Warner. The company will be able to saturate viewers with programming wherever they might turn.