DIRECTV is following up on their groundbreaking golf coverage with another gem, this time with expanded PGA Tournament coverage starting Thursday, August 7th. Earlier this year, DIRECTV presented expanded Masters coverage with their Masters Mix.
This weekend, DirecTV will offer expanded PGA Championship coverage with another Mix channel. Free to all subscribers, it won’t be found on Comcast, Time Warner Cable, or on DISH Network.
DIRECTV will be teaming up with TNT and CBS, who will be providing the main coverage for this year’s PGA Tournament. The 90th annual event will be held in Michigan this year, from the Oakland Hills Country Club. While Tiger Woods will not be participating, as he recovers from knee surgery, all of the other major players will be competing, including Phil Mickelson and Vijay Singh.
The coverage will once again feature a “Mix Channel” on DIRECTV channel 701. The PGA Mix channel will feature a scoreboard on the left side of the screen, and four different views on the channel. Viewers can then jump to any of the four different tournament feeds:
1.) Live coverage of the tournament, view currently on TNT or CBS.
2.) Featured Group – This channel will follow the progress of a specific group of players as they play the course.
3.) Featured Holes – Similar to the Masters Mix coverage of Amen Corner, this channel will focus on 2 specific par 3’s on the Oakland Hills Southern Course. Viewers will be able to track movement as players try to move up the leader board on these important holes.
4.) Players in Depth – A highlights and interview channel, probably similar to what the Golf channel offers on their highlight shows. Live coverage of press conferences, the latest stats and scores, and other pertinent information about the PGA Tournament will be found on this channel.
All of the expanded coverage will be available in HD for DIRECTV subscribers with HD access. These additional channels will be available in addition to the live network coverage for all four days of the PGA. Scheduled coverage will be Thursday and Friday on TNT from 1-7 P.M. ET. That will be followed up on Saturday and Sunday with coverage on TNT from 11 A.M. – 2 p.m. ET, then on CBS from 2-7 P.M. Eastern Time.
Eric Shanks, the executive vice president of DIRECTV Entertainment on the coverage:
“DIRECTV Interactive is to viewers what a great caddie is to the touring pro. We’re their eyes and ears and we make sure they have all the information and the tools they need to get the most out of the game. Major championships like the PGA and US OPEN golf and US OPEN tennis provide an incredible stage to showcase our HD and interactive technology and the new, exciting dimension they bring to the televised sports viewing experience. This is what content leadership is all about and what our customers have come to expect as we continue to explore innovative ways to engage the viewer.”
The PGA Tournament Interactive service is another example of DIRECTV’s interactive sports services which also include the NFL Sunday Ticket and the NASCAR HotPass.
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Direct TV will once again have their interactive Mix channels lit up this weekend for the PGA Championship. Tune into channels 701 to once again see the “PGA Mix” which will have four screens in one offering different views of the 91st PGA Tournament.
This year’s tournament will be held at the Hazeltine National Golf Club in Minnesota. Channels 702-705 will offer full screen views of the action, all in HD for customers who have HD television sets and receivers.
Channel 702 will simulcast the network feed. This year, TNT will be covering the tournament on Thursday, August 13th and Friday the 14th from 2PM until 8PM Eastern time. TNT will also have coverage duties on Saturday and Sunday from 11am until 2PM Eastern. DIRECTV channel 702 will simulcast the CBS coverage from 2PM until 7PM Eastern.
Channel 703 will feature coverage of a Marquee group (basically whatever group Tiger Woods is playing in) and follow them around the course.
Channel 704 will be the featured hole station, covering players as they head through the four different Par 3‘s at Hazeltine. Finally, channel 705 will have all of the highlights and interviews, keeping you up to the minute on the PGA Championship.
The PGA Tournament Mix will be an upgrade over the British Open Mix, which was only available during the opening two rounds this year. Mix coverage also completes the DIRECTV Slam, marking expanded coverage of all four major golf tournaments in 2009.
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