The corner of your television screen is undergoing a makeover.
On Monday, Golf Channel is set to announce the creation of a new, PGA Tour-inspired logo, a spokesman told GOLF. The new logo will debut during the network’s coverage of the Players Championship later this week, and will serve as Golf Channel’s main identifier during PGA Tour and studio coverage heading forward.
The updated design, which features the PGA Tour’s “swingman” logo in concert with NBC’s hallmark peacock, marks just the latest advancement in the relationship between the Tour and its most prominent television provider. The shift comes a little more than two years after Golf Channel — which is owned by NBC — signed onto a multi-billion-dollar television rights agreement with the Tour spanning through the end of the decade.
From the time the latest batch of rights deals were signed, Golf Channel’s expanded involvement with the Tour served at the center of rumors about the future of the network. Some reports emerged that Golf Channel would surrender its name in favor of the “PGA Tour Network” — reports that were seemingly discredited by NBC/Golf Channel’s expanded coverage agreements with both the USGA and Open Championship. The new logo won’t be used during the network’s coverage of non-PGA Tour-affiliated events, and as part of the rebrand, the network will also announce a new, LPGA Tour-styled logo later this month for use during women’s golf coverage.
The new logo comes at a time of change for Golf Channel, which moved from its original Orlando, Fla., studios to NBC Sports HQ in Stamford, Conn., last year. The move triggered a wave of layoffs at the network and led to the overhaul of longtime studio shows like “Morning Drive.” The logo represents another piece of that overhaul for the network, which along with other sports networks like ESPN, appears to be placing a renewed emphasis on live sports coverage.
The rebrand also comes at an important moment for the Tour, which is attempting to beat back a Saudi-backed rival league. While the announcement was in the works well before rumors of a Saudi super league gained legitimacy, the new logo entrenches the Tour’s fitting even further with the golf establishment.
“We’re excited about the positive statement the new channel brand makes to our fans, players, tournaments and sponsors about the quality and quantity of PGA Tour coverage produced throughout the season,” Rick Anderson, the PGA Tour’s chief media officer said in a release that will be distributed to media on Monday. “Additionally, this is another step in deepening the long-standing partnership between the PGA Tour and NBC Sports.”
Golf Channel, which was founded in the mid-1990s by a group of investors, including Arnold Palmer, and later acquired by NBC, is the sport’s sole 24-hour content provider. From its perch at NBC’s Stamford, Conn., headquarters, Golf Channel broadcasts thousands of hours of live golf per year in addition to studio shows like “Golf Today” and “Live From.”
