This is a first. Golf Channel has sent its entire LPGA schedule for 2011. I say good on Golf Channel! Many of the tournaments especially from the US will be aired live. Those tournaments played in Europe or Asia will be tape delayed. This is something I discussed with Advertising Age and I’ll provide the link later tonight. We have the entire schedule for you below.
Golf Channel LPGA Tour Season Begins Friday
Two Major Championships and The Solheim Cup Headline 22-Event Schedule in 2011
Exclusive Golf Channel Coverage of Kraft Nabisco Championship
Marks Season’s First Major, March 31
Annika Sorenstam Interview from Today’s Morning Drive: Annika Sorenstam Interview
Cristie Kerr’s Interview from Wednesday’s Morning Drive: Cristie Kerr Interview
ORLANDO, Fla., (Feb. 17, 2011) – Golf Channel’s coverage of the 2011 LPGA Tour season is the most anticipated in the network’s history and will feature full coverage of the first two major championships of the year and shot-by-shot coverage of the The Solheim Cup, one of the biggest events in women’s sports. The network’s coverage of the 2011 LPGA Tour season will kick off tomorrow with LPGA Thailand at 12:30 p.m. ET.
Headlining the 2011 broadcast schedule will be live coverage of the Kraft Nabisco Championship (March 31-April 3), marking the first time the major championship will be on Golf Channel. The network will broadcast 20 hours of live coverage throughout the tournament, including six hours of live coverage on Thursday and Friday. In June, Golf Channel will air live the second major of the year, the LPGA Championship (June 23-26), and will follow later in the season with more than 24 hours of live, shot-by-shot coverage of The Solheim Cup (Sept. 23-25), from Killeen Castle, Ireland.
In total, Golf Channel will broadcast 22 LPGA Tour events – 12 domestic and 10 international. Twelve of the 14 events in North America will be televised live. Golf Channel will program coverage of the remaining seven international events – most originating from Asia – at optimal viewing times. The Solheim Cup will air live.
Golf Channel is entering the second year of a 10-year partnership with the LPGA Tour as the exclusive cable home. In 2010, the network introduced and featured several unique production elements to enhance the telecasts and showcase the personalities of LPGA Tour players, most notably fitting players with microphones during competition. “Mic’d Up” now also is featured on PGA TOUR telecasts.
Golf Channel will introduce a new, enhanced graphics package for its LPGA Tour telecasts, beginning with the LPGA Founders Cup, (March 17-20). During Friday telecasts, a player in the field will join the network’s announcers as a player analyst. Other popular elements also will return, including rookie and player profiles, interviewing players as they are walking the fairways and making the turn on the weekends (Walk and Talks), and weekly tips from players.
Golf Channel will continue to provide enhanced news coverage of the LPGA Tour and will produce several programs with LPGA stars throughout the year.
DATE EVENT ROUNDS BROADCAST 2/17 – 2/20 Honda LPGA Thailand 2 – 4 Tape Delay 2/24 – 2/27 HSBC Women’s Champions ALL Tape Delay 3/18 – 3/20 LPGA Founders Cup ALL Live 3/24 – 3/27 Kia Classic ALL Live 3/31 – 4/3 Kraft Nabisco Championship ALL Live 4/28 – 5/1 Avnet LPGA Classic ALL Tape Delay 5/19 – 5/22 Sybase Match Play Championship ALL Tape Delay/Live 6/3 – 6/5 ShopRite LPGA Classic ALL Tape Delay/Live 6/9 – 6/12 LGPA State Farm Classic ALL Tape Delay 6/23 – 6/26 LPGA Championship ALL Live 7/21 – 7/24 Evian Masters ALL Tape Delay 8/4 – 8/7 Imperial Springs LPGA ALL Tape Delay 8/19 – 8/21 Safeway Classic ALL Live 8/25 – 8/28 Canadian Women’s Open ALL Tape Delay/Live 9/9 – 9/11 NW Arkansas Championship ALL Live 9/15 – 9/18 Navistar LPGA Classic ALL Live 9/23 – 9/25 The Solheim Cup ALL Live 10/6 – 10/9 LPGA Hana Bank Championship ALL Tape Delay 10/14 – 10/16 Sime Darby LPGA Malaysia ALL Tape Delay 10/20 – 10/23 LPGA Taiwan Championship ALL Tape Delay 11/10 – 11/13 Lorena Ochoa Invitational ALL Live 11/17 – 11/20 Titleholders ALL Live Number of events, schedule and times subject to change
I’ll be back later with more stuff.
