ESPN may be searching for some help to expand its business, but that doesn't mean it's stopping from trying to make its own moves toward growth.
The Walt Disney Co. (DIS) -) sports network is close to a deal to broadcast the upstart golf league TGL, according to a report by the Financial Times.
TGL is the arena golf league led by TMRW Sports, the investment firm co-founded by Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy. It announced TGL in 2022.
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The terms of the deal — including length, value, and how much the league's rights will factor into ESPN's looming direct-to-consumer transition — are still not final and unclear.
But the league is launching in January 2024 and the expectation is that it will air at primetime on Monday nights, which would be a smooth transition after the ESPN's final "Monday Night Football" broadcast in December.
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The new league will feature six teams, four of which have already been announced: Los Angeles, owned by Serena Williams, Venus Williams, and Alexis Ohanian; Boston, owned by the Fenway Sports Group; Atlanta, owned by Atlanta Falcons owner Arthur Blank through AMB Sports and Entertainment; and New York, owned by New York Mets owner Steve Cohen through Cohen Private Ventures.
The league has already seen commitment from some of the best professional golfers on the PGA Tour with the likes of Jon Rahm, Collin Morikawa, Max Homa, and Rickie Fowler joining Woods and McIlroy.
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