With live coverage from the Disc Golf Network and a full-slate of post-production coverage, 2021 Majors and Elite Series events will have an unprecedented amount of coverage. Photo: Alyssa Van Lanen

The PDGA has finalized its 2021 partnership agreement with the Disc Golf Pro Tour (DGPT) in a deal that will bring Disc Golf Network (DGN) live coverage to eight marquee events including the PDGA Professional World Disc Golf Championships, June 22-26 in Ogden, UT, the U.S. Women’s Championship, May 21-23 in Rocklin, CA, and all six of its 2021 National Tour events.

Early round coverage of each event will be broadcast on DGN’s streaming and on-demand media platform, with final round coverage simulcast free on YouTube. Where technical broadcast limitations exist, as is expected at several NT stops, DGN will produce alternative coverage that will include player interviews, analysis and more.

As part of the agreement, active PDGA members will continue to receive a 50% discount off the standard DGN monthly subscription rate, one of many benefits PDGA Members will enjoy throughout the year. 

Since its inception, DGN has been a leading innovator in live disc golf broadcasting, and with the recently announced three-year deal with SmashboxxTV along with a new Milwaukee-based broadcast studio and expanded six-camera livestreaming capabilities, the trend appears to be accelerating.

There will be no shortage of opportunities for the network to innovate in 2021. With the addition of the PDGA NT and Major events, DGN’s live broadcast offerings have ballooned from 11 events in 2020 to at least 21 in the upcoming season.

View the complete 2021 PDGA Elite Series schedule »

Note: The PCS Sula Open, July 7-10 in Langevåg, Norway, has since been added to the 2021 Disc Golf Pro Tour Elite Series schedule.

A New Era at Pro Worlds

DGN’s live coverage will usher in a new media era for the PDGA Professional World Disc Golf Championships, where the first livestream broadcast was produced by Discgolfplanet.tv in 2015, and where, as recently as 2012, Jonathan Gomez was famously surprised to learn that no one had a camera on the final nine and ran back to his car to grab his Canon EOS 7D, sparking a disc golf media revolution.

“Pro Worlds is the most prestigious championship in our sport,” said DGPT CEO and Director Jeff Spring. “There is a special energy that comes along with crowning a new world champion, and we feel the weight of the responsibility that this event entails. It’s not just bringing coverage to disc golf fans around the globe, but also knowing that when you are covering Worlds, you are there documenting history.”

Live coverage will be supplemented by a full slate of post-production content from some of the PDGA’s top media partners, although the details of these arrangements have not yet been finalized.

National Tour Media Plan

Agreements have also been finalized for post-production coverage of all 2021 PDGA National Tour events, which will feature next-day shot-by-shot coverage from Jomez Pro on Open lead card, Central Coast Disc Golf on Open Women lead card, Gatekeeper Media on Open chase card and GK Pro on second Open chase card.

With six DGN livestream cameras and four post-production teams on the ground for almost every round, the 2021 National Tour is set to be the most widely covered in its 18-year history.

“After a year with limited top-tier events, but an overwhelming boom in participation and public awareness of disc golf, everyone is anticipating an incredible season at the elite levels of the sport,” said PDGA Media Specialist Matthew Rothstein. “We felt it was important that we step up the media coverage to meet the expected demand, and with the introduction of this lineup of live and post-production content we are on our way to achieving this goal.”

The 2021 PDGA National Tour is set to kick-off March 26-28 at the 26th Annual Texas State Disc Golf Championship.