How the PGA of America Used Lennd to Deliver a Media Hub for the PGA Championship

About the PGA Championship

One of the golf industry’s most prestigious events, the PGA Championship brings together the world's best golfers every year. As a result, this event brings in media coverage from around the globe. Historically, the on-site media center consists of 250 working press seats, a photographer’s room with an additional 40 seats, a theater-style interview room with seating for up to 200 people, about 20 radio booths, a large scale video and leader board, a media dining area, and more.

The Challenge

With COVID-19 significantly limiting the quantity of on-site personnel, the PGA of America needed a way to easily vet, onboard, and provide approved media members across the globe a way to efficiently and effectively cover the week-long PGA Championship.

PGA of America Objectives

  • Broaden reach by accommodating remote coverage
  • Enhance on-site and remote media experience through seamless video conferencing & real-time alerts
  • Deliver dynamic & exclusive content to aid on-site and remote coverage
  • Carry out a cost-efficient media operation
  • Offer centralized resources and tools to allow media to efficiently cover the PGA Championship

Solution

The PGA turned to Lennd to create a Media Hub

Capabilities

The goal of the Media Hub was to be a one-stop shop where it was simple and straightforward for the PGA of America staff to:
  • Review and react to media applications
  • Credential approved media for either on-site or virtual access
  • Enforce and track signatures from anyone on-site for approval of COVID-19 protocols
And to allow media outlets to:
  • Apply for access
  • Follow the Live Interview Schedule
  • Join press conferences
  • Request interviews with specific players
  • Watch interview replays
  • Access transcripts from player interviews
  • Receive real-time alerts & reminders via email or text
  • Access a real-time feed of competition replay videos (that is searchable by player)
  • Access critical PGA Championship resources including Groupings & Tee Times, Practice Round & Driving Range feeds, Player & Media Guides, Hole Locations, PGA Rules Assignments, Fact Sheets, Travel Assets, Logos, Weather, course stats, photos, B-Roll, and more

Results & Stats

The Virtual Media Hub was a one-stop shop where it was simple and straightforward for media to more efficiently cover the event (whether they were on-site or remote).
  • 50 Media Personnel and Photographers On-site
  • 797 Media Hub Users
  • 127 Media Hub Users Added the week of the PGA Championship
  • 102 Scheduled Interviews / Zoom Press Conferences (Most interviews managed at a PGA Championship in the past four years)
  • 167 Player Interview Requests
  • 1157 Video Replays
  • 99 Interview Replays
  • 99 Published Alerts
  • 98 Transcripts
  • Approximately 50% Cost savings on overall media operations budget from prior year
Photo: On-site members of the PGA team refer to the Media Hub to see what interviews are coming up.

Dive Deeper

Contributing Services

  • PGA of America: Direction, Strategy and Operations
  • Lennd: Virtual Media Hub, Credentialing, Real-Time News & Alerts, SMS Notifications, Reminders & General Communication
  • Zoom: Conferencing Solution (Linked from Lennd Media Hub)
  • NMR Events: Player interview production
  • Safari Solutions: On-site network administration and tech support
  • WSC-Sports: AI Video analysis system (Integrated with Lennd Media Hub)
  • ASAP Sports: Interview Transcripts (Linked from Lennd Media Hub)
  • Imagen: Storing Videos, Interviews & Photos (Linked from Lennd Media Hub)
  • Intercom: Interview Requests, General media questions & support (Embedded in Lennd Media Hub)
  • Elias Sports Bureau: Daily Notes (Added to Lennd Media Hub)
  • Toptracer: Live stream of Range (Embedded in Lennd Media Hub)
  • ShotLink: Round By Round Stat Packs (Added to Lennd Media Hub)

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