The PGA Tour’s broadcast model has become increasingly collaborative this season, with coverage of key events spread across ESPN, NBC, Golf Channel, Peacock and PGA Tour Live, giving fans access through both traditional TV and streaming. Building on that shift, the Tour is now adding another layer to the evolving setup, with ESPN receiving 12 additional hours of coverage across the FedExCup Playoffs. PGA Tour EVP/Media Norb Gambuzza said the change is possible because of the way media collaboration continues to evolve.

“Having ESPN kind of lean into PGA Tour golf at its core is a good thing, and that really is the premise of this whole thing. That sentiment across sports has just become much more positive and just more part of the way media companies collaborate on their rights deals,” Gambuzza said, as reported by the Sports Business Journal. “That is a topic where years ago it was more difficult to get one partner to push to another or to say, ‘Hey, we’re going to be here.’ But from a property standpoint, we just want the fans to know where to go and how to consume it. So, I think we’re making progress in that regard.”

ESPN is already covering 100 hours of the PGA Tour events. But this linear coverage is added specifically for the three playoff events, and will be distributed like this:

• Thursday and Friday of the FedEx St. Jude Championship: 9 to 11 a.m. ET
• Thursday and Friday of the BMW Championship: 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. ET
• Thursday and Friday of the TOUR Championship: 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. ET

This means that the playoffs will no longer be just a streaming-heavy add-on for ESPN. Instead, they will get real broadcast real estate, and it will be the first time for the Tour Championship. ESPN last covered the event live in 2006, a year before the FedExCup Playoffs were introduced.

In addition, the ESPN windows will feature more cameras, drones, and enhanced player audio. The expanded coverage of the events will be supported by “SportsCenter,” “Get Up,” and “The Pat McAfee Show.”

However, this is not the first time ESPN has had linear coverage. When Brooks Koepka returned to the PGA Tour, ESPN covered the first two rounds of the Farmers Insurance Open, where he made his debut this season.

Last year, playoff coverage was split across NBC, Golf Channel, Peacock, and ESPN+. The early rounds were covered by ESPN streaming platforms, while Golf Channel handled afternoon windows before NBC took over. However, this new broadcast shakeup brings simplicity to the coverage, and not just for these three events but for the postseason, too.

With these changes, the PGA Tour could be trying to make the FedExCup Playoffs bigger, which is the right move. Playoffs are the next big thing after the majors and the Players Championship. Thus, adding coverage, cameras, drones, and more to these events makes them more accessible for fans and drives better viewership for the PGA Tour.