For only the third time in its history, Golf Digest has a new owner. On Monday the sale was completed from Condé Nast to Discovery, Inc., the media company best known for its suite of real-life entertainment networks like Discovery Channel, HGTV, and the Food Network, and which has successfully expanded into golf. In joining forces with Discovery’s GOLFTV, the company’s new live and on-demand video streaming service.
“Golf Digest is a world-class brand that has become the go-to authority for millions of golf enthusiasts, professional players and global advertisers,” said Discovery, Inc. President and CEO David Zaslav. “It’s a natural strategic fit with Discovery’s goal to be the leading golf media platform in the world.”
The sale is the result of a nine-month process that began when Conde Nast, which bought Golf Digest in 2001, announced a strategic shift to focusing on its core brands in style and culture, allowing Golf Digest to pursue new ownership. Along the way we received interest from a wide spectrum of suitors in and outside of both golf and media, but it was Discovery’s ambitious plans to create a “digital home of golf” that seemed an ideal match from the start. Along with landing PGA Tour rights outside the U.S. for the next 12 years last June, GOLFTV has secured rights to the European Tour, the Ladies European Tour and the Masters in select markets, and has also struck exclusive content partnerships with Tiger Woods and Open champion Francesco Molinari.
