Discovery expands golf partnership to European Tour

The European Tour and pay TV operator Discovery Inc announced a new partnership on Thursday, giving golf fans access to more than 40 tournaments annually through their on-demand video-streaming service GOLFTV.

The service, which will launch on Jan. 1 outside the United States, will have multi-platform live rights to tournaments such as Race to Dubai events, all World Golf Championships and the next two Ryder Cups in some territories.

"Welcoming the European Tour and Ryder Cup into the GOLFTV world is a significant step in our journey to becoming a premier global destination for golf entertainment," Discovery Golf president and general manager Alex Kaplan said in a statement.

Discovery and the PGA Tour had said in June they were teaming up in a 12-year partnership to manage the PGA Tour's international multi-platform rights, including for television. 

(With inputs from agencies.)