Robust concierge service will serve as ultimate resource for vacationing golfers on where to play around the globe. Initial focus on bolstering regional sites dedicated to Arizona, Las Vegas, Hawaii, Orlando, Hilton Head and European golf
ORLANDO, Fla. (Feb. 3, 2010) – Golf Channel will look to further extend the power of its brand in the travel space as it unveils its new online travel platform: TravelGolf. Serving as the ultimate hub for vacationing golfers, TravelGolf provides the most comprehensive and insightful information about the best places around the world to play golf and have access to a host of other services that will help them to enjoy a golfing vacation to the fullest. Golf Channel parent company Comcast Corporation’s recent acquisition of WorldGolf.com, home to the largest collection of national, regional and local golf travel domains, will serve as the foundation of Golf Channel’s TravelGolf brand. The new TravelGolf umbrella site is scheduled to launch this spring.
To build out TravelGolf, Golf Channel has access to more than 450 golf travel domain names and 75 unique golf and travel brands through its proprietary WorldGolf Network of Web sites. Combined, those sites already garner more that 3.5 million page views and 1.1 million unique visitors per month.
“Access to these travel domains has provided us with an enormous base to build out our online travel business. The new TravelGolf banner will fulfill our goal of offering a comprehensive, one-stop experience where golfers can find all the information and services that will make it easier for them to create and book their ultimate golf vacation,” said Gene Pizzolato, chief operating officer for Golf Channel New Media Ventures. “This new brand will benefit greatly from the resources of the world’s number-one golf television network, which is creating various platforms to not only help golfers enjoy and improve their games, but also to help grow the game of golf.”
Golf Channel initially is renovating six of its TravelGolf sites that spotlight some of the biggest golf vacation destinations, with HawaiiGolf.com and HiltonHeadGolf.com leading the way and already operational. Each clean, sleekly designed site under the new TravelGolf umbrella will be populated by a robust, easy to navigate content line-up geared toward each destination. This will include golf course reviews, hotel and resort booking opportunities, travel packages and destination features, as well as integration of other Golf Channel properties, such as the ability to book tee times in the spotlighted vacation destination through its GolfNow.com service (featuring more than 1,800 courses), access to GolfChannel.com’s online library of more than 2,500 instructional videos, and the ability to browse product reviews and tips from local golf pros, as well as the Golf Channel Am Tour, the largest amateur tour in the country with more than 800 tournaments in 60 local chapters, giving players access to some of the most renowned golf courses.
About Golf Channel
Golf Channel is a multimedia, golf entertainment and services company based in Orlando, Fla. The Golf Channel cable network, co-founded by Arnold Palmer and a subsidiary of Comcast Corporation (NASDAQ: CMCSA, CMCSK), is available in more than 120 million homes worldwide through cable, satellite and wireless companies. Exclusive partnerships with the world’s top tours allow Golf Channel to feature more live golf coverage than all other networks combined, added to a programming schedule distinguished by golf’s best news, instruction and original programming. Golf Channel’s inventive digital platform includes a suite of sites designed to be a one-stop, personal golf concierge service: Golf Channel.com provides the most complete coverage of the major golf tournaments, with news and analysis led by an all-star editorial team; GolfNow.com is the Internet’s most comprehensive online tee time booking service, offering users the ability to book tee-times at more than 1,800 courses nationwide at any time of day; and TravelGolf.com is the premier online golf travel network featuring the largest collection of national, regional and local golf travel domains. Additionally, Golf Channel manages and operates the Golf Channel Am Tour, the largest amateur tour in the country, currently comprising of more than 800 tournaments in 60 local chapters nationwide. The Golf Channel Am Tour provides casual players with a professionally-run golf tournament experience and the access to play at some of the greatest and most challenging courses in their hometowns.
Contact:
Dan Higgins
GOLF CHANNEL Public Relations
407-355-4018
dhiggins@golfchannel.com
Callie Burrows
Dan Klores Communications
212-981-5209
callie_burrows@dkcnews.com
