(Bloomberg) -- The upcoming golf showdown between Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson, a winner-take-all match for $9 million, will cost fans $19.99 on pay-per-view.
It’s a brand new format for golf, and an early opportunity for AT&T Inc. to showcase its recently acquired media operations. The telecom giant, which bought HBO, Warner Bros. and Turner Broadcasting as part of its $85 billion Time Warner deal this summer, is hoping the golfers’ star power -- plus the large purse and unusual approach -- will entice fans to treat the event like a big pay-per-view boxing fight.
The $19.99 price is well below the common cost for a major bout, but more expensive than most top-tier golf tournaments, which either air on broadcast TV or cable networks like ESPN. And it’s more than what customers pay for, say, a single NBA game, which sells for $6.99.
The Woods-Mickelson event will be available on AT&T’s two pay-TV services, DirecTV and U-verse, plus Turner’s new sports streaming service, B/R Live. Other cable and satellite operators distributing the event in the U.S. include Comcast, Charter, Cox, Verizon and Altice.
The event has polarized much of the golf community. Some fans have said they won’t pay for the event no matter what; others have expressed interest in the new format.
Marketed as “The Match,” the showdown will start at 3 p.m. Eastern time on Nov. 23 in Las Vegas. Turner executives say the broadcast will work differently than any other golf telecast, including microphones on the athletes and their caddies, side bets for charity, and no commercials.
Capital One is the event’s title sponsor. Other corporate partners include Audi and, not surprisingly, AT&T itself.
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