Golf fans in the Middle East have just been handed a major lifeline with Facebook reportedly securing an eleventh hour deal to broadcast The Masters Tournament in the region.
The news was broken on sports media website Sport Pro who report that all four days of the first Major Championship of the year will be shown live on the Social Media giant including the famed Green Jacket ceremony.
Sports Pro go on to report that the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Israel will all fall within the remit of the deal with the coverage being streamed via the Masters’ official Facebook page.
OSN had previously held the rights for PGA and European Tour coverage in the Middle East but ditched all but two cricket channels from their coverage on March 31 to focus on ‘redirecting investments from sports to content that our customers enjoy the most.’
⛳️ Facebook continues its venture into live #sports.
After broadcasting #MLB, #LaLiga, #CopaLibertadores and #UCL in selected countries, the #SocialMedia secures a deal to broadcast #themasters in the Middle East.
Read more here 👉 https://t.co/NhhnUdzIMy#Golf pic.twitter.com/5LO6f6BY9O
— IQUII Sport (@IQUIISport) April 10, 2019
The 2019 Masters Tournament gets underway later today (Thursday) with Patrick Reed aiming to defend his title while Rory McIlroy has a fifth stab at the Career Grand Slam.
The geo-targeted telecast will start at 11pm UAE time Thursday to Saturday whilst on Sunday the telecast begins at 10pm.
