1995 01 17 owned by nbc sports group picture format 1080i hdtv 480i letterboxed for sdtv feed country united states language english broadcast area united states canada asia latin america headquarters orlando florida formerly called the golf channel 1995 2007 1 sister channel s nbcsn comcast sportsnet website www.golfchannel.com availability satellite directv 218 dish network u.s. 401 astro malaysia 835 hd sky m xico mexico 528 sd sky brasil 32 sd transvision indonesia 900 hd truevisions thailand 675 hd shaw direct canada 409 sd 266 hd cable available on most u.s. and canadian cable systems consult your local cable provider for channels verizon fios 593 93 sd starhub tv singapore 213 sd upc czech republic check local listings for channels iptv bell fibe tv canada telus tv canada 1415 hd 416 sd 116 sd 668 hd 656 3d at & t u verse u.s. 1641 641 sd vmedia canada 76 hd streaming media sling tv internet protocol television playstation vue internet protocol television golf channel originally the golf channel from 1995 to 2007 1 is an american cable and satellite television network owned by the nbc sports group subsidiary of nbcuniversal division of comcast . the channel focuses on coverage of the sport of golf including live coverage of tournaments as well as factual and instructional programming . founded in birmingham alabama 2 the channel s headquarters and studios are currently located in orlando florida . golf channel is available in the united states canada and a few nations in asia and latin america through cable satellite and wireless transmissions . as of february 2015 golf channel is available to approximately 79 250 000 pay television households 68.1 % of households with television in the united states . 3 contents 1 history 1.1 high definition 2 programming 2.1 event coverage 2.2 news and analysis 2.3 factual and reality 2.4 instructional 3 notable personalities 3.1 current tournament personalities 3.1.1 pga tour coverage 3.1.2 lpga tour coverage 3.1.3 champions tour coverage 3.1.4 web.com tour coverage 3.1.5 golf central 3.1.6 morning drive 3.1.7 the golf fix 3.2 former personalities 4 viewership 5 international version 5.1 golf channel uk 5.2 golf channel latin america 6 references 7 external links history edit the network was launched in 1995 with a ceremonial flip of the switch by co founder arnold palmer on january 17 . 4 5 6 the idea of a 24 hour golf network came from media entrepreneur joseph e. gibbs of birmingham alabama 7 who first thought of such a concept in 1991 . 8 gibbs felt there was enough interest in golf among the public to support such a network and commissioned a gallup poll to see if his instincts were correct . with the support of the polling behind him gibbs and legendary golfer palmer then secured 80 million in financing to launch the network which was among the first cable networks developed to cover one singular sport . announced in february 1993 9 10 11 the launch date was targeted for may 1994 ; 2 it went on the air in early 1995 . the first live tournament the channel televised was the dubai desert classic held january 19 22 . originally a premium channel on cable with limited subscribers 12 it retooled in september 1995 to be part of basic cable to reach more viewers and ratings rapidly increased . 13 co founder gibbs stepped down at the end of 2001 . 8 in december 2006 it was announced that golf channel had acquired cable television rights to the pga tour as part of a new 15 year contract . the contract included early round coverage of all official money events as well as full rights to early season and fall series events . 14 in march 2008 comcast acquired the online golf reservation platform golfnow . it was re located to golf channel s headquarters in orlando . 15 16 in january 2011 comcast acquired a 51 % majority stake in nbc universal from general electric . as a result of the re alignment of comcast s existing properties into nbc universal control of golf channel and sister sports network versus was transferred to a restructured nbc sports division . on air synergies between nbc s existing production unit began to take effect in february 2011 at the wgc accenture match play championship when golf telecasts on nbc took on golf channel s production and branding as golf channel on nbc in a similar manner to espn s co branding of sports output on abc . nbc sports personalities could now appear on golf channel and former nbc sports senior vice president mike mccarley took over as the network s new head . the network also adopted an amended logo featuring the nbc peacock . 17 18 in december 2013 golf channel unveiled a new logo implemented in may 2014 to coincide with the 2014 players championship . the new logo replaces the swinging g emblem that had been used since the network s launch with a wordmark alongside the nbc peacock . the new logo was meant to provide a unified brand across golf channel s associated properties and services . 19 on june 8 2015 it was announced that nbc sports had acquired rights to the open championship beginning in 2017 under a 12 year deal ; 20 after former broadcaster espn opted out of the final year of rights nbc began coverage in 2016 instead . 21 early round coverage is aired by golf channel which marked the first time ever that golf channel had ever broadcast one of the four men s major golf championships . 20 on may 3 2016 nbc announced that golf channel would air the bulk of the men s and women s golf tournaments for the 2016 summer olympics covering up to 300 hours of the tourney with 130 of those hours live . 22 high definition edit in january 2007 comcast originally launched versus golf hd a 1080i high definition channel featuring programming from both golf channel and sister network versus . golf channel programming was broadcast during the daytime hours and versus programming was broadcast during the evening and primetime hours . the shared channel was replaced by the current individual hd feeds for both networks in december 2008 . 23 programming edit event coverage edit golf channel is the cable rightsholder of the pga tour broadcasting live coverage of early rounds and early window coverage of weekend rounds prior to network television coverage . some events particularly early season events such as the former fall series and alternate events held against majors are broadcast in their entirety by golf channel . golf channel also broadcasts primetime encores of the day s coverage including network television broadcasts from nbc or cbs where applicable . golf channel also broadcasts coverage of the pga tour s champions and web.com tour events . outside of events organized by the pga tour golf channel also carries coverage of the european tour and lpga tour . golf channel has also carried coverage of the ryder cup and solheim cup alongside nbc and the ncaa division i men s and women s golf championships . it formerly served as a secondary cable partner of the united states golf association broadcasting coverage of its amateur tournaments cable rights to the usga s open tournaments were owned by espn but golf channel produced coverage of these events were carried by its main rightsholder nbc until their acquisition by fox sports in 2015 . beginning in 2016 golf channel broadcasts early round coverage of the open championship . beginning in 2016 golf channel also participates in nbcuniversal s coverage of the summer olympics by covering golf competitions . news and analysis edit golf central morning drive factual and reality edit feherty golf s greatest rounds the big break instructional edit golf channel academy pga tour champions learning center playing lessons school of golf the golf fix notable personalities edit the golf channel uses a number of people for tournament news and instructional programming . 24 current tournament personalities edit pga tour coverage edit booth dan hicks johnny miller frank nobilo terry gannon tower gary koch peter jacobsen course david feherty roger maltbie mark rolfing notah begay curt byrum matt gogel lpga tour coverage edit booth terry gannon judy rankin tower tom abbott course jerry foltz karen stupples champions tour coverage edit booth bob papa lanny wadkins tower john mahaffey course billy ray brown web.com tour coverage edit course tripp isenhour kay cockerill gary christian golf central edit anchor ryan burr kelly tilghman matt adams analyst brandel chamblee david duval tripp isenhour jim gallagher arron oberholser john cook nicole castrale morning drive edit anchor lauren thompson analyst charlie rymer paige mackenzie chris dimarco the golf fix edit host michael breed former personalities edit brian anderson billy andrade 2010 2012 lara baldesarra 2012 2013 adam barr donna caponi byrnes vince cellini beth daniel 2007 2010 charles davis steve duemig jim gray kraig kann 1995 2011 jim kelly erik kuselias 2011 2012 ann liguori nancy lopez mark lye andrew magee win mcmurry peter oosterhuis 1995 2014 phil parkin 2006 2015 dottie pepper 2005 2012 ahmad rashad 2013 val skinner 2002 2013 stephanie sparks 2000 2013 brian tennyson ted tryba bob valvano scott van pelt 1995 2000 viewership edit for the month of october 2013 golf channel averaged a daily viewership of 84 000 . 25 international version edit golf channel uk edit a british version of the channel called golf channel uk was operated by sporting goods retailer jjb sports and was available on the bskyb satellite service . it broadcast many of the programs seen on the u.s. channel but was unable to attract a viable audience as it offered few live golf tournaments ; the channel shut down on december 31 2007 . all the major tours have most of their main broadcasting contracts in uk with sky sports . setanta golf also held rights before its closure and bbc sport also covers major tournaments each year . citation needed golf channel latin america edit the latin american version of the golf channel was launched in 2006 as a joint venture between directv and paraguayan businessman carlos vila . the channel broadcasts professional tournaments from the pga tour pga tour latinoam rica and european tour with spanish speaking journalists as well as golf central and other english language shows . 26 references edit a b awtrey stan january 10 2007 . tour tees up era on golf channel . times news . hendersonville nc . cox news service . p. 5e . a b cable golf channel on par with times . victoria advocate . victoria tx . june 29 1993 . p. 2b . seidman robert february 22 2015 . list of how many homes each cable network is in as of february 2015 . tv by the numbers . zap2it . retrieved march 14 2015 . palmer introduces all golf network . gainesville sun . january 18 1995 . p. 3c . the golf channel hits the air . eugene register guard . wire services . january 27 1995 . p. 2f . winfrey lee . golf channel tees off tuesday joining history channel as new cable fare knight ridder tribune news service january 16 1995 . retrieved february 28 2011 from highbeam research . newberry paul june 28 1993 . birmingham man plans 24 hour golf channel . gadsden times . gadsden al. associated press . p. b1 . a b golf channel co founder resigns . herald tribune . sarasota fl . associated press . october 17 2001 . p. 7d . estes cary june 13 1993 . can golf channel really work . sunday telegraph . nashua nh . scripps howard news service . p. c7 . palmer to start golf channel . the telegraph . nashua nh . associated press . february 11 1993 . p. 13 . winfrey lee may