European Tour Strikes New TV Rights Deal

Golf’s European Tour has announced a new joint live TV rights deal in the UK
with Sky Sports and BBC covering 40 tournaments on the tour calendar.

The new four-year agreement, which runs from 2009 to 2012, will for the first
time see Sky Sports and BBC Sport will collaborate to produce four events
jointly, namely the BMW PGA Championship, The Barclays Scottish Open, The Quinn
Direct British Masters and the HSBC World Match Play Championship.

BBC Sport will continue to show extensive live coverage of the Saturday and
Sunday play at those tournaments to a conclusion, with highlights on Sky Sports.
Live coverage on Thursday and Friday will be shown on Sky Sports with BBC Sport
broadcasting the highlights.

The new contract will see The Ryder Cup broadcast exclusively live on Sky
Sports at The Celtic Manor Resort, Newport, South Wales, in 2010 and Medinah
Country Club, Illinois, in 2012 with extensive highlights on both occasions on
BBC Sport.

The 2010 and 2012 arrangements mirror those in place for Europe’s last two
victories at Oakland Hills Country Club in Michigan in 2004 and The K Club, Co.
Kildare, in Ireland in 2006, and also Europe’s trophy defence at Valhalla Golf
Club, Louisville, Kentucky, in 2008.

Sky Sports will broadcast in-depth coverage through to the end of the 2012
season, including all World Golf Championships as well as the Omega Mission
Hills World Cup in China.

The broadcaster will also continue to show the final qualifying event for The
Ryder Cup, namely the Johnnie Walker Championship at Gleneagles; The Celtic
Manor Wales Open, to be played on The 2010 Ryder Cup course; the Alfred Dunhill
Links Championship and the two events in Ireland, the Irish Open and the Smurfit
Kappa European Open.