Golf Channel Network

The game of golf is one of the steadiest sports that have ever existed but its popularity rate is becoming evidently increasing in recent years. In fact, it has infiltrated its way onto mainstream television in order to ride in on this golf craze and phenomenon, which was initiated by the Golf Channel.

Joseph Gibbs, a native of Birmingham, Alabama is a cable and cellular entrepreneur, who hosted the'90 PGA Championship, which is one of the first professional golf tournament ever. Gibbs played host to the tournament for Arnold and Winnie Palmer. They eventually built a strong friendship that gave way to what was to become a 24-hour cable network that was devoted entirely for the sport.

After conducting a Gallup survey to determine public interest, Joe Gibbs was pleased to realize that there was a strong interest for a golf channel among the general public. The successful entrepreneur and the golf legend were convince that The Golf Channel would flourish with offerings for the golf-loving viewer.

The Golf Channel came into existence in'95 after the new corporate body managed to raise in excess of $80 million, well enough to lunch and finance the dream endeavor. The Golf Channel finally started with down 1000 subscribers, and debuted on'th January'95 with its first live telecast of Dubai Desert Classic golf tournament.

Since then, The Golf Channel has grown by leaps and bounds in popularity. Many cable and satellite dish systems now carry The Golf Channel as part of their regular lineup of channels. It is now broadcast in Japan and Canada and in'99, reached a "break even" status on their financial statements.

Today, The Golf Channel is considered the place to go for golf news and programming. They have a daily golf news show called "Golf Central" along with "College Central" which is dedicated to college golf. They air highlight shows of past tournaments and have many programs with professionals handing out golf tips to the eager viewer.

Not to be left behind with the reality TV phenomenon, The Golf Channel has joined in with their reality-based program called "The Big Break". This program was designed to help aspiring professionals gain exemptions into PGA Tour and LPGA events. It has proven to be wildly successful.

In 2005, The Golf Channel helped set up a special match play event called Big Stakes Golf, in which teams of two paid a $100,000 entry fee to play in a special tournament where the winning team split a $3,000,000 first-place prize, the largest in golf history. In the end, mini-tour professionals Garth Mulroy and David Ping won the grand prize.

From a dream, two individuals partnered together in introducing the Golf Channel to the market and create a sensation from it!