PGA TOUR, SkratchTV, and GoPro Announce Relationship Focused on Technology, Content and New Viewing Experiences for Golf Fans
Live-streaming components to debut at Waste Management Phoenix Open with innovative digital broadcast from 16th hole
PR NEWSWIRE 9:00 AM ET 2/2/2016
Symbol Last Price Change GPRO 10.36down -0.7 (-6.33%) QUOTES AS OF 12:16:01 PM ET 02/02/2016
SAN MATEO, Calif. , Feb. 2, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- GoPro, Inc.(GPRO) , the PGA TOUR, and SkratchTV today announced a global relationship that will deliver never-before-seen perspectives and episodic video content to golf fans around the world. The collaboration debuts this week at the Waste Management Phoenix Open with broadcast integrations using GoPro(GPRO) cameras in ways that have never been utilized before in live golf coverage.
Pictured: George Bryan "We are excited to partner with GoPro(GPRO) to bring new and engaging perspectives to PGA TOUR fans. GoPro's(GPRO) award-winning content production will serve as an excellent platform to create compelling narratives about the PGA TOUR and its players," said Rick Anderson, Executive Vice President of Global Media. "We're intrigued to 'GoPro(GPRO)' the game of golf, opening up our sport to new audiences and giving fans some new ways to enjoy the game."
The PGA TOUR, SkratchTV, and GoPro(GPRO) are kicking things off this week at the Waste Management Phoenix Open on Wednesday, February 3, where, for the first time ever, the PGA TOUR will stream the Pro-Am from the world-famous, stadium-like 16th hole at TPC Scottsdale's Stadium Course. This new Pro-Am show will be hosted by Erik Anders Lang from SkratchTV, creator and host of a new digital series called "Adventures In Golf." PGA TOUR Entertainment will utilize GoPro's(GPRO) HEROCast technology and production expertise to capture and broadcast unique coverage of the Pro-Am, including on-course interviews leveraging live GoPro(GPRO) cameras on talent, player-worn perspectives, and in-stadium fan-cams.
"This partnership with the PGA TOUR and SkratchTV will enable our team to capture unique views of the game and to tell the stories from the TOUR, and about golf lifestyle, in a whole new way," said Todd Ballard, vice president of global sports entertainment marketing for GoPro(GPRO). "The Waste Management Phoenix Open will serve as a starting point to collect content for our upcoming, season-long initiatives, and it will be a great opportunity to showcase our integrated broadcast technology."
As part of the relationship, GoPro(GPRO) will produce episodic videos that bring fans inside-the-ropes at PGA TOUR events, giving them unique access to the events and athletes, including recently signed GoPro(GPRO) athlete and PGA TOUR member, Justin Thomas.
GoPro (GPRO) will also use their spherical capture technology to truly immerse golf fans in a virtual reality experience from some of the most iconic locations in the game. Both spherical and episodic content will be distributed on the GoPro Channel, the GoPro App, YouTube and GoPro's(GPRO) social media channels.
This all-digital coverage of the Waste Management Phoenix Open runs from Wednesday, February 3rd, through Sunday, February 7th, and will stream live at www.pgatourlive.com, www.skratchtv.com, or via the PGA TOUR LIVE apps on iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, and Android. For more information on this partnership, visit GoPro's(GPRO) blog, The Inside Line.
About GoPro, Inc. GoPro (GPRO), Inc. is transforming the way people visually capture and share their lives. What began as an idea to help athletes self-document themselves engaged in their sport, GoPro(GPRO) has become a standard for how people capture themselves engaged in their interests, whatever they may be. From extreme to mainstream, professional to consumer, GoPro enables the world to capture and share its passion in the form of immersive and engaging content.
For more information, visit www.gopro.com or connect with GoPro on YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram, or LinkedIn.
GOPRO® and HERO® are trademarks or registered trademarks of GoPro Inc. in the United States and other countries.
About PGA TOUR The PGA TOUR is the world's premier membership organization for touring professional golfers, co-sanctioning more than 130 tournaments on the PGA TOUR, PGA TOUR Champions, Web.com Tour, PGA TOUR Latinoamérica, Mackenzie Tour-PGA TOUR Canada and PGA TOUR China.
The PGA TOUR's mission is to entertain and inspire its fans, deliver substantial value to its partners, create outlets for volunteers to give back, generate significant charitable and economic impact in the communities in which it plays, and provide financial opportunities for TOUR players.
Worldwide, PGA TOUR tournaments are broadcast to more than 1 billion households in 227 countries and territories in 30 languages. Virtually all tournaments are organized as non-profit organizations in order to maximize charitable giving. In 2014, tournaments across all Tours generated a record $140.5 million for local and national charitable organizations, after surpassing $2 billion in all-time charitable contributions early in the year.
The PGA TOUR's web site is PGATOUR.COM, the No. 1 site in golf, and the organization is headquartered in Ponte Vedra Beach, FL.
About SkratchTV SkratchTV is the network that brings golf fans the content they want, when they want it and on every device they own. It's short attention span golf in a voice that echoes that of its users. SkratchTV was built by Sportsrocket, Inc, in partnership with the PGA TOUR, to reach the mobile-savvy, always on, rapid-fire content consumer that is the new generation of golf fans. Sportsrocket is the digital media company founded by Brian Bedol (who also founded the properties that would become ESPN Classic and CBS Sports Network). Sportsrocket is the leader in multi-platform sports properties, having built Kick TV in conjunction with Major League Soccer, the immensely popular action sports site Network A and, most recently – Serie A football club AS Roma's digital offering. For more info visit http://sportsrocket.com/.
MARKETWATCH 2:55 PM ET 02/02/16 Symbol Last Price Change GPRO 10.24 -0.82 (-7.41%) QUOTES AS OF 04:00:00 PM ET 02/02/2016
From a big momentum play to a short seller's dream, GoPro(GPRO) Inc.'s stock has seen it all in less than two years on the public markets.
After surging nearly 300% to its October 2014 high (http://blogs.wsj.com/moneybeat/2014/10/07/gopro-the- quintessential-pain-trade/), the camera maker's shares have since lost more than 90% of their value and sit near record lows. GoPro(GPRO) has been punished for disappointing sales of its newest wearable camera and a lack of other sustainable revenue streams.
With the stock trading around $10, it is only natural for bargain hunters to sniff around when GoPro(GPRO) reports fourth- quarter results on Wednesday. And since GoPro(GPRO) already unveiled disappointing preliminary figures last month, much of the bad news for the period ending in December might already be priced in.
But as with most volatile stocks, GoPro(GPRO) shares in recent months have repeatedly looked set to hit rock bottom, only to then fall further. Without a specific catalyst to juice sales, investors should cast a skeptical eye toward any future rallies.
For instance, since peaking in October 2014, there have been six instances in which GoPro(GPRO) shares rallied at least 10%. That includes the whopping 64% rally between March and October. Yet in that instance, it took less than a month for those gains to be wiped away.
For years, GoPro(GPRO) benefited from strong brand identity among surfers and cyclists who sported the wearable high- definition video recorders (http://www.wsj.com/articles/gopro-plans-jobs-cuts-provides-weak-sales-outlook-1452720993). But its action cameras struggled to achieve widespread adoption. Meanwhile, increasing competition from overseas manufacturers and better smartphone-camera technology have weighed on GoPro's(GPRO) results.
Plans for a consumer drone could be promising, but GoPro(GPRO) faces a crowded hardware market. And while some bullish observers are pegging hopes on GoPro's(GPRO) media plans, the company has yet to show it can make real money from content.
GoPro (GPRO) does appear beaten down. It fetches a price-to-sales ratio of 0.81 times, some 75% below its average as a public company. And it trades at 14 times forward earnings, well below the Nasdaq Composite's average.
MARKETWATCH 7:23 AM ET 2/3/2016 Symbol Last Price Change GPRO 10.24 0 (0%)
QUOTES AS OF 04:00:00 PM ET 02/02/2016
GoPro (GPRO) will report fourth-quarter earnings late Wednesday
GoPro Inc. (GPRO) is expected to deliver sharp declines in earnings and sales when it reports fourth-quarter earnings after the market closes on Wednesday.
Wall Street has drastically reduced its estimates on the action-camera maker over the past few weeks following last month's warning by the company that holiday-quarter sales would be worse than expected (http://www.marketwatch.com/ story/gopro-to-cut-jobs-after-weak-q4-sales-stock-dives-2016-01-13). GoPro(GPRO) also announced plans to lay off 7% of its workforce.
Earnings: Sell-side analysts expect GoPro(GPRO) to report earnings per share of 5 cents, versus 99 cents in the year-earlier period, according to FactSet. The average EPS estimate on FactSet had been as high as 32 cents a share earlier this month, before GoPro's(GPRO) profit warning.
Buy-side analysts are much more bullish, however. Estimize, a software platform that uses crowdsourcing to track earnings estimates from hedge-fund executives, brokerages and buy-side analysts, has GoPro(GPRO) earning 1 cent. While GoPro(GPRO) fell short of both the FactSet and Estimize consensus numbers last quarter, it surpassed them in every other quarter since its mid-2014 IPO.
On a conference call in October, GoPro(GPRO) forecast EPS between 35 and 45 cents a share.
Also See: After Hero4 Bust, GoPro's(GPRO) hopes rest on drones and virtual reality (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/after- hero4-bust-gopros-hopes-rest-on-drones-and-virtual-reality-2016-01-13)
Revenue: In January, the company reported preliminary sales results of $435 million. That prompted FactSet-surveyed analysts to lower their consensus estimates to $435 million from as high as $507 million before the profit warning.
Those sales would mark a slowdown from $634 million in the year-earlier period. Contributors on Estimize are forecasting revenue of $434.9 million. Just like its earnings, GoPro(GPRO) missed both the FactSet and Estimize consensus estimates in the last quarter but beat them in every quarter prior.
Stock reaction: Shares of GoPro(GPRO) have fallen 60% over the last three months, vastly underperforming the S&P 500's 9.5% decline. Its shares are down more than 80% over the last 12 months, versus the index's 6% decline. They tumbled another 7.5% on Tuesday.
Despite its weak sales, earnings and stock-price growth, analysts remain bullish (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/ gopros-stock-plunge-doesnt-scare-away-bullish-analysts-2016-01-14) on the company, rating the stock the equivalent to buy, according to a survey of 17 analysts by FactSet. The average price target on the stock is $16.22, which implies 58% upside from Tuesday's closing price.
Also See: GoPro's(GPRO) dismal stock performance makes it a 'bargain' for suitors (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/gopros- dismal-stock-performance-makes-it-a-bargain-for-suitors-2016-01-14)
What to watch for: GoPro(GPRO) has been warning that holiday sales were impacted by a lack of new product offerings in the fourth quarter. Analysts are also blaming weak demand for GoPro's(GPRO) cubed-shaped Hero4 Session, which was unveiled in July and has faced two rounds of price cuts.
However, Wedbush analyst Michael Pachter, who has an outperform rating and $18 target on the stock, said he thinks the consensus may be "overly pessimistic." The Street's 2016 expectations could also prove too low, he said, if GoPro(GPRO) launches its Karma drone early this fiscal year.
Several analyst estimates have yet to take into account the company's efforts in virtual reality and drones. With the key holiday quarter over and its shares battered, analysts will be questioning its turnaround plans, with a particular focus on recently-announced layoffs and new products.
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