The LPGA Tour's "T Point Ladies Golf Tournament" internet broadcast had a total of 1.77 million views over three days!

2018.03.28 Press Releases
T Point Japan Co., Ltd.

--VOD streaming of tournament highlights, including Suzuki Ai, who was crowned the champion at the Osaka tournament for the first time in 12 years--

T Point Japan Co., Ltd., Culture Convenience Club Co., Ltd., and CCC Marketing Co., Ltd. conducted a live internet broadcast of the LPGA Tour's "T Point Ladies Golf Tournament" (Ibaraki International Golf Club), which was held in Osaka for the first time in 12 years, for three days from Friday, March 16th to Sunday, March 18th, 2018. We are pleased to announce that the total number of views over the three days was 1.77 million, with access coming from 68 countries including South Korea, the United States, and Thailand.

T Point Ladies was the first Japanese women's professional golf regular tour to undertake full-scale live internet broadcasting in 2013, and this year marks its sixth year. Continuing the "Slow & Zoom" concept from the previous tournament, the tournament was broadcast on the T Point Ladies official website and the free internet television station "AbemaTV" to allow viewers to watch as many holes and players as possible. On the first day of the preliminaries, matches were cancelled due to bad weather, and the broadcast time was shortened, but the number of views was 520,000 via the official website and 1.25 million via AbemaTV, for a total of 1.77 million.

For this online broadcast, the commentators will be Take Koyama and Nagai Natsu, who were present at the previous tournament, as well as newcomers Baba Yukari and Michizane Kiichi. They will talk about strategic course strategies from the perspective of female professional golfers, and how to enjoy the tournament from the perspective of a teaching professional who has trained top professionals. Kenji Matsushita was also on hand to provide commentary, and light-hearted yet in-depth golf talk was delivered for a total of 20 hours over the three days.

T Point Japan will continue to aim to allow many people to experience the wonderful emotion that sports have to offer - their ability to move people's hearts - and to propose a new lifestyle through sports.

"T Point Ladies Golf Tournament" Internet Live Broadcast VOD Video Distribution Overview

■VOD distribution period: Monday, March 19th, 2018 to Friday, April 20th, 2018
■VOD distribution content:
(1) First day of qualifying: Interviews and autograph sessions
(2) Qualifying Day 2: Holes 1, 2, and 9, and other holes
(3) Final: Holes 1, 2, and 9, and other holes
(4) Shot trajectory, great plays, interviews, behind-the-scenes footage
■Comment from the commentator:

I watched the matches at Wakagi Golf Club in Saga Prefecture and Kagoshima Takamaki Country Club in Kagoshima Prefecture as a commentator for the live internet broadcast until the winner was decided. This year, the venue for the tournament moved to Ibaraki International Golf Club in Osaka Prefecture, where visitors can enjoy a panoramic view of the city of Osaka. Undulating fairways and greens. The slope of the course itself, created by nature, caused problems and difficulties for the athletes. Before the match, I didn't think the winning score would improve. I predicted that the player who would win would be one who had the technical ability, imagination, and fighting spirit. Even in a short tournament shortened to 36 holes, it was still this kind of player who won. Last year's prize money queen was Suzuki Ai. She was a true queen who had it all: shot power, putting power, and competitive ability. Keep an eye on Suzuki Ai this year. And he must have been really happy to receive support from the golf-loving people of Namba! I can't wait for next year's T Point Ladies.

The tournament venue changed in 2018 for the T Point Ladies, requiring players to be able to adapt in addition to their skills. It is often said that the deciding factor begins on the back nine, but on the final day of this tournament, the par-3 sixth hole, still in the first half of the round, turned out to be a very important hole. I think it was only possible because of the internet broadcast that we were able to enjoy the exciting developments in the front nine in real time. Golf is a time-consuming sport, but the engaging play and content make you forget the passage of time. I think there were many people who were enthusiastically following the outcome of this tournament. At least I was one of them.

This year was my first time serving as a commentator for an internet broadcast. I was able to follow the entire process on screen, from the first tee shot in the morning to the moment of victory, and I could see how the winner played throughout the day and which shots and putts were key.It was a week that made me realize once again the joy and fun of live golf. Also, I think that being able to see more players play has increased the number of fans of various female pro golfers! On Saturday, professional golfer Yamashita appeared as a surprise guest? As he knows the course well, he explained to the viewers in detail the course's quirks and where to attack, which was very educational for me as it was my first time visiting the course. We also got the players to cooperate, and had many female professional golfers make guest appearances, so I think we were able to bring out some of the cuteness of the players when they're not playing. Unfortunately, this year's weather was bad, so the competition was shortened to two days, but thanks to the staff who prepared from early in the morning until late at night, I think we were able to complete the event smoothly. Thank you very much for your hard work ^ ^ I'm looking forward to seeing you again next year!

This is my first time providing commentary. I am Kiichi Michizane. Unfortunately, the first day was cancelled due to rain, but we were able to invite a guest pro to the commentary booth and interview him. We were able to hear about the players' off-season activities and goals for this season, which we don't usually get to hear about, and we were able to hear about the players' mindset going into the matches, which was very informative. This time, I commentated on the matches of three professional golfers, Baba Yukari, Nagai Natsu, and Take Koyama, and in my role as a coach, I analyzed the players' swings and talked about course management. My goal in providing this commentary was to give a talk that would make the viewers feel like they have improved their golf game when they listen to it, and would make them want to try out the strategies when they actually play a round on the course. After the match, I received a lot of feedback from viewers saying that they found the video very helpful and that the swing analysis was interesting and niche, which I was very grateful for. Although I am still inexperienced as a commentator, I hope to continue providing more and more commentary from an amateur's perspective that will be useful to viewers. I would like to thank T Point and everyone involved in the internet broadcast for giving me the opportunity to provide commentary this time! I would like to thank them for giving me this valuable experience. We look forward to your continued support.

Starting this year, we have joined the T Point Ladies online broadcast. The course has also changed to the prestigious Ibaraki International Golf Club in Ibaraki, Osaka Prefecture, and the T Point Ladies Tournament is now in its eighth year, so I think we have entered a new era. I have been involved in terrestrial golf broadcasting for commercial broadcasters for about 40 years. There was no internet broadcasting back then. Nowadays, the way to enjoy golf in the United States has become so well-established that internet broadcasts are the main way to watch the game. Over the past few years, I have been in charge of broadcasting golf games online, and have been searching for ways to make announcements that are different from those on television. The key to the internet is how to make good use of the ample broadcast time available. You'll get to see more shots from more players. With terrestrial broadcasts having limited time, there is inevitably a lot of putting on the green. Even if the playing time for golf is four hours, the actual playing time is only about five minutes. Masters host Bobby Jones said, "Golf is a sport played between the ears. " he says. The internet will give you plenty of information about the conversations with Kayadi leading up to club selection, as well as his facial expressions as he walks. This time at the T Point Ladies, the colorful commentary by Take Koyama, Michizane Kiichi, Baba Yukari, and Nagai Natsu all brought out their own unique flavor, making for an enjoyable broadcast. Thanks to the staff and everyone at Ibaraki International Golf Club, I think everyone was able to enjoy the thrill of internet broadcasting. thank you very much.

Materials related to this matter

LPGA Tour "T Point Ladies Golf Tournament" internet broadcast reaches 1.77 million views over three days

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T Point Japan Co., Ltd.
Public Relations Officer: Ando　 TEL: 03-6800-4464