U-NEXT, a video streaming service operated by USEN and U-NEXT Co. Ltd, has become the exclusive rightsholder of the DP World Tour in Japan from the 2025 season.
The first DP World Tour event that U-NEXT will broadcast will be the Team Cup which starts on 10th January 2025. It will then broadcast every tournament in the season-long Race to Dubai, which culminates in the DP World Tour Play-offs in November.
U-NEXT already has a strong track record of broadcasting golf to the Japanese market. It has been the rightsholder of the PGA TOUR since 2022, as well holding the rights to broadcast two major championships - the Masters and the Open Championship. U-NEXT will also be the home of the inaugural season of the TGL in 2025.
U-NEXT has become a leading platform for Japanese sports fans to watch their favourite sports, holding the rights to broadcast other major competitions such as football’s English Premier League and La Liga, tennis’s ATP Tour, and Mixed Martial Arts’ Professional Fighters League.
The DP World Tour has a strategic alliance with the Japanese Golf Tour Organisation (JGTO) which has created a pathway for Japan’s top players to play on the DP World Tour. The country’s golfers enjoyed notable success on the DP World Tour in 2024, with Rikuya Hoshino winning his maiden DP World Tour title at the Commercial Bank Qatar Masters and finishing 16th in the Race to Dubai Rankings - subsequently earning dual PGA TOUR membership for 2025. Keita Nakajima also secured his maiden DP World Tour victory at the 2024 Hero Indian Open in March, and Yuto Katsuragawa won his first DP World Tour title at the co-sanctioned 2024 ISPS Handa Championship in Japan.
Speaking about the new agreement Tenshin Tsutsumi, President and CEO of U-NEXT Co. Ltd, said: "We are deeply honoured to begin streaming the historic DP World Tour. As a golf enthusiast myself, I feel particularly privileged to be part of this initiative. In the Japanese men's golf scene, we are witnessing the emergence of young players with the potential to compete on the global stage. These players are venturing beyond Japan to hone their skills on the DP World Tour and challenge themselves on the PGA TOUR. To consistently convey this compelling narrative, we have made the decision to stream all DP World Tour tournaments.
“Our hope is that by watching these players progress from domestic tours to the DP World Tour and the PGA TOUR, the next generation will be inspired to pick up golf clubs, thinking 'I want to do that too.' Through U-NEXT, we aim to introduce people to the world of golf and offer new ways to enjoy the sport.”
Richard Bunn, Chief Revenue and Content Officer at the DP World Tour, added: “The DP World Tour has long been a home for Japan’s top golfers and the quality of talent coming through the ranks in Japan is impressive – demonstrated by multiple Japanese winners on the DP World Tour last season. U-NEXT have built a strong reputation for the quality of their sports content and I’m delighted that Japanese golf fans will be able to watch every DP World Tour event live in 2025.”
