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PGA TOUR TV NEGOTIATION TRANSLATOR

Though he never went to business school, commissioner Tim Finchem often uses the jargon of the PGA Tour's corporate partners to let them know that he is on their wavelength. These translations will help you track the Tour's pending television contract negotiations. --Geoff Shackelford

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TERM

TRANSLATION

Product

Tour player (example: Tiger Woods or Tiger Woods)

Brand

Tattoo-free guys who don't use steroids

Platform

Tour schedule, although used for other things too because it's cool to say platform

Synergy; synergize

See second part of platform translation

Recontextualizing the platform

Moving the Players Championship to May

Incentivizing synergy platforms

Looking the other way on backdoor appearance fees

Branding the platform

Those cheesy Drive to a Billion spots

Platforming the brand

Using the PGA Tour logo to save the Champions tour

Repurposing proactive initiatives

Playing the Tour Championship in September after a NASCAR-like points race

Platform fluidity

We'll shift events that Tiger never plays in to the fall and stick them on the Golf Channel

Harnessing the product

Telling players that purses won't go up in 2007

Upside

Tiger will be only 31 when the next contract begins

Traction with the network

Dick Ebersol returned our call

No pushback from the network

Dick Ebersol has not returned our call

Equity

We'll split TV production costs the way the NHL does (Use only when there's no pushback)

Cultivate C-level contacts

Maybe the network CEO, CFO or COO will recall how much fun he had at the AT&T

Leverage

We won't insist that USA Network air PGA Tour Sunday

Reality on the ground

We'll do pretty much anything the networks want

 

COLOR PHOTO

JOHN BIEVER (WOODS)

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PGA TOUR (LOGO)

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GEORGE TIEDEMANN/GT IMAGES (NASCAR)

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JEMAL COUNTESS/WIREIMAGE.COM (EBERSOL)

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DAMIAN STROHMEYER (JIRI SLEGR)