NBC once again hosts the United States Open and the full list of USGA championships.
The USGA announced Monday that, effective immediately, the broadcasting rights for its championships have been transferred from Fox Sports to NBC.
The financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed, but NBC will take over the rest of the contract, at least until 2026.
NBC televised the US Open from 1995 to 2014 before Fox won the rights with a 12-year deal that was reportedly worth around $ 1 billion.
“Partnering with NBCUniversal, including the Golf Channel, provides us with an unmatched opportunity to connect and engage with the core golf audience more directly and routinely, and on a non-profit basis, to continue to have a significant and lasting impact on the game.” , USGA Chief Executive Mike Davis said in a statement.
Discussions on the transfer of broadcasting rights began a few months ago. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the US Open at Winged Foot was postponed from June to September 17-20, complicating Fox Sports’ scheduling schedule with its existing commitments to the NFL, MLB, and the college football.
Taking immediate charge, NBC will now air four USGA championships this year: the US Women’s Amateur (Aug. 3-9), the US Amateur (Aug. 10-16), the US Open (Aug. 17-20). September) and the US Women’s Open. (December 10-13). Beginning in 2021, eight of the televised USGA championships will run completely uninterrupted, including the US Women’s Open and the Walker Cup. The US Open will be commercial-free during the last hour of the final round.
The first rounds of the US Open will be carried out by Golf Channel and Peacock, NBC’s on-demand streaming service to launch next month.
The deal creates some familiarity for sports fans who are tuning into the main season.
ESPN has the opening rounds of the Masters and PGA Championship before moving on to CBS for coverage over the weekend.
Under this new deal, NBC / Golf Channel will now have four-round coverage of the last two majors of the year.
The addition of the USGA championships means that NBC and its properties now own broadcast rights to the US Open, Open Championship, Players Championship, and Ryder Cup, as well as long-term partnerships with the PGA Tour, European Tour, LPGA, PGA Tour Champions, Korn Ferry Tour and NCAA.
“Adding these prestigious USGA events to our already incredibly deep golf business, led by our long-term association with the PGA Tour, as well as The Open Championship and Ryder Cup, positions us as absolute leaders in the field of golf,” NBC Sports President Pete Bevacqua said. said. “This agreement is advantageous to all parties, including NBC Sports, Golf Channel, Peacock and USGA, but also Fox Sports, and we thank them for working with us to complete this transaction.”
Golf’s longest day coverage will return in 2021, as well as the “Live From” programming for the first time at the US Women’s Open.
“Recent events requiring the change of the US Open created programming challenges that were difficult to overcome,” said Fox Sports CEO and Executive Producer Eric Shanks. “While we are proud of the success we have achieved over the years, this is a victory for golf fans everywhere, a victory for the USGA and a victory for Fox and NBC Sports.”
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