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There will be more coverage of USGA events in the future on the same network after the USGA and NBC Universal announced on Tuesday that they’ve struck a media rights agreement through 2032.
NBC will continue its exclusive coverage of the U.S. Open, U.S. Women’s Open and U.S. Senior Open, and for the U.S. Open it will feature 48 hours of coverage on numerous platforms, including 25 hours on NBC and 33 hours when the championship is played on the West Coast. Beginning in 2027 when the new agreement goes into effect, there will be an increase of one hour of coverage on NBC for the Thursday and Friday rounds.
Among the other coverage highlights: There will be 27 hours of U.S. Women’s Open coverage, including seven weekend hours on NBC; 18 hours of coverage for the U.S. Senior Open, including six on NBC; 15 hours of coverage for both the U.S. Amateur and U.S. Women’s Amateur; 12 hours of coverage for the Walker Cup and 16 hours for the Curtis Cup when played in the U.S.; and continuing coverage of the U.S. Junior Amateur, U.S. Girls’ Junior, U.S. Adaptive Open and U.S. Senior Women’s Open.
The announcement said Peacock will stream all USGA programming airing on NBC and will provide exclusive streaming coverage of the U.S. Open and U.S. Women’s Open.
Additionally, the new media company Versant, which was spun off from the Comcast Corporation, and whose holdings include Golf Channel and USA Network, obtained rights to coverage of the USGA championships through 2032. USA gets the U.S. Open and U.S. Women’s Open coverage, with Golf Channel handling the U.S. Senior Open and the eight other events on the USGA calendar.
“We definitely put a value on a partner we knew,” USGA CEO Mike Whan told Sports Business Journal on Monday. “We trust NBC and Versant in how they showcase the brand and our vision.”
NBC had a long relationship with the USGA, dating back to 1995, but Fox Sports took over the USGA rights beginning in 2015 with a 12-year deal reported to be worth $1 billion, or about $83 million per year. The partnership lasted only five years, with Fox relinquishing the rights back to NBC after the network couldn’t alter its programming when the pandemic pushed the U.S. Open from its usual June date to September. NBC’s new deal at that time was for coverage through 2026.
The USGA has identified 22 sites for the U.S. Open through 2051 and six of those are on the West Coast. Eighteen sites have been chosen for the U.S. Women’s Open through 2048, with five on the West Coast.
With the additional hour of coverage for NBC of the U.S. Open on Thursday and Friday, Sports Business Journal is reporting that tee times will be adjusted to make sure several marquee players finish their rounds during the network broadcast window.
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Main Image: Brennan Asplen
