NBC/Golf Channel land Open Championship TV rights starting 2018

[boogielicious]

From golfdigest.com

http://www.golfdigest.com/blogs/the-loop/2015/06/nbcgolf-channel-land-open-cham.html

NBC/Golf channel beat out Fox and ESPN.  They will air the tournament live.

Quote:

By Geoff Shackelford

NBC and Golf Channel have obtained the American broadcast rights to The Open Championship beginning in 2018, multiple sources confirm.

The announcement, which comes after presentations by several major networks to the R&A;, was made Monday to avoid any interference with this week’s KPMG Women's PGA Championship and next week’s U.S. Open. Existing rights-holder ESPN will broadcast its final Open in 2016 after the R&A; opted out of the current contract’s final year.

As part of the deal, Golf Channel will get to air coverage of a men’s major for the first time, and the move back to broadcast television from exclusively on cable is expected improve audience size and visibility, reportedly the most important factor for the R&A; that was said to be pleased with ESPN’s effort.

The Open Championship coverage will be live on NBC, avoiding any potential criticism for the network that has often tape-delayed Olympic and tennis coverage. It’s also a major victory for the Comcast-owned networks, which lost out to Fox Sports for the right to broadcast USGA events, including the U.S. Open.

“We are delighted to announce that from 2017, The Open will be broadcast by NBC Sports Group. They have unparalleled experience in golf and have demonstrated a genuine desire to showcase and promote The Open and The R&A;’s elite championships through their extensive range of channels and digital platforms,” said Peter Dawson, Chief Executive of The R&A.; “The United States is home to millions of fans of The Open and we know that through NBC Sports Group, they will enjoy world-class coverage of the Championship.”

[nevets88]

It's like NBC and ABC swapped the British Open and Wimbledon. Will NBC use the Wimbledon music theme for the BO?

[ChrisP]

That's awesome. Hopefully Johnny Miller will be around still for the Open. He was devastated when they lost the US Open. I think NBC is the best when it comes to golf. So I'm confused, though, does it start in 2017 or 2018?

[newtogolf]

It's a great positive indicator for the state of golf if the major networks are aggressively bidding on the 2018 Open.  It seems the reports of golfs death have been greatly exaggerated

[dkolo]

It really sucks that ESPN is losing the British. They had the best coverage of any golf tournament today. This visibility argument is complete BS. Broadcast vs. cable is a false dichotomy these days and ESPN is in so many more homes than Golf Channel. NBC just offered more money. "Visibility" didn't enter into it.

[ChrisP]

It really sucks that ESPN is losing the British. They had the best coverage of any golf tournament today.

This visibility argument is complete BS. Broadcast vs. cable is a false dichotomy these days and ESPN is in so many more homes than Golf Channel. NBC just offered more money. "Visibility" didn't enter into it.

Disagree about doing the best coverage. I think NBC is the best at covering golf. Hicks/Miller are the best in the business. I'll miss Azinger, but I couldn't stand Curtis Strange. I do agree, though, about ESPN being in more homes. It's why I'm nervous about Fox doing the US Open. Not a lot of people even have Fox Sports 1 or know what it is. Will definitely lose viewership being taken off ESPN. When NBC had the US Open, they shared the rights with ESPN so the first two rounds were on that network.

[saevel25]

Disagree about doing the best coverage. I think NBC is the best at covering golf. Hicks/Miller are the best in the business.

Best in the business doesn't mean much when they might even be that good. I'm not a big fan of golf commentary in general. If I had to have golf commentary I agree that NBC is better than the other networks. I wish TV's had the function to turn off commentary and leave the rest of the sound.

[boogielicious]

That's awesome. Hopefully Johnny Miller will be around still for the Open. He was devastated when they lost the US Open. I think NBC is the best when it comes to golf.

So I'm confused, though, does it start in 2017 or 2018?

2018

[ChrisP]

Best in the business doesn't mean much when they might even be that good. I'm not a big fan of golf commentary in general. If I had to have golf commentary I agree that NBC is better than the other networks. I wish TV's had the function to turn off commentary and leave the rest of the sound.

Well, my issue with ESPN covering the Open the few years is they showed the same groups all the time the first two days. Me and my friend actually were watching it and noticed they went two full hours without showing anyone else but the three main groups in the afternoon. I personally like networks that show a lot of different golfers besides just the stars. But that's just me. Everyone's different.

[saevel25]

Well, my issue with ESPN covering the Open the few years is they showed the same groups all the time the first two days. Me and my friend actually were watching it and noticed they went two full hours without showing anyone else but the three main groups in the afternoon. I personally like networks that show a lot of different golfers besides just the stars. But that's just me. Everyone's different.

It depends for me.

I like turning on the Master's online and watching the two feature groups. I'll just put it on Aiman Corner and watching people play my favorite stretch of holes on the course.

I tend to want to watch one group play the round then bounce around watching shots. Half the time they will just show the approach shot and might not even go back to find out how they did on the hole. I rather them stick to a few groups, then show a few highlights of other good shots. I enjoy seeing how golfers play the course then just seeing the best shots made.

[dkolo]

Disagree about doing the best coverage. I think NBC is the best at covering golf. Hicks/Miller are the best in the business. I'll miss Azinger, but I couldn't stand Curtis Strange. I do agree, though, about ESPN being in more homes. It's why I'm nervous about Fox doing the US Open. Not a lot of people even have Fox Sports 1 or know what it is. Will definitely lose viewership being taken off ESPN. When NBC had the US Open, they shared the rights with ESPN so the first two rounds were on that network.

Miller falls into the school of "platitudes" commentary where he attributes every outcome to unfalsifiable claims like how the player deals with pressure or some vague swing criticism. Hicks is pretty boring. NBC does have the advantage of having Gannon and Nobilo who have some more interesting thoughts at least. Scott Van Pelt and Azinger, for my money, have been the most entertaining folks to listen to. In any event, having casual sports fans stumble across coverage clicking on ESPN is what they'll be losing. No one who wouldn't be watching regardless will be seeking out coverage on Golf Channel and I think most people only tune to NBC for a scheduled event. They're losing the SportsCenter crowd with this move. Real shame I think.

[ChrisP]

Miller falls into the school of "platitudes" commentary where he attributes every outcome to unfalsifiable claims like how the player deals with pressure or some vague swing criticism. Hicks is pretty boring. NBC does have the advantage of having Gannon and Nobilo who have some more interesting thoughts at least. Scott Van Pelt and Azinger, for my money, have been the most entertaining folks to listen to. In any event, having casual sports fans stumble across coverage clicking on ESPN is what they'll be losing. No one who wouldn't be watching regardless will be seeking out coverage on Golf Channel and I think most people only tune to NBC for a scheduled event. They're losing the SportsCenter crowd with this move. Real shame I think.

I disagree about Hicks/Miller. However, it seems like ESPN is trying to distance itself from golf. Maybe they see their ratings going down with Tiger pretty much done. They lost the US Open and now the British. This was a network that had the British Open since the 70s. They gave up the PGA back in 1991 and they're clinging to two-day coverage of the Masters. I'm with you on Van Pelt/Azinger but we only get them one tournament a year. Like I said, I wish they could have done like they do the Masters and they used to do the US Open and share coverage with ESPN. Give them the first two days and then NBC the last two. Or put it on NBC Sports Network or USA. I know a lot of viewers don't get The Golf Channel unless they pay an extra fee for the Deluxe Sports Package.

[dkolo]

I disagree about Hicks/Miller. However, it seems like ESPN is trying to distance itself from golf. Maybe they see their ratings going down with Tiger pretty much done. They lost the US Open and now the British. This was a network that had the British Open since the 70s. They gave up the PGA back in 1991 and they're clinging to two-day coverage of the Masters. I'm with you on Van Pelt/Azinger but we only get them one tournament a year. Like I said, I wish they could have done like they do the Masters and they used to do the US Open and share coverage with ESPN. Give them the first two days and then NBC the last two. Or put it on NBC Sports Network or USA. I know a lot of viewers don't get The Golf Channel unless they pay an extra fee for the Deluxe Sports Package.

They're not going all out on these marginal deals because of the huge fees they'll need to pay in the coming years for NBA and NFL rights. It was a big reason behind their decision to bail on NASCAR.

[newtogolf]

It really sucks that ESPN is losing the British. They had the best coverage of any golf tournament today.

This visibility argument is complete BS. Broadcast vs. cable is a false dichotomy these days and ESPN is in so many more homes than Golf Channel. NBC just offered more money. "Visibility" didn't enter into it.

More people can watch NBC compared to ESPN.  NBC doesn't require cable to view, the question is how much of it will be aired on Golf Channel (which I agree is less accessible than ESPN) versus on NBC.

[Scotsclaff]

Lets hope they show some golf.

[ChrisP]

2018

So who airs it in 2017? According to The Golf Channel this morning, the NBC Sports Group takes over in 2017.

[dkolo]

More people can watch NBC compared to ESPN.  NBC doesn't require cable to view, the question is how much of it will be aired on Golf Channel (which I agree is less accessible than ESPN) versus on NBC.

ESPN is available in about 100 million U.S. Households, or over 80% of homes with TVs. The amount of people who get their TV solely over the air is negligible and not generally the affluent crowd golf and its marketers worry about.

[Chilli Dipper]

ESPN is available in about 100 million U.S. Households, or over 80% of homes with TVs. The amount of people who get their TV solely over the air is negligible and not generally the affluent crowd golf and its marketers worry about.

Most service providers carry channels on a level of subscription tiers. ESPN is carried on the basic package of virtually every cable or satellite company in the United States, while Golf Channel usually is carried on a higher tier.