NBC Sports is getting an early tee time, locking in rights to The Open Championship a year early through a deal with ESPN. The agreement will now see the company begin their long-term deal with the tournament launch coverage on July 14-17 next year. The deal came following negotiations that included “various industry considerations” with ESPN and includes coverage of The Senior Open Championship and RICOH Women’s British Open. With the agreement, The Open will now begin a 12-week stretch of golf events for NBC Sports Group, including golf’s return to the Olympic Games along with the PGA TOUR’s FedEx Cup Playoffs with programming that runs through Oct. 2. Meanwhile, Golf Channel will now see its live tournament programming hours continue to swell, slating 2006 in 2016, nearly double the amount the network had before it joined the NBC Sports umbrella.
“First and foremost, we want to congratulate ESPN for their company’s successful stewardship of The Open for the last several decades, and we thank them for allowing us to start our partnership with The R&A one year early,” said Mark Lazarus, Chairman of NBC Sports Group. “2016 promises to be exciting for all of golf, as The Open kicks off a historic stretch, including the Rio Olympics, the PGA TOUR FedExCup Playoffs and Ryder Cup on Golf Channel and NBC.”