The Royal & Ancient Golf Club of St. Andrews announced that it has reached a 12-year agreement with NBC Sports Group to broadcast the Open Championship in the United States, beginning in 2017 at Royal Birkdale.
Peter Dawson, R&A chief executive, and Mark Lazarus, NBC Sports Group president, made the joint announcement.
The Open Championship has been telecast since 1962 in the U.S. by ABC, and in recent years, by its affiliate ESPN.
“They have unparalleled experience in golf and have demonstrated a genuine desire to showcase and promote The Open and the R&A’s other elite championships through their extensive range of channels and digital platforms,” Dawson said of NBC Sports.
“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.”
Said Lazarus: “The R&A is synonymous with the traditions and history of golf, and The Open is golf’s original championship.”
The partnership includes the Open Championship, Senior British Open, the British Amateur Championship and the Ricoh Women’s British Open, which is run by the Ladies’ Golf Union, with some coverage on NBC’s affiliate, the Golf Channel.
The Open Championship at St. Andrews this year and at Royal Troon next year will be shown in the U.S. on ESPN.
The new agreement comes two years after NBC lost the U.S. Open to Fox Sports.
