Report: R&A seeking to close deal on Open Championship rights beyond ’17
The R&A is looking to cash in on the sports media rights bubble before it potentially bursts, and that means they’re hoping to announce the future home of the Open Championship sometime this summer.
Sports Business Journal reports this Monday despite the fact that ESPN has rights to air the game’s oldest major, along with the Senior Open Championship and Women’s British Open, through 2017.
Perhaps the R&A chose to accelerate the negotiations for their next broadcast contract knowing Fox Sports will pay the USGA some $93 million for the next dozen years for a slightly broader deal. Fox Sports aired the inaugural U.S. Amateur Four-Ball this week, their first major broadcast under the new deal.
According to the SBJ report, ESPN is interested in retaining the deal and Fox might want to swoop in to get a second major on their air — especially important for the health of Fox Sports 1, which is still developing a consistent audience.
Of course, NBC Sports Group, which includes Golf Channel, would seemingly be interested at the chance to bring any piece of a men’s major championship to Golf Channel air for the first time. Turner Sports and CBS, which team up for the PGA Championship, may also be interested.
In other words, anyone who has ever aired golf probably wants a piece of this deal.
Ryan Ballengee is a Yahoo Sports contributor. Find him on Facebook and Twitter.
