The AP is reporting that on Monday (today) it will be announced that NBC will take back the U.S. Open Golf Championship after FOX Sports took an expensive bath with this year's Coronavirus-hell delayed event which was rescheduled for mid-September, putting that event in direct conflict with another entity FOX pays dearly for (and makes a load of money off of) - the National Football League. The AP report said that FOX wanted to move Sunday coverage of this year's US Open Golf to FS1 but the USGA said, in no uncertain terms and in bold capital letters, "NO!" NBC reportedly will pay a rights fee that amounts to about half of what FOX had been paying: $1 Billion - with a "B" - over 12 years since 2014 (to 2025) for the rights to televise all of the USGA Championships. Now NBC will take over the contract. NBC is, o'course, taking the weekday late-afternoon block along with the weekend afternoon network coverage. Where the weekday cable coverage will end up is a good question, but NBC has two homes of its own for that which they didn't have when they last had the USGA contract - NBC Sports Network and NBC Golf Channel, which is a big winner here.
My feeling is that the cable blocks will end up on NBCSN while NBC Golf snatches up rerun rights for the longform coverage along with extended highlight rights for NBC Golf Central. Bottom line: the Peacock will win out. NBC Golf Channel will have the other USGA Championships to draw from as well.
My feeling is that the cable blocks will end up on NBCSN while NBC Golf snatches up rerun rights for the longform coverage along with extended highlight rights for NBC Golf Central. Bottom line: the Peacock will win out. NBC Golf Channel will have the other USGA Championships to draw from as well.
