NBC Sports Group will carry the British Open in 2016, a year earlier than planned. Last week, NBC and Golf Channel finalized a deal with ESPN and the tournament’s operator to take over next year. NBC planned to tell its golf production team about the deal on Sunday, and an official announcement is planned this week.
The British Open will end a relationship that spans more than half a century with ABC and ESPN and move over to NBC and Golf Channel in 2017 as part of a deal that doubles the value of the golf tournament’s media rights, according to several sources. The move to NBC Sports Group is a huge win for Golf Channel, in particular, which long has coveted the rights to one of golf’s four major tournaments.
