Starting in 2015, Fox Sports will be among the U.S. networks televising golf’s major championships. The U.S. Golf Association announced Wednesday night that it had reached a deal to air the U.S. Open on Fox, which is launching a sports-only cable channel later this month. The contract will run 12 years, through 2026, and puts major championship golf on Fox for the first time ever.
Fox’s bid reportedly came in around $100 million, and was chosen over NBC, which had televised the U.S. Open since 1995. NBC is partnered with the Golf Channel, as both are owned by Comcast, and the two stations will continue to broadcast PGA Tour events; they just won’t get any coverage of the majors. The U.S. Open takes place every June, typically during the third week of the month, ending on Father’s Day.
To keep it all straight, here’s a rundown of where you can watch each of the three other major tournaments:
The Masters
The first and second rounds of the Masters Tournament can be seen on ESPN, with CBS taking over Saturday and Sunday for the final rounds. CBS has carried the event uninterrupted since 1958, but ESPN took the early-round rights from USA Network in 2008. Augusta National Golf Club, which annually hosts the Masters during the first full week of April, does not make the details of TV rights deals public, but each contract is thought to last just one year.
Open Championship
Following the U.S. Open in June, the Open Championship (or British Open) is on the docket for July. ABC was the U.S. home of the event until 2010, when its cable partner, ESPN, took over the entire tournament after previously providing just early-round coverage. That marked the first time that a men’s major golf tournament aired only on cable in the U.S. ESPN’s deal with the Open Championship reportedly runs through 2016.
PGA Championship
CBS also owns the rights to August’s PGA Championship, whose 2013 edition is ongoing this week. The final major of the year has been on the channel since 1991, but it is not known how long the contract will last. First- and second-round coverage has been handled since 1990 by TNT, which also airs the early portions of Saturday and Sunday competition.
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