After a brief flirtation with the media rights market, USGA realized that its best movement was to double in its current relations, signing a 6-year extension with the universal NBC and Verent that transports the network by 2032. According to Puck‘s our john andThe agreement will have the NBC to pay in the “neighborhood” of the $ 93 million annual fee that signed with the Fox Sports at the beginning of its last agreement in 2013, although the exact nature of the fee and breaking between Verent (owner of Golf Channel and USA Network, among other things) and the universal NBC remained unsafe at the time of publication.
The new agreement marks a major development for each of the three parties involved, especially after the NBC and USA agreed to allow the exclusive window of the negotiations to expire earlier this year, opening the door for a small portion of competitors to make serious areas for the steering body. So what should you know from the next chapter of this relationship? Let’s break down five things.
5. Standing together
The NBC has been in the driver’s place to win this USGA rights offer for several months, but that was not a certain thing at all. USGA had interest from ESPN and, by PuckNetflix also made a strong push.
For USA, there have always been considerations beyond the media rights dollars. The governing body is committed to its initiative to increase the game, and those efforts include the emergence of each of its championships before the considerable audience. The decision to stay with the NBC reflects the internal value of the audience that Linear TV still gives, and the benefit of familiarity in providing the basic mission of the USA.
Do not discredit the role that the cooperation played in the eventual decision to sign again with USA. NBC and USGA worked to reduce TV ads in the SH.BA Open and expand the transmission window and extension to Open Women Open in 2024 and 2025-To say nothing to provide USGA with a RAMP from the Fox Fox deal-and those good gestures were not lost in Brass USA.
4. The fox finality
There was always a extended wonder for the latest deal on USA TV. While Fox presented a telecasses rated with A, there were concerns about ROI from the second Fox signed the 12-year-old Pact, $ 1.1 billion in 2013. NBC return to Fold in 2020 provided a pleasant Ramp, but the networks mediated a beloved NBC deal to obtain the last six years of the deal. This left some difficulty for NBC and USGA in recent years, especially when NBC worked through some its own financial considerations while restructuring its broadcast.
For several months after the exclusive negotiation window expired, some in the industry whispered that USA would have to get a significant reduction of salaries in its upcoming television deal to compensate Morass Fox – a fact that USA Mike’s CEO rejected directly in its open US state state.
James Colgan
“Of course, we are committed to very important investment in the game, and one of the benefits of this investment is a good TV partner,” said Wan. “But we will look for someone who can give levels or better than we are offering now, and through that partnership, (a partner who) enables us not only to tell the open US or open story of American women, but some of these extraordinary amateur stories as well.”
Now, with the previous agreement firmly outside the books and the USGA investment closed over the beginning of the next decade, each parties can move forward with a clean proposal.
3. The first timers
An unusual result of the USGA deal is the role played by Versant, the new cable company recently moved from Comcast that includes USA Network and Golf Channel. While the structure of the new USGA deal is more or less the same as the previous agreement-Usa Network and Golf Channel will act as cable subsidiaries for certain USA events and open-week opening of the US, just like those in the past-the agreement marked the first large rights agreement for the company since the formation of the company.
The well -known structure of the new agreement is likely to spray slides for negotiations, but lawyers on each side were likely very careful to ensure that negotiations occur independently and in good faith so as not to run from American antitrust law (regulators pay close attention to companies after spinoffs). After all, the new deal gives an extra hour of NBC on Thursday and Friday afternoon at US Open, early coverage of women’s network week at JB
2. The limits of the deadline
The six -year agreement represents a modest displacement within the term of the TV of Pro Golf’s TV rights, where (generally speaking) networks as long -term and short -term leadership bodies. Much of this owes to riots in the sports TV business, where television agreements seem to multiply in value every month. For USA, another 12-year-old deal may have eaten in their income forecasts if they lost another quantum jump in the value of sports TV.
Some of the shifts can also owe the riots in the Golf business. It was not long ago that the NBC and CBS signed a 10-year double-year TV rights agreement in 2020, just to see stars like Bryson Dechambeau and Jon Rahm walk out of the door for a competitive product just years later. With the PGA Tour Agreement in 2030, the 6-year-old pact gives the NBC one out of the ramp if they need it. Thankfully, there is no indication that is the case: Evaluations have been returned to PGA TourAnd the enthusiasm about the tour of the tour is at its highest level in years. Still, with an extra dose of care, it is easy to see why 6 years felt like a reasonable term.
1. Large bets
NBC eventually returned to the US Open for a simple reason: it is the second largest Golf tournament, and golf continues to be a worthy investment. The deal gives NBC a flag golf event for each of the next six years, and after the reset of executive manufacturer Sam Flood, the network seems to be directed in the right direction.
“We saw what happened when the USGA returned to NBC (after a short-lived stay in Fox) -We saw how USA arose back to the place where it belongs to the main events involved,” The flood was told Golf in June. “This is what has to do with our company, and this is what our production team does. The business side is, I’m on the fun side of the business. Business boys can do business, but from a production point of view, we know we do everything we touch better.”
James Colgan
Golfit.com editor
James Colan is a news editor of news and features in Golf, writing stories on the website and magazine. He manages the hot germ, golf media vertical and uses his experience on camera across brand platforms. Before entering Golf, James graduated from Siracuse University, during which time he was a caddy scholarship receiver (and Astuta Looper) in Long Island, where he is. He can be reached on James.colgan@golf.com.

