If you’re in the sports business, you are really in the media business—and golf need look no further than its newest leadership class to know that’s true.
On the PGA Tour, the leader of the pack is Brian Rolapp, Roger Goodell’s former right-hand man in the NFL and the former head of the league’s prolific media rights business, which accounted for nearly 60 percent of its $23 billion in revenue in 2025. In LPGAthe host is an executive of less rare television bonafides, but with no less commitment to media power.
of The leader’s name is Craig Kessler, who joined the LPGA just under a year ago and has spent the better part of the past 12 months completely reinventing the way the LPGA approaches its audience. At last weekend’s Founders Cup, Kessler’s LPGA unveiled a new series of television upgrades aimed at taking those dreams to the next level. The seven biggest of these shifts are listed below.
7 LPGA broadcast improvements for 2026
1. More hours!!
of the biggest the move to TV for the LPGA in 2026 was revealed long before the Founders Cupbut it bears repeating: Thanks to a partnership with FM, every round of every single LPGA event in 2026 will feature live television coverage for the first time ever.
The big expansion in TV hours means the LPGA will have more coverage opportunities, more eyeballs when its events ARE in session and an easier route to influence the golfing audience, who won’t need to jump through hoops to tune into the action.
For years, Rolapp’s NFL playbook included a strategy of “reach” — or doing everything possible to maximize the number of eyeballs watching each week, even if it came at the expense of a few TV dollars along the way. Kessler is doubling down on that strategy.
2. More cameras
Of course, any expansion in the LPGA broadcast hour comes with a handful of LPGA streaming equipment enhancements. In this case, cameras are getting the biggest upgrade, with a 50 percent increase in camera equipment for 2026.
3. More TV goodies
All the little details that help add texture and detail to a typical golf broadcast will also get a boost in 2026, including LPGA microphones and slow-motion camera capabilities, each of which received an upgrade in the new year.
4. More drones!
Perhaps the most noticeable visual shift from last year to this one happened not on the course, but in the sky, where an expanded fleet of drones captured a series of dynamic new images over the course of the competition.
Drone photography has become a staple of men’s golf broadcasts over the past several years, and improvements in technology have lowered costs and expanded options for broadcast teams. Investing in the LPGA and Golf Channel for these purposes should come as no surprise, but it certainly is a no-brainer.
5. Shot tracking improvements
The biggest boost between ’25 and ’26 for the LPGA arrived in the graphics department, where the Tour 4x upped the ante on its photo tracking capabilities thanks to an expanded partnership with TrackMan.
6. Narrative with characteristic
A way to ensure your best players’ stories are told? Tell them yourself!
The LPGA invested significantly in a series of feature-driven programs for 2026 that will run during tournament broadcasts. The first iteration of these features—a look at Rose Zhang’s continuing education at Stanford—was announced during Founders Weekend.
7. Enhanced player access
Another way to ensure your best players’ stories are told? have those tell the stories!
The LPGA is expanding its talk-and-walk efforts through the 2026 season as part of Kessler’s efforts to make the LPGA’s most visible faces and names more accessible and prominent. Some of that expansion has already happened on social media, but more will come during tournament broadcasts, reflecting the advancements in the walk-and-talk format of the men’s game.
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