LPGA Announces Groundbreaking Agreement to Transform Broadcast Television

NAPLES, Fla. – When new LPGA commissioner Craig Kessler was hired, he stretched out his four pillars for success. One of them he strengthened on Tuesday.

Kessler’s second pillar was “visibility,” which he said goes “beyond” the LPGA telecast. However, broadcast was always the main part of the “visibility” pillar. The LPGA often only gets weekend airtime on the Golf Channel that is not cleared by the PGA Tour and PGA Tour Champions.

But LPGA reality television will look a lot different in 2026.

Thanks to a partnership with FM, Golf Channel and Trackman announced Tuesday ahead of the CME Group Tour Championship, the LPGA’s broadcast visibility will increase significantly next year. The investment from FM, which sponsors a tournament event with the largest non-major purse, will make it an official partner of the LPGA and bring new technology, equipment and content to the broadcast, as well as transform and elevate coverage of women’s golf by ensuring that every tournament and round is visible.

Beginning in 2026, every tournament and every round will be broadcast live across the United States for the first time since the Golf Channel began broadcasting in 1995. Some weekend rounds will be broadcast on CNBC, but every round of every tournament will be broadcast live.

“2026 will be a great year for LPGA Tour viewers as we will broadcast every single LPGA Tour event and coverage of every round will be live across the country, which is a direct result of Golf Channel and CNBC both being part of the VERSANT portfolio,” said Tom Knapp, executive vice president and general manager of Golf Channel, in a press release. “Additionally, we’ve worked together with the LPGA Tour and our partners at FM and Trackman to enhance our production, adding more technology to our telecasts as we continue to be the proud home of the LPGA Tour and showcase the best golfers on the planet every week.”

As part of FM’s investment, the latest broadcast technology, which is often only used for major championship weeks, will make its way to weekly LPGA broadcasts.

From the 2025 season there will be a 50% increase in the number of cameras. There will also be slow-motion cameras, drone footage and triple microphones to give fans better access to players’ emotions and thought processes during the round. There will also be an “increased focus” on athlete content such as walks and chats with corpses and players during rounds. The new partnership with Trackman will quadruple the LPGA’s photo tracking capabilities from the 2025 season.

“The commitments from FM, Trackman and Golf Channel are a game changer for our athletes, our fans, our partners and our tournament,” Kessler said in a statement. “Beginning in 2026, fans will immediately see and feel the change: more cameras, better technology, richer storytelling and more ways to appreciate the incredible skills of our players, completely live. We are grateful for the joint vision and investment from FM, Trackman and Golf Channel. This is a huge step forward for the women’s chapter that will be something special for LGAP.”

Kessler has hit the ground running as the new head of the LPGA. Earlier this month, Kessler and the LPGA announced a new tournament supported by Saudi Golfwhich will be hosted at Shadow Creek in Las Vegas as part of the five-tournament global series of the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund (PIF). The tournament will be held from March 30 to April 5. Fans will now be able to watch it, and every tournament, live.

Kessler wanted to strengthen and raise the visibility of his tournament. This new agreement massively achieves that goal.

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