American television series
"NBC Golf" redirects here. For the television channel, see
Golf Channel
.
Golf on NBC
|
---|
Also known as
| PGA Tour on NBC (1954?2011)
Golf on NBC (2011?present)
Golf Channel on NBC (2011?2022)
|
---|
Genre
| Golf telecasts
|
---|
Presented by
| List of NBC Sports golf commentators
|
---|
Country of origin
| United States
|
---|
Original language
| English
|
---|
No.
of seasons
| 61
|
---|
|
Production location
| Various tournament sites
|
---|
Camera setup
| Multi-camera
|
---|
Running time
| 180+ minutes and until tournament ends
|
---|
Production company
| NBC Sports
|
---|
|
Network
| NBC
|
---|
Release
| 1954
(
1954
)
?
present
|
---|
|
PGA Tour on CBS
|
Golf telecasts
have aired on
NBC
since 1954, with some of its earliest telecasts having included the
1954 U.S. Open
, and the first televised coverage of the
Ryder Cup
in 1959.
Presently, NBC televises around 8
PGA Tour
events per-season, alternating with
CBS
on the
FedEx Cup Playoffs
since 2022. It also serves as the broadcast television outlet for two of the
men's majors
, the
U.S. Open
and
The Open Championship
. NBC has occasionally aired coverage for selected
European Tour
and
LPGA
events, although the majority of these tours' events are broadcast by sister network
Golf Channel
.
After NBC's parent company
NBC Universal
was acquired by
Comcast
?owner of Golf Channel ?in February 2011, the channel's operations were merged directly into NBC Sports, and golf broadcasts on NBC took on the
Golf Channel on NBC
branding.
Since 2022, due to the realignments of NBC Sports output stemming from the launch of
Peacock
, closure of
NBCSN
, the move of cable rights to majors to
USA Network
, and NBC's renewed PGA Tour contract, the
Golf Channel on NBC
title was dropped, and all golf telecasts across
NBCUniversal
properties (including Golf Channel) are now billed as
NBC Sports
telecasts on-air.
Coverage overview
[
edit
]
Early years
[
edit
]
NBC first began televising golf events after it was awarded the television rights to the
U.S. Open
in
1954
with
Lindsey Nelson
anchoring the coverage from the 18th hole tower. In
1959
, NBC provided the first ever telecast (airing two hours of highlights) of the
Ryder Cup
. The
1962 U.S. Open
, marked the first time that NBC covered golf on a Sunday. The U.S. Open continued to air on the network through the
1965
event, however NBC rebuffed a long-term deal to broadcast the event when the
United States Golf Association
(USGA) decided on a true contract in
1966
.
The network, however, did televise a handful of PGA Tour events over the following decades. For example, NBC's broadcast of the
1962
Tournament of Champions
as the first
color
golf telecast.
Five years later
, NBC broadcast the
Hawaiian Open Golf Tournament
, which was the first live color sports transmission from
Hawaii
to the U.S. mainland.
In
1983
, NBC televised the first
Skins Game
ever held, with
Vin Scully
and
Ben Crenshaw
serving as announcers for the tournament broadcast. From 1983 to 1989, Scully
[1]
juggled duties for both golf and
Major League Baseball
telecasts for NBC, usually teaming with
Lee Trevino
. The only notable affiliate not to televise the first event was
KYW-TV
(now a
CBS
owned-and-operated station
) in
Philadelphia
.
1990s: Ryder Cup and U.S. Open
[
edit
]
In
1991
, coverage of the Skins Game moved to
ABC Sports
, after NBC obtained the rights to broadcast
Notre Dame college football games
.
After Vin Scully left NBC Sports following the network's loss of the Major League Baseball package to
CBS
,
Bryant Gumbel
, who was still co-hosting
Today
at the time, took over as NBC's primary golf anchor. In 1991, Gumbel was replaced by
Charlie Jones
and subsequently,
Dick Enberg
and (after the former left NBC Sports for CBS in the year 2000)
Dan Hicks
.
The
American Century Celebrity Golf Classic
was held in
1990
[2]
and sponsored by NBC, which broadcasts the second- and third-round coverage. The game
NBC Sports Real Golf
was unveiled at the 17th annual American Century Championship Celebrity Golf Event and promoted during NBC's broadcast of the event. NBC generally televised around five regular PGA Tour events per season at this time.
In
1991
, the network acquired the broadcast rights to the
Ryder Cup
.
[3]
[4]
In
1995
, NBC Sports acquired rights to the USGA championships, including the U.S. Open,
[5]
from
ESPN
/
ABC
. ESPN retained rights to a portion of the weekday coverage, however NBC was the dominant rightsholder, including exclusive coverage of the weekend rounds. This took NBC's coverage to a new level, and marked the first time in the modern era of television that the network had televised a major championship. NBC, and its lead analyst
Johnny Miller
(who joined NBC in
1990
), became synonymous with the U.S. Open, televising it for the next 20 years, through
2014
.
[6]
2000s: Expansion of PGA Tour rights
[
edit
]
In January 2006, the PGA Tour announced a new set of television deals covering 2007 to 2012, increase the number of events covered by NBC Sports from five to ten. The deal also renewed broadcast deals for the Ryder Cup and the
USGA Championships
, including the U.S. Open.
[7]
NBC is the only network which provide four days of major tournament coverage (
CBS
, which airs the
Masters
and the
PGA Championship
, only provides weekend coverage of its tournaments; starting in 2010, the
Open Championship
would not be aired live on a major broadcast network at all, with all four rounds airing on
ESPN
and ABC providing only edited highlights of the event).
NBC carried the weekend coverage of the
JELD-WEN Tradition
in 2007, 2009 and 2010. Golf Channel covered the early rounds (and all four rounds in 2008 while
NBC
carried the
Summer Olympic Games
from
Beijing
). NBC carried a
tape delayed
broadcast of the
World Series of Golf
, which was held from May 13 to 16, 2007, on June 23 and 24 of that year; the 2008 event of the series, played from May 12 to 15, and was televised by CBS on June 28 and 29.
In 2007,
The Shark Shootout
was moved to December, and was broadcast live by both
Golf Channel
and NBC. The event was originally broadcast in the United States by sister cable channel
USA Network
, and CBS ? with USA broadcasting the first round on a tape-delayed basis, and CBS handling the second round live. The final round was not broadcast live to the entire country, as CBS' commitment to the
NFL
only allowed the round as it took place to air in the Eastern and
Central Time Zones
, with the rest of the U.S. seeing the event beginning at 4:00 p.m.
Eastern Time
.
2010s: Golf Channel re-branding, loss of U.S. Open, gain of Open Championship
[
edit
]
In January 2011,
Comcast
, owners of Golf Channel, acquired a majority stake in the NBC network's parent company
NBC Universal
. Comcast's existing sports properties were merged into the NBC Sports division, allowing Golf Channel to pool its personalities and other personnel with NBC. As a result of this synergy, Golf Channel took over production of NBC's golf telecasts, which were now co-branded under the "Golf Channel on NBC" banner, beginning at the
2011 WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship
, with a co-branded logo adding the
NBC peacock
to Golf Channel's existing logo (the co-branded presentation would also migrate to Golf Channel proper shortly afterward).
[8]
While most golf broadcasts on NBC used Golf Channel's on-air branding as graphics packages as a result of the changes,
the Players Championship
, Ryder Cup and USGA tournaments maintain the distinctive theme music that NBC used prior to the rebranding (such as the theme from
The Man from Snowy River
for the Players, and
Yanni
's "In Celebration of Man" for the U.S. Open, which, with a rearrangement, was also temporarily used for the Open Championship).
[9]
[10]
In both 2013 and 2014, NBC broadcast weekend coverage of the
Aberdeen Asset Management Scottish Open
from Scotland. The 2013 event was played at Castle Stuart near
Inverness
, while the 2014 event was hosted by Royal Aberdeen, near
Aberdeen
. Coverage of the tournament during both years was anchored by Rich Lerner, and the action was called by lead European Tour announcer
Dougie Donnelly
and Golf Channel's lead PGA Tour analyst
Frank Nobilo
.
In August 2013, the USGA signed a broadcasting contract with
Fox Sports
, effective with the 2015 tournament season, ending NBC's relationship with the association after 20 years. Fox, which by the time of its first U.S. Open will have televised just two PGA Tour sanctioned events in its history (the unofficial
CVS Caremark Charity Classic
in 2011 and the unofficial
Franklin Templeton Shootout
in 2014), paid
US$
1 billion for the exclusive rights to all USGA championship events. Johnny Miller expressed disappointment at the loss, saying that he "had a feeling" NBC would not retain the rights, and that Fox would not be able to "fall out of a tree and do the U.S. Open".
[11]
The
2014 U.S. Open
at
Pinehurst Resort
was the network's 20th, and final, U.S. Open telecast in the modern era.
On June 8, 2015, it was announced that NBC and Golf Channel had acquired rights to
The Open Championship
under a 12-year deal, replacing ESPN.
The R&A
was, reportedly, won over by NBC's rights fee (which is approximately doubled in comparison to ESPN), and the performance of NBC's
broadcasts
of the
Premier League
, which air in a similar weekend morning time slot in the U.S.. The deal restored a men's major back to NBC for the first time since 2014, gave Golf Channel coverage of its first-ever major, and returned the Open to broadcast network television.
[12]
Originally stated to begin in 2017, it was reported on October 12, 2015, that ESPN had opted out the final year of its contract to NBC, thus causing NBC coverage to begin in 2016 instead, mirroring a similar move by the BBC (who opted out to new rightsholder
Sky Sports
).
[13]
[14]
In January 2016, former CBS analyst
David Feherty
joined NBC to become a full-time contributor for its coverage and Golf Channel. Feherty already hosted a
self-titled interview series
for Golf Channel.
[15]
[16]
Long-time ESPN personality
Mike Tirico
made his on-air debut with NBC during the
2016 Open Championship
.
[17]
NBC and Golf Channel broadcast the revived
golf tournaments
at the
2016 Summer Olympics
, as part of
NBC's coverage of the Games
. NBC staff served as the host broadcaster for the golf events on behalf of
Olympic Broadcasting Services
(OBS).
[18]
2020s: PGA Tour renewal, regaining the U.S. Open
[
edit
]
In 2020, NBC renewed its rights to the PGA Tour through 2030 under an eight-year deal beginning in 2022. While NBC will still air an average of 8 tournaments per-year, coverage of the final three FedEx Cup playoff events will now alternate between CBS and NBC.
[19]
[20]
On June 29, 2020, it was announced that Fox had withdrawn from its contract to carry USGA tournaments, and had sold the remaining seven years of the contract to NBC Sports
[21]
through 2027. It was reported that
the rescheduling of the majors caused by the COVID-19 pandemic
was a factor in the decision (Fox had reportedly proposed moving the
2020 U.S. Open
exclusively to
FS1
to overcome conflicts with weekend
college football
and the
NFL
), and that Fox had originally discussed working with NBC before negotiating the withdrawal instead.
[22]
[23]
[24]
The first event televised under the new contract was the 2020
U.S. Women's Amateur
.
[25]
In November 2021, it was announced that early round coverage of the U.S. Open, U.S. Women's Open, The Open Championship, and the Women's Open, will be moved from Golf Channel to
USA Network
beginning in 2022.
[26]
Tournaments
[
edit
]
Current
[
edit
]
- PGA Tour, annual coverage
- Tournaments alternated with
CBS
- NBC Tournaments airing on CBS because of Winter Olympics
- CBS Tournaments airing on NBC because of Super Bowl
- FedEx Cup playoff tournaments (in even-numbered years)
- USGA
- LPGA Tour
- Majors and special events
Former
[
edit
]
- European Tour
The following is a list of television personalities for NBC Sports Group's telecasts of golf, which are carried by
NBC
and
Golf Channel
.
[27]
Current announcers
[
edit
]
PGA Tour (NBC)
[
edit
]
PGA Tour (Golf Channel)
[
edit
]
LPGA Tour (Golf Channel / NBC)
[
edit
]
PGA Tour Champions (Golf Channel)
[
edit
]
Korn Ferry Tour (Golf Channel)
[
edit
]
Previous announcers
[
edit
]
Hosts
[
edit
]
Analysts
[
edit
]
Reporters
[
edit
]
Interviewers
[
edit
]
See also
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
1987 Honda Classic Intro (Final Round)
on
YouTube
- ^
1990 NBC golf credits)
on
YouTube
- ^
Ed Sherman (September 27, 2012).
"How the Ryder Cup went from nothing to coveted TV property for NBC"
.
Sherman Report
. Retrieved
October 1,
2012
.
- ^
"Chronology of Ryder Cup coverage on American television"
.
Classic Sports TV and Media
. September 25, 2012
. Retrieved
October 1,
2012
.
- ^
"NBC broadcasts U.S. Open Golf again after 30 years"
.
NBC Sports History Page
.
- ^
2014 NBC US Open Final Round Ending
on
YouTube
- ^
"History of US Open golf TV coverage (1954-present)"
.
Classic Sports TV and Media
. June 10, 2013
. Retrieved
June 10,
2013
.
- ^
Mike Reynolds.
"McCarley To Head Golf Channel, Davis Out At Versus In NBC Sports Group Reorg: Sources"
.
Multichannel News
. Archived from
the original
on February 4, 2011
. Retrieved
February 2,
2011
.
- ^
"Yanni's "In Celebration of Man" is back -- and it's as glorious as ever"
.
Golf Digest
. Retrieved
17 February
2017
.
- ^
"2020 U.S. Open TV schedule, channel, coverage, live stream, watch online, golf streaming times"
.
CBSSports.com
. Retrieved
2020-09-19
.
- ^
"Timing of USGA-Fox announcement rankles many"
.
GolfChannel.com
. Archived from
the original
on July 14, 2015
. Retrieved
January 11,
2015
.
- ^
"NBC, Golf Channel ending ABC/ESPN British Open reign"
.
Sports Business Journal
. Retrieved
June 8,
2015
.
- ^
"NBC getting British Open a year early"
.
Sports Business Journal
. Retrieved
12 October
2015
.
- ^
"NBC Sports Group Seals 2016 Rights for British Open Championships"
.
Broadcasting & Cable
. Retrieved
12 October
2015
.
- ^
Guthrie, Marisa (15 September 2015).
"Golf Analyst David Feherty Leaves CBS for NBC Sports"
.
The Hollywood Reporter
. Retrieved
18 September
2015
.
- ^
Sandomir, Richard (15 September 2015).
"David Feherty Moves From CBS to NBC and Golf Channel"
.
The New York Times
. Retrieved
18 September
2015
.
- ^
"NBC names Mike Tirico host of 2016 British Open coverage"
.
Golf Digest
. Retrieved
5 August
2016
.
- ^
"Olympic Broadcasting: Inside the Chief Executive's Office"
.
TV Technology
. 11 July 2016
. Retrieved
12 July
2016
.
- ^
"SBJ Media: PGA Tour, Mountain West Get New Rights Deals"
.
Sports Business Daily
. Retrieved
2019-12-17
.
- ^
"CBS, NBC re-up with the PGA Tour in a 9-year, $6.3 billion deal"
.
adage.com
. 2020-03-09
. Retrieved
2020-03-09
.
- ^
Rigdon, Joe (June 20, 2021).
"NBC needs to add a constant leaderboard for golf coverage (and other U.S. Open thoughts)"
.
Awful Announcing
.
- ^
Goldsmith, Jill (2020-06-29).
"Fox Sells Rights For United States Golf Association, Including U.S. Open, To NBC Sports"
.
Deadline
. Retrieved
2020-06-29
.
- ^
Beall, Joel (June 29, 2020).
"USGA announces U.S. Open will move to NBC, ending relationship with FOX"
.
Golf Digest
. Retrieved
June 29,
2020
.
- ^
Nichols, Beth Ann (June 29, 2020).
"It's official: USGA transferring all media rights from Fox Sports back to NBC"
.
Golfweek (USA Today)
. Retrieved
June 29,
2020
.
- ^
"NBC Sports To Tee Off USGA Deal With U.S. Women's Amateur"
.
Sports Business Journal
. Retrieved
2020-08-07
.
- ^
"NBC Sports to move some USGA, R&A golf programming to USA Network"
.
Golfweek
. 2021-11-02
. Retrieved
2022-03-17
.
- ^
"Golf Channel bios"
.
Golf Channel
. Retrieved
23 February
2021
.
External links
[
edit
]
|
---|
Current programs
| Sports on NBC
| |
---|
Sports on other networks
| |
---|
|
---|
National channels
| |
---|
NBC Sports Regional Networks
| |
---|
Streaming affiliation
| |
---|
USA Network
| |
---|
Occasional programming
| |
---|
Occasional broadcasters
| |
---|
Other properties
| |
---|
Former programs
| |
---|
|
|
---|
U.S. Open
| |
---|
Ryder Cup
| |
---|
Presidents Cup
| |
---|
Open Championship
| |
---|
Other events
|
- Phoenix Open
(CBS Super Bowl years 2007, 2013, 2016, 2019, 2021)
- The Honda Classic
(1987?present, except Winter Olympic years in 2018 and 2022)
- WGC-Mexico Championship
(2017?present)
- Valspar Championship
(2007?present)
- Arnold Palmer Invitational
(1987?present)
- Shell Houston Open
(2007?present)
- Valero Texas Open
(2012?present)
- WGC-Cadillac Match Play
(2007?present, except Winter Olympic years 2010 and 2014)
- The Players Championship
(1988?present)
- Deutsche Bank Championship
(2007?present)
- The Northern Trust
(alternates with CBS, 2022-)
- BMW Championship
(2007?present, alternates with CBS, 2022-)
- The Tour Championship
(2007?present, alternates with CBS, 2022-)
- Mayakoba Golf Classic
(2020-present)
- Hero World Challenge
(2007?present)
- QBE Shootout
(2007?2013, 2017?present)
| Majors and
special events
| |
---|
Former events
| |
---|
|
---|
Key figures
| |
---|
Related articles
| |
---|
|
---|
Current
| |
---|
Former
| 1970s debuts
| |
---|
1980s debuts
| |
---|
1990s debuts
| |
---|
2000s debuts
| |
---|
2010s debuts
| |
---|
2020s debuts
| |
---|
|
---|
Sports
| |
---|