NBC Sports, USA, Golf Channel will keep U.S. Open, U.S. Women's Open through 2032

AI-assisted summary
• The USGA and NBCUniversal extended their media rights agreement through 2032, continuing NBC's coverage of major USGA championships.
• The deal includes expanded coverage of the U.S. Open, U.S. Women's Open, and U.S. Senior Open across NBC, Peacock, USA Network, and Golf Channel.
• NBC will broadcast more hours of U.S. Open coverage than any other major championship, with increased primetime coverage on Thursdays and Fridays.
• VERSANT, a new media company from Comcast, also acquired rights to several USGA championships for USA Network and Golf Channel.

As expected, the U.S. Golf Association's contract with NBCUniversal has been extended, according to a release sent on Tuesday.

Back in 2020, the USGA moved its media rights from Fox Sports to NBCUniversal, a move that ended a 12-year deal with Fox Sports worth about $1 billion. With the deal set to run through the end of 2026, there was speculation that Netflix and others might try to swoop in and snag the coveted viewership, but that sped up talks to close the deal. The new deal will run through 2032.

“We’re incredibly proud of the partnership we’ve built over the years with NBCU and VERSANT, and we’re equally excited to continue building on that legacy through our shared passion and dedication – alongside people we’re proud to call our friends,” USGA CEO Mike Whan said in the release. “The value NBCU and VERSANT place on the USGA brand is evident, and this agreement enables the USGA to further advance our mission to positively impact the game, while providing the most expansive coverage and broadest reach to showcase USGA championships.”

Here's more from the release:

NBC will be the exclusive broadcast home of the U.S. Open, U.S. Women’s Open and U.S. Senior Open. The U.S. Open will continue to have the most broadcast hours of any major championship – a minimum of 25 – and will further cement its legacy with an additional hour of primetime coverage on NBC each year on Thursday and Friday. Peacock will simulstream all USGA programming airing on NBC and will provide exclusive streaming coverage of the U.S. Open and U.S. Women’s Open.

As part of the agreement, VERSANT, the new independent media company set to be spun out from Comcast Corporation, has also acquired media rights to the USGA championships for USA Network and Golf Channel through 2032. USA Network will provide coverage of the U.S. Open and U.S. Women’s Open, while Golf Channel will carry coverage of the U.S. Senior Open, U.S. Senior Women’s Open, U.S. Amateur, U.S. Women’s Amateur, U.S. Junior Amateur, U.S. Girls’ Junior, U.S. Adaptive Open, Walker Cup and Curtis Cup.

The new elements of the agreement will begin in 2027 following the conclusion of the current agreement in 2026.

The release said the following will be part of the deal:

• 48 hours of U.S. Open coverage, including 25 hours on NBC (33 when on the West Coast); an increase of four hours of NBC coverage on Thursday/Friday (for a total of five hours per day, including two in primetime, one each day); combining to deliver more broadcast network coverage than any other major championship;
• 27 hours of U.S. Women’s Open coverage, including seven weekend hours on NBC;
• 18 hours of U.S. Senior Open coverage, including six weekend hours on NBC;
• 15 hours of coverage for both the U.S. Amateur and U.S. Women’s Amateur and continuing coverage of the U.S. Junior Amateur, U.S. Girls’ Junior, U.S. Adaptive Open and U.S. Senior Women’s Open;
• 12 hours of coverage for the Walker Cup (played over two days) and 16 hours of Curtis Cup coverage (contested over three days) when played in the U.S.
• Golf Channel's Live From studio show will deliver comprehensive pre-championship and post-round coverage on-site at the U.S. Open and U.S. Women’s Open each year and will continue to deliver its coast-to-coast “election-night” style coverage surrounding U.S. Open Final Qualifying known as “Golf’s Longest Day.”

Netflix had bid for the rights, after ESPN, CBS and Warner Bros. Discovery inquired, but the NBCUniversal extension seemed the most logical route. The network has been working with the USGA since 1995, with a break from 2014-2020.

“The USGA has been an important partner of ours for most of the last 30 years and we’re extraordinarily proud of our relationship with their leadership team,” said Rick Cordella, president, NBC Sports. “We have built something incredibly special with the U.S. Open on NBC. We look forward to further advancing and enhancing our coverage of the U.S. Open, U.S. Women’s Open and U.S. Senior Open across NBC and Peacock through 2032.”

“We’re proud to partner with the USGA and present coverage of 11 USGA championships across USA Network and Golf Channel,” said Matt Hong, president of sports, VERSANT. “The USGA championships represent some of the most prestigious events in all of golf. USA Network’s reach and Golf Channel’s reputation as the television home of the sport are ideal platforms to bring the USGA championships to golf fans across the country.”