Sky Sports wins rights to show Open Championship golf live from 2017

http://www.theguardian.com/sport/2015/feb/03/sky-sports-buys-open-championship-golf-bbc

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The BBC’s long-standing relationship with the Open Championship golf tournament has come to an end after Sky Sports announced it has bought the rights to the oldest of the majors.

The R&A has confirmed that from 2017 the Open will be screened exclusively live on Sky in a deal believed to be worth at least £75m, bringing to an end 61 years of free-to-air coverage.

Though widely expected, the move is expected to intensify concern from some in the game that it will further impact on declining participation figures and reopen the debate about the crown jewels list of events protected for free-to-air TV.

The five-year deal from 2017 is believed to be worth more than double the current £7m-a year contract with the BBC. Highlights, protected by the crown jewels list, will remain in prime time on the BBC.

Attention is now likely to turn to rugby’s Six Nations as the next event screened by the BBC that could be at risk when the rights come up for renewal from 2017.

The corporation last week confirmed it had retained the rights to Match of the Day from 2016 in a £204m three-year deal and is likely to argue that pressure on budgets makes it impossible to compete for every major sporting event.

Critics will point to the fact that in a decade the corporation will have gone from screening 24 days of live men’s professional golf to only two – the Saturday and the Sunday from the Masters.

Last weekend Lee Westwood, the runner-up in 2010, branded the move “an absolute disgrace” and Graeme McDowell backed up his comments.

But the Sky Sports managing director Barney Francis has claimed its coverage of the Ryder Cup as proof that the additional resources and airtime that Sky can devote to the sport can help grow the game as well as providing the best coverage.

“Sky Sports has a passion for golf that has spanned two decades, offering unrivalled commitment, airtime and promotion as well as year-round innovative coverage,” he said. “We look forward to working with The R&A to entertain and engage new and existing golf fans through our multi-platform coverage and also at the grassroots level via Sky Academy.”

The R&A chief executive Pete Dawson said it was “the best result for the Open and for golf”.

“The way people consume live sport is changing significantly and this new agreement ensures fans have a range of options for enjoying the championship on television and through digital channels,” he said. “Sky Sports has an excellent track record in covering golf across its platforms and has become the home of live golf coverage over recent years. We are very much looking forward to working with them to develop and enhance the coverage of the Open.”

From 2017, the BBC’s coverage will consist of two hours of highlights per night between 8-10pm.

The director of BBC Sport, Barbara Slater, said: “We’re obviously disappointed that we were unable to retain live TV coverage of the Open Championship. However, we’re pleased to be continuing our 60-year partnership with the R&A and feel that a comprehensive two-hour highlights programme – a format which has already proven successful – in a prime-time slot over four days will allow us to continue to bring all the best action and key moments from the Open to a large free-to-air audience on TV, radio and online.”