As of 2020, NBC Sports is the official broadcaster of the U.S. Open,[1] as the result of a 8–year deal with the USGA for exclusive rights to its tournaments through 2027. Coverage is telecast by NBC[2] (over-the-air) and USA Network (cable).[3] Coverage was previously televised by NBC and ESPN through 2014. NBC's most recent period as rights holder began in 1995; ABC held the broadcast rights from 1966 through 1994.[4]Fox held the broadcast rights from 2015 to 2019.
Coverage overview
American coverage
First NBC era (1954–1965)
NBC first began televising golf events after it was awarded the television rights to the U.S. Open in 1954. The tournament 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.
Beginning in 1982, ABC adopted its most well-known format of the Wide World of Sports era. The broadcast operated using anchor teams, in which an anchor and an analyst would call all of the action from the tower at the 18th hole, and the teams would be rotated on coverage after about a half-hour. Meanwhile, the three on-course reporters, which included Judy Rankin and Ed Sneed in addition to Rosburg, would be utilized when prompted by the anchor team. McKay and Marr would be the lead team, with Jack Whitaker and Alliss[5] as the second team. Occasionally, Rosburg or Whitaker would host if McKay was unavailable, while Roger Twibell would take over the secondary team. After his 1986 Masters win, Jack Nicklaus would appear on ABC after the end of his round and served as an analyst for the rest of the telecast.
In 1990, Roger Twibell took over as lead anchor, with Dave Marr as his analyst. Peter Alliss became sole anchor of the second anchor team. During this period, ABC acquired the rights to several non-major PGA Tour events, mostly important events such as the Memorial Tournament and The Tour Championship. 1990 would also mark the final PGA Championship to be broadcast by ABC.
In 1992, Brent Musburger, who had been heavily criticized for his hosting of golf coverage while with CBS, took over as host. Marr was dismissed from the network, while Twibell was reassigned to ESPN's golf coverage, although he occasionally hosted on ABC for a few lower-level tournaments. The format was also reorganized to more emphasize the on-course reporters. Steve Melnyk moved over from CBS to become lead analyst; however, Alliss would anchor for stretches during the telecast. Beyond the team in the booth, all of ABC's other voices were on the course, including Rankin, Rosburg, and newcomer Mark Rolfing.
In 1993, ABC used Peter Jacobsen as a lead analyst; however, Jacobsen returned to playing in 1994 and Melnyk returned to the lead analyst position. ABC continued to hold the television rights to select PGA Tour events, with the schedule increasing slightly as a result of a new television deal with the PGA Tour in 1995, however it still mostly emphasized only the important tournament events. The network lost the rights to the U.S. Open following an ugly split from the United States Golf Association (USGA) in 1994. Nicklaus held his position of entering the booth during the major championship telecasts through the period from 1992 to 1996.
Second NBC era (1995–2014)
In 1995, NBC Sports[6] acquired rights to the USGA championships, including the U.S. Open, from ESPN/ABC. ESPN retained rights to a portion of the weekday coverage, however, NBC was the dominant rights holder, 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, the Yanni composed theme music, "In Celebration of Man", 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.[7]
Fox era (2015–2019)
On August 6, 2013, Fox Sports announced a 12-year deal[8] to broadcast the three open championships of the USGA: the U.S. Open, U.S. Women's Open, and U.S. Senior Open,[9] beginning in 2015.[10] Fox succeeded the USGA's long-term relationships with NBC Sports and ESPN. Fox, which had televised just one PGA Tour sanctioned event in its history (the unofficial CVS Charity Classic in 2011), paid $1 billion for full rights to all USGA championships.
The Fox network airs the final two days of the U.S. Open, Women's Open, Senior Open, and Amateur, as well as late coverage of the first two days of the U.S. Open. The rest of the coverage airs on Fox Sports 1. Also, the final two days of the U.S. Open air on Spanish-language channel Fox Deportes.[11]
On April 23, 2014, Fox Sports announced that Greg Norman would join Joe Buck[12][13] as its lead golf commentary team.[14] Buck and Norman worked together for the first time at the 2014 U.S. Open, where Fox produced studio programming that aired against ESPN and NBC's studio shows.
On November 18, 2014, in advance of its coverage of the Franklin Templeton Shootout, Fox announced the full layout of its golf team.[15]
In January 2016, Greg Norman was let go by Fox in response to poor reception towards his performance during the U.S. Open and was replaced by former ESPN analyst Paul Azinger.[16] The network's 2016 U.S. Open team:[17]
Analysts: Paul Azinger, Mark Brooks, Jay Delsing, Brad Faxon, David Fay, Steve Flesch, Natalie Gulbis, Gil Hanse, Juli Inkster, Buddy Marucci, Scott McCarron
On-course reporters: Ken Brown, Steve Scott, Curtis Strange
In 2017, Fox made several changes to the commentator team:[19]
On-course reporters: Shane Bacon, Steve Flesch, Juli Inkster, Curtis Strange, Ken Brown
Rules analyst: David Fay
Course design analyst: Gil Hanse
Studio Host: Holly Sonders
For the 2018 U.S. Open,[20] Fox announced that they would be splitting their lead commentary booths into two teams.[21] This was done in an effort to avoid the occasional logjam caused by a three-man booth, which had been Joe Buck with analysts Paul Azinger and Brad Faxon. Therefore, Azinger would now be paired with Buck, and Faxon would be paired alongside Shane Bacon.
On June 29, 2020, it was confirmed Fox had withdrawn from their 12-year deal with the USGA, and that NBCUniversal had taken over the remainder of the contract through to 2026.[22]
Third NBC era (2020–2026)
Having reacquired broadcasting rights to USGA championships, NBC was set to air the rescheduled 2020 U.S. Open in September; the tournament had originally been scheduled for June before being postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[22][23]
