ESPN is officially out of the British Open business.
NBC Sports announced Monday that it has reached agreement with ESPN to acquire next year’s British Open and related events. Terms of the deal were not announced, but NBC will pay ESPN “an unknown fee” according to Sports Business Journal.
The addition of next year’s tournament tacks an extra year onto NBC’s rights deal with British Open organizer the R&A, which was to begin in 2017.
It also further shortens ESPN’s 2010 deal to air the event, which was originally supposed to run until 2018. The R&A opted out of the 2017 tournament as part of the agreement with NBC, and now ESPN has opted out of 2016.
ESPN and NBC tried to reach a similar deal in 2013 after the latter acquired NASCAR rights from the former. It fell through, however, and ESPN ended up airing its lame duck season with the sport.
(Mon. news from NBC Sports Group Press Box, Sports Business Journal)
