PGA Tour on NBC
Encyclopedia
Golf Channel on NBC is the branding used for broadcasts of golf
on the NBC
network. The network's coverage has traditionally focused on the main professional golf tours
in the United States
, alongside other major tournaments (such as the Ryder Cup
and the U.S. Open
). Originally known as the PGA Tour on NBC and produced by the NBC Sports
division, the 2011 acquisition of a majority share of NBC Universal
by Comcast Corporation, who owned the golf-focused cable network Golf Channel, led to the production of PGA broadcasts on NBC to be merged and re-branded as Golf Channel on NBC.
In 1983
, the first Skins Game
was held. NBC televised the event throughout the U.S. The only notable affiliate not to televise the first event was KYW-TV
in Philadelphia
. In 1991, the coverage moved to ABC Sports
, after NBC got the rights to Notre Dame football
.
The American Century Celebrity Golf Classic
was held in 1990
and sponsored by NBC, who 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.
In January 2006, the PGA Tour announced a new set of television deals covering 2007 to 2012. NBC Sports
would increase its coverage from 5 to 10 events. NBC also broadcasts the Ryder Cup
(since 1991
) and the U.S.G.A. Championships, including the U.S. Open
(since 1995
). NBC is the only one to 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 an over-the-air network at all, with all four rounds airing on ESPN
and only edited highlights screened by ABC).
NBC carried the weekend coverage of the JELD-WEN Tradition
in 2007, 2009 and 2010. The Golf Channel
covered the early rounds (and all four rounds in 2008 while NBC
carried the Olympic Games
from Beijing
).
The World Series of Golf
was held May 13-16, 2007, and was televised by NBC June 23-24, 2007. Meanwhile, the second event was played May 12-15, 2008, and was televised by CBS on June 28-29.
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 the USA Network
and CBS, with USA broadcasting the first round on a tape-delayed basis, and CBS handling the second round live. Not all the country saw the final round live, as CBS' commitment to the NFL
only allowed part of the country to see the round as it takes place, with the rest of the U.S. seeing the event beginning at 4 p.m. Eastern Time
.
, owners of Golf Channel, acquired a majority stake in NBC Universal
, owners of the NBC network. As a result of the unification between NBC and Golf Channel created through the merger, NBC's golf telecasts were re-branded as Golf Channel on NBC. The re-branded broadcasts, which debuted during the 2011 WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship
, feature a mixture of talent from both NBC Sports and Golf Channel (who will also now provide coverage for both channels), and the use of Golf Channel graphics with a combined logo during coverage.
The US Open will be broadcast using the combined brand. It is worth noting, however, that the Golf Channel owns weekday broadcast rights for PGA Tour events, allowing the entire event to be broadcast with a single brand identity. The US Open weekday rights are not held by the Golf Channel, but by ESPN. The same goes for the biennial Ryder Cup
.
The Players Championship
has, in the past, been produced with a reverse flair, using NBC production on the Golf Channel, including special Players Championship graphics and music. In 2011, the first year of the new partnership, the Players was once again broadcast with the feel of a pre-merger NBC broadcast on the Golf Channel's weekday telecast. The background music on the cold open and highlights was the track reserved by NBC for the Players, USGA championships, and Ryder/Presidents Cups. The theme music was the "Snowy River" theme used since NBC began broadcasting the Players Championship although the USGA theme song is used for NBC's coverage of the USGA championships.
Golf
Golf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes....
on the NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
network. The network's coverage has traditionally focused on the main professional golf tours
PGA Tour
The PGA Tour is the organizer of the main men's professional golf tours in the United States and North America...
in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, alongside other major tournaments (such as the Ryder Cup
Ryder Cup
The Ryder Cup is a biennial golf competition between teams from Europe and the United States. The competition is jointly administered by the PGA of America and the PGA European Tour, and is contested every two years, the venue alternating between courses in the United States and Europe...
and the U.S. Open
U.S. Open (golf)
The United States Open Championship, commonly known as the U.S. Open, is the annual open golf tournament of the United States. It is the second of the four major championships in golf, and is on the official schedule of both the PGA Tour and the European Tour...
). Originally known as the PGA Tour on NBC and produced by the NBC Sports
NBC Sports
NBC Sports is the sports division of the NBC television network. Formerly "a service of NBC News," it broadcasts a diverse array of programs, including the Olympic Games, the NFL, the NHL, MLS, Notre Dame football, the PGA Tour, the Triple Crown, and the French Open, among others...
division, the 2011 acquisition of a majority share of NBC Universal
NBC Universal
NBCUniversal Media, LLC is a media and entertainment company engaged in the production and marketing of entertainment, news, and information products and services to a global customer base...
by Comcast Corporation, who owned the golf-focused cable network Golf Channel, led to the production of PGA broadcasts on NBC to be merged and re-branded as Golf Channel on NBC.
Coverage overview
1983 PGA Tour
The 1983 PGA Tour season was played from January 6 to October 30. The season consisted of 43 official money golf tournaments. Seve Ballesteros, Jim Colbert, Mark McCumber, Gil Morgan, Calvin Peete, Hal Sutton, Lanny Wadkins, and Fuzzy Zoeller won the most tournaments, two, and there were 10...
, the first Skins Game
Skins Game
A skins game is a type of scoring for various sports, most notably golf but also for curling and bowling.-LG Skins Game:There was an annual skins game for male professional golfers which takes place in November or December each year after the end of the official PGA Tour season. It is recognized by...
was held. NBC televised the event throughout the U.S. The only notable affiliate not to televise the first event was KYW-TV
KYW-TV
KYW-TV, virtual channel 3, is an owned and operated television station of the CBS Television Network, located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. KYW-TV shares a studio facility with its sister station, CW flagship WPSG just north of Center City Philadelphia...
in Philadelphia
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,...
. In 1991, the coverage moved to ABC Sports
PGA Tour on ABC
PGA Tour on ABC was a television program that broadcast the main professional golf tours on the American Broadcasting Company television network. ABC initially broadcast the PGA Tour through 1978 and then from 1999–2006. From 1966 through 2009, ABC was the broadcast home of the British...
, after NBC got the rights to Notre Dame football
Notre Dame Football on NBC
Notre Dame Football on NBC is a presentation of the Notre Dame football television package on NBC. The television network broadcasts all Notre Dame home games.-History:...
.
The American Century Celebrity Golf Classic
American Century Celebrity Golf Classic
The American Century Championship is the premier celebrity golf tournament, held during the second full week of July at Edgewood Tahoe Golf Course in Stateline, Nevada, on the shores of Lake Tahoe...
was held in 1990
1990 PGA Tour
The 1990 PGA Tour season was played from January 4 to October 28. The season consisted of 44 official money events. Wayne Levi won the most tournaments, four, and there were 10 first-time winners. The tournament results, leaders, and award winners are listed below.-Tournament results:The following...
and sponsored by NBC, who broadcasts the second and third round coverage. The game NBC Sports Real Golf
NBC Sports Real Golf
NBC Sports Real Golf is a mobile game developed by Lucky Chicken Games, a division of the game's publisher, Abandon Mobile. With a license from NBC Sports, this golf features photorealistic graphics, variable course conditions, and multiple club selections....
was unveiled at the 17th annual American Century Championship Celebrity Golf Event and promoted during NBC's broadcast of the event.
In January 2006, the PGA Tour announced a new set of television deals covering 2007 to 2012. NBC Sports
NBC Sports
NBC Sports is the sports division of the NBC television network. Formerly "a service of NBC News," it broadcasts a diverse array of programs, including the Olympic Games, the NFL, the NHL, MLS, Notre Dame football, the PGA Tour, the Triple Crown, and the French Open, among others...
would increase its coverage from 5 to 10 events. NBC also broadcasts the Ryder Cup
Ryder Cup
The Ryder Cup is a biennial golf competition between teams from Europe and the United States. The competition is jointly administered by the PGA of America and the PGA European Tour, and is contested every two years, the venue alternating between courses in the United States and Europe...
(since 1991
1991 Ryder Cup
The 29th Ryder Cup Matches were held on The Ocean Course at Kiawah Island Golf Resort in Kiawah Island, South Carolina.The United States team won the competition by 14½ to 13½ points, winning back the Cup when Germany's Bernhard Langer missed a six foot putt on the 18th hole of the final match, a...
) and the U.S.G.A. Championships, including the U.S. Open
U.S. Open (golf)
The United States Open Championship, commonly known as the U.S. Open, is the annual open golf tournament of the United States. It is the second of the four major championships in golf, and is on the official schedule of both the PGA Tour and the European Tour...
(since 1995
1995 U.S. Open Golf Championship
The 1995 United States Open Championship was the 95th U.S. Open. The event was held from June 15-18 at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club in Shinnecock Hills, New York. Corey Pavin won his first major championship by two strokes over Greg Norman.-Final leaderboard:...
). NBC is the only one to provide four days of major tournament coverage (CBS
PGA Tour on CBS
PGA Tour on CBS is a television program produced by CBS Sports that broadcasts the main professional golf tours in the United States.-Coverage overview:In January 2006, the PGA Tour announced a new set of television deals covering 2007 to 2012...
, which airs the Masters and the PGA Championship
PGA Championship
The PGA Championship is an annual golf tournament conducted by the PGA of America as part of the PGA Tour. It is one of the four major championships in men's professional golf, and is the golf season's final major, usually played in mid-August, customarily four weeks after The Open Championship...
, only provides weekend coverage of its tournaments; starting in 2010, the Open Championship would not be aired live on an over-the-air network at all, with all four rounds airing on ESPN
PGA Tour on ESPN
Golf coverage on ESPN and ESPN2 has been a regular feature of the cable sports channels' programming since soon after ESPN's launch in 1979. Although ESPN no longer owns any share of the rights to the week-to-week events on the PGA Tour, LPGA Tour, or Champions Tour, the ESPN networks continue to...
and only edited highlights screened by ABC).
NBC carried the weekend coverage of the JELD-WEN Tradition
The Tradition
The Tradition is one of the five major championships recognized by the U.S.-based Champions Tour, the world's leading tour for professional golfers aged fifty and older. The inaugural event was staged in 1989.Unlike the U.S...
in 2007, 2009 and 2010. The Golf Channel
The Golf Channel
Golf Channel, known as The Golf Channel before the July 2008 dropping of The, is an American cable television network with coverage focused on the game of golf. Founded in Birmingham, Alabama, the American headquarters and studio are currently located in Orlando, Florida...
covered the early rounds (and all four rounds in 2008 while NBC
Olympics on NBC
NBC Sports' coverage of the Olympic Games consists of broadcasts on the various networks of NBC Universal in the United States, including the NBC broadcast network, Spanish language network Telemundo, and many of the company's cable networks....
carried the Olympic Games
2008 Summer Olympics
The 2008 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXIX Olympiad, was a major international multi-sport event that took place in Beijing, China, from August 8 to August 24, 2008. A total of 11,028 athletes from 204 National Olympic Committees competed in 28 sports and 302 events...
from Beijing
Beijing
Beijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's...
).
The World Series of Golf
World Series of Golf
The World Series of Golf is an annual golf competition. The competition differs from traditional golf tournaments in that the winner is decided not by the lowest stroke-play score or by winning a bracket-style elimination in match play, but by winning wagers bet on each hole in a betting scheme...
was held May 13-16, 2007, and was televised by NBC June 23-24, 2007. Meanwhile, the second event was played May 12-15, 2008, and was televised by CBS on June 28-29.
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
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
by the USA Network
PGA Tour on USA
PGA Tour on USA was the umbrella title for USA Network's coverage of the PGA Tour in the United States, which ended after the 2006 season. USA was also, separately, the cable home of the Masters Tournament from 1982 to 2007.-Coverage overview:...
and CBS, with USA broadcasting the first round on a tape-delayed basis, and CBS handling the second round live. Not all the country saw the final round live, as CBS' commitment to the NFL
NFL on CBS
The NFL on CBS is the brand name of the CBS television network's coverage of the National Football League's American Football Conference games, produced by CBS Sports.-Market coverage and television policies:...
only allowed part of the country to see the round as it takes place, with the rest of the U.S. seeing the event beginning at 4 p.m. Eastern Time
North American Eastern Time Zone
The Eastern Time Zone of the United States and Canada is a time zone that falls mostly along the east coast of North America. Its UTC time offset is −5 hrs during standard time and −4 hrs during daylight saving time...
.
Golf Channel rebranding
In January 2011, ComcastComcast
Comcast Corporation is the largest cable operator, home Internet service provider, and fourth largest home telephone service provider in the United States, providing cable television, broadband Internet, and telephone service to both residential and commercial customers in 39 states and the...
, owners of Golf Channel, acquired a majority stake in NBC Universal
NBC Universal
NBCUniversal Media, LLC is a media and entertainment company engaged in the production and marketing of entertainment, news, and information products and services to a global customer base...
, owners of the NBC network. As a result of the unification between NBC and Golf Channel created through the merger, NBC's golf telecasts were re-branded as Golf Channel on NBC. The re-branded broadcasts, which debuted during the 2011 WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship
2011 WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship
-Ben Hogan bracket:-Gary Player bracket:-Sam Snead bracket:-Final Four:-Breakdown by country:-Prize money and FedEx Cup points breakdown:* Sources: -External links:*...
, feature a mixture of talent from both NBC Sports and Golf Channel (who will also now provide coverage for both channels), and the use of Golf Channel graphics with a combined logo during coverage.
The US Open will be broadcast using the combined brand. It is worth noting, however, that the Golf Channel owns weekday broadcast rights for PGA Tour events, allowing the entire event to be broadcast with a single brand identity. The US Open weekday rights are not held by the Golf Channel, but by ESPN. The same goes for the biennial Ryder Cup
Ryder Cup
The Ryder Cup is a biennial golf competition between teams from Europe and the United States. The competition is jointly administered by the PGA of America and the PGA European Tour, and is contested every two years, the venue alternating between courses in the United States and Europe...
.
The Players Championship
The Players Championship
The Players Championship is an annual golf tournament on the PGA Tour.Originally known as the Tournament Players Championship, the inaugural event in 1974 was played at Atlanta Country Club in Marietta, Georgia before moving to the Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth, Texas in 1975 and Inverrary...
has, in the past, been produced with a reverse flair, using NBC production on the Golf Channel, including special Players Championship graphics and music. In 2011, the first year of the new partnership, the Players was once again broadcast with the feel of a pre-merger NBC broadcast on the Golf Channel's weekday telecast. The background music on the cold open and highlights was the track reserved by NBC for the Players, USGA championships, and Ryder/Presidents Cups. The theme music was the "Snowy River" theme used since NBC began broadcasting the Players Championship although the USGA theme song is used for NBC's coverage of the USGA championships.
Other events broadcast on NBC
- Outback Steakhouse Pro-AmOutback Steakhouse Pro-AmThe Outback Steakhouse Pro-Am is a golf tournament on the Champions Tour. It is played annually in April in Lutz, Florida at the TPC Tampa Bay. Outback Steakhouse is the main sponsor of the tournament....
- Champions Tour Event - Senior PGA ChampionshipSenior PGA ChampionshipThe Senior PGA Championship is one of the five major championships in men's senior golf. It is administered by the Professional Golfers' Association of America and is recognized as a major championship by both the Champions Tour and the European Seniors Tour. It was formerly an unofficial money...
- Champions Tour Major
See also
- ESPN on ABCESPN on ABCESPN on ABC is the brand used for sports programming on the ABC television network. Officially the broadcast network retains its own sports division; however, for all practical purposes, ABC's sports division has been merged with ESPN, a sports cable network majority-owned by ABC's parent, The...
- NBC Sports Real GolfNBC Sports Real GolfNBC Sports Real Golf is a mobile game developed by Lucky Chicken Games, a division of the game's publisher, Abandon Mobile. With a license from NBC Sports, this golf features photorealistic graphics, variable course conditions, and multiple club selections....
- Gillette Cavalcade of SportsGillette Cavalcade of SportsThe Gillette Cavalcade of Sports was an American network radio program and later television program that included broadcasts of a variety of sports, although it is primarily remembered by many for its focus on boxing.-Overview and background:...