In the first year of its expansive rights deal with the United States Golf Association, Fox Sports will tee up over 320 hours on its linear and digital platforms across eight championships.
Coverage begins with the U.S. Amateur Four-Ball Championship May 5-6 from The Olympic Club in San Francisco and is highlighted by a record 38.5 hours from the 2015 U.S. Open at Chambers Bay, University Place in Washington.
In addition to the U.S. Open and U.S. Amateur Four-Ball, Fox Sports is scheduled to provide extensive coverage from the U.S. Women’s Amateur Four-Ball Championship in May; U.S. Senior Open in June; U.S. Women’s Open and U.S. Junior Amateur in July; and U.S. Amateur and U.S. Women’s Amateur in August.
The plans –under the inaugural season of its 12-year deal with the USGA in which Fox succeeds NBC and ESPN -- call for USGA action on broadcast network, national cable service Fox Sports 1, Spanish-language service Fox Deportes and various Fox Sports Digital entries, including its Fox Sports Go mobile app.
Fox Sports’ programming schedule represents the most extensive coverage ever assigned to the U.S. Open in its history.
All told the 115th U.S. Open championship will receive some 38.5 hours of live coverage from Thursday through Sunday on the broadcast network and FS1, a three-and-a-half hour increase from a year ago.
Given its west coast footing, the event should play be big with the Nielsens, as 11.5 of the 22.5 hours scheduled for Fox will air in primetime. That compares with five primetime hours in 2012, the last time the tournament was played in the Pacific time zone.
For its part, Fox Deportes will air three hours of U.S. Open coverage Stateside on both Saturday and Sunday in Spanish, a first in the championship’s storied history.
Fox Sports Digital offers three distinct alternate production feeds available daily on USOpen.com for desktop viewers and via Fox Sports Go and U.S. Open digital platforms, adding an additional 120 hours of coverage.
“We are incredibly excited and honored to launch our partnership with the USGA this year,” said Fox Sports president and COO Eric Shanks. “Our preparations to cover these championships have been underway for the past 18 months, and we’ve assembled a terrific team in front of the camera and behind it who are committed to providing world-class coverage.”
“This is an exciting time as the USGA begins its long-term association with FOX Sports,” said USGA president Thomas O’Toole. “Our broadcast partner has made a tremendous commitment and is dedicated to enhancing our national championships. Both players and fans will benefit from the expanded coverage.”
