After 29 years, the PGA Tour will no longer appear on Turner Sports.
The PGA of America announced on Wednesday that, starting in 2020, the PGA Championship’s new cable partner will be ESPN as part of a new 11-year rights deal that will run through 2030. CBS, which has broadcast the event since 1991, will continue to cover the third and final rounds of the tournament while ESPN will host Thursday and Friday coverage.
“We are thrilled to collaborate with two great partners in CBS and ESPN for the next 11 years to continue to drive innovation in the production and coverage of major championship golf television,” said PGA of America president Paul Levy. “I’m also extremely excited about what this partnership will do to continue to elevate the value of the nearly 29,000 PGA Professionals who are helping to move this sport forward every day.”
The new partnership will also allow viewers to watch non-stop coverage of the PGA Championship across multiple media platforms, including ESPN’s OTT digital platform ESPN+.
“The PGA Championship has been a marquee event on CBS since 1991,” said CBS Sports chairman Sean McManus. “Retaining these rights was a top priority for us this year, and we are excited to have it continue as a cornerstone of our schedule for 11 more years. Together with ESPN, we look forward to greatly expanding the coverage of this great championship. The move to May will greatly benefit CBS, our viewers and the golf marketplace.”
“ESPN is proud to work together with the PGA of America and CBS to provide fans with unprecedented coverage of this prestigious event,” said ESPN president Jimmy Pitaro. “The addition of ESPN+ provides us the opportunity to go even deeper in showcasing the drama and excitement of The PGA for years to come.”
The deal will bring CBS up to 40 consecutive years of covering the PGA Championship, which will become the second major of the golf season beginning in 2019. The 2020 PGA Championship, when the new deal goes into effect, will take place at Harding Park in San Francisco.
