Sky Sports will remain the UK home of the US Open for the next five years, but not after fighting off interest from Netflix.
Sky Sports will continue to exclusively broadcast the US Open for the next five years after reaching an agreement with the United States Golf Association (USGA).
Announced on August 18, Sky Sports and NOW TV will exclusively broadcast one of golf’s four major competitions until 2030, retaining the broadcast rights it has had in place since 1996.
As part of the deal, Sky Sports will also show live coverage of the US Women’s Open, US Amateur Championship, US Senior Open and the Curtis Cup match between the US, UK and Ireland.
The US Open adds to Sky Sports’ range of live golf content, which currently includes other PGA Tour, DP World Tour and LPGA Tour tournaments. Sky Sports will also exclusively broadcast the 2025 Ryder Cup in September from Farmingdale, New York.
During a launch event for the new Premier League season, Sky Managing Director Jonathan Licht highlighted the success of incorporating the spider-cam during its coverage of the The Open at Royal Portrush in July.
Sky Sports revealed the use of the spider-cam was the first time used during a live coverage of a golfing competition, which the broadcaster states intends to “bring fans closer to the action”.
Fending off Netflix
According to reports, Sky Sports was able to fend off interest from Netflix to retain broadcast rights for the US Open in the UK and Ireland.
The Guardian reported sources involved in the tender process for the rights revealed Netflix made a “credible offer” for the US Open and “viewed (the US Open) as fitting its sports model for standalone events” in the bid to grow its global subscriber base.
Netflix has asserted in the early phases of its live sports content strategy it is only interested in acquiring broadcast rights for one-off sporting events as opposed to lengthy broadcast rights which tie the company down to multiple year contracts.
This strategy has seen Netflix broadcast live boxing events such as Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson and will broadcast the upcoming boxing superfight between Saúl ‘Canelo’ Alvarez and Terence Crawford.
The streaming platform also broadcasted two NFL games on Christmas Day last year and is in the first year of a 10-year agreement to showcase WWE’s RAW on weekly basis, the first and only instance Netflix has strayed away from its current strategy.
While Sky Sports were successful in this instance, traditional TV broadcasters like themselves will no doubt grow wary of the interest of streaming companies like Netflix bidding for broadcast rights in the near future.
