UK commercial broadcaster ITV has acquired highlights rights to the US PGA Tour for the remainder of the 2020 season, marking the first time the network has shown professional golf in over 30 years.
ITV will show weekly one-hour highlights of the remaining 12 tournaments on the PGA Tour calendar. Coverage started on Wednesday with the Charles Schwab Challenge, the first PGA Tour event since the competition’s Covid-19 related suspension.
ITV is exploiting the rights on its ITV4 digital terrestrial channel and on its ITV Hub OTT streaming platform.
ITV last showed professional golf in the 1970s and 1980s during which time it showed the Ryder Cup for the first time (in 1973).
Public-service broadcaster the BBC also holds free-to-air highlights rights to professional golf in the UK. Last year, it renewed its rights to the Ryder Cup and European Tour in a four-year deal, which runs from 2019 to 2022.
Pay-television broadcaster Sky holds exclusive PGA Tour live rights until 2021-22 and live rights to the Ryder Cup and European Tour until 2022.