Photo by Ryan Young/PGA TOUR

By Joel Beall

The PGA Tour is finalising new television deals with current partners CBS and NBC, according to a Sports Business Journal report.
SBJ’s John Ourand writes that the framework is in place for a nine-year deal, with an official announcement coming in 2020. The PGA Tour could take in $700 million per year with the signing, per Ourand, up from an estimated $400 million per year payout in its current deals.

NBC and CBS are expected to retain each network’s regular-season schedule. A new twist is that the networks will alternate producing the FedEx Cup Playoff series, with NBC getting five postseasons to CBS’ four. In the current deal, NBC has sole rights to the season-ending Tour Championship.

SBJ also reports the Tour has agreed to terms with Golf Channel, which will see Golf Channel’s yearly fee double.

However, digital rights are still in negotiations. NBC Sports currently owns streaming rights, presented as part of the PGA Tour Live package. NBC is looking to retain those online services, while ESPN+ and Discovery have joined the bidding. Amazon, after expressing early interest, has dropped out of the race, according to SBJ. (GOLFTV and Golf Digest are both a part of Discovery.) Similar to its television structure, these rights could be shared among the competing entities.

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