BBC wins rights to US PGA Championship

Reports in the Guardian suggest the BBC has won the race for live UK coverage of the US PGA Championship in a shock deal which could be announced before the end of this week.

The Guardian revealed last week that Sky Sports had lost live rights to the final major of the year after talks broke down with the PGA of America. The tournament organisers promised a “multi platform” alternative but at least an element of live television coverage was also always likely. Sky was obviously embarrassed by news breaking of their US PGA scenario days after it announced the forthcoming unveiling of a dedicated golf channel.

Should the BBC confirm its US PGA deal in Open week, further red faces will ensue at Sky. This marks only the second Open shown live by the satellite channel, in a move from the BBC deemed highly controversial at the time.

Sky’s still have not reached an agreement to extend their existing contract to show all four days of the Masters exclusively live.

One complication relating to the BBC’s new major agreement relates to a clash with the world athletics championships, which the corporation was already committed to covering. However, it is believed that is not problematic with a combination of linear television channels and the BBC red button being utilised.