Report: PGA Tour finalizing TV rights extension worth estimated $6.3B

The PGA Tour is finalizing nine-year broadcast rights deals with CBS, NBC, and Golf Channel that collectively could be worth around $700 million per year, according to early estimates from Sports Business Journal's John Ourand.

The extension with CBS and NBC is reportedly worth nearly 60% more than the current agreement that expires at the end of 2021. Golf Channel will pay more than double its current rights fee, which was negotiated in 2006. The PGA Tour's present deal is worth roughly $400 million annually. All three new deals will run through 2030.

CBS and NBC will apparently retain the same regular-season packages. However, the three-event FedEx Cup Playoffs will reportedly alternate between networks, starting with NBC in 2022. The revised schedule for the PGA Tour season, which now ends in late August, will allow CBS to broadcast golf before the NFL season starts.

The new deal isn't expected to be announced until early 2020, according to Ourand. The main hold-up is digital rights, which NBC Sports and PGA Tour Live currently own. ESPN reportedly made an aggressive push to obtain the rights to broadcast on its online streaming service. Discovery, which holds the international rights, apparently also emerged as a contender and appears likely to share the rights with NBC Sports.

Amazon was reportedly interested in the digital rights as well but seems to have dropped out of the running.