Apple TV Open Championship Streaming Rights: What We Know

Apple has held preliminary discussions with the R&A about Apple TV Open Championship streaming rights, according to a Guardian report cited by 9to5Mac. Netflix and Amazon are also expected to be interested in the rights, per the same report.

For readers who know the tournament better as the British Open, that's the nickname Americans use to separate it from the U.S. Open, a different major played on home soil. The Open itself dates back to 1860 in Scotland, making it the oldest of golf's four men's majors and the one the R&A has run ever since (9to5Mac).

The R&A's own statement frames the moment as "the next US media cycle for the R&A's rights," language that reaches beyond The Open itself. The organization says it expects to enter discussions with incumbent partners NBC and Versant "in due course," while continuing to monitor wider interest in its rights (9to5Mac/Guardian).

What's confirmed so far

Three things are established by the reporting, and not much more. Apple has held preliminary talks with the R&A about bidding for The Open. Netflix and Amazon are separately expected to show interest. And the R&A has issued a public statement addressing the process, without naming a winner or a preferred structure (9to5Mac).

NBC's position anchors the rest of the story. The network signed a 12-year deal for The Open in 2017 after outbidding ESPN (9to5Mac). If that term runs its full course, it would carry NBC's coverage into roughly 2029, though that's an inference drawn from the length of the original agreement rather than a confirmed end date.

The rights are shared with Versant, which operates Golf Channel (9to5Mac). That gives the incumbent side a dedicated, year-round golf programming operation, something any new entrant would need to match or replace.

The R&A has spoken favorably about that arrangement. In a statement to the Guardian, a spokesperson said: "We have an excellent partnership with NBC and Versant which has delivered significant benefits for The Open, the AIG Women's Open and our other championships and international matches. As we look ahead to the next US media cycle for the R&A's rights, we expect to enter discussions with our incumbent partners NBC and Versant in due course. We will also continue to monitor the evolving broadcast landscape and the wider interest in our rights." (R&A statement via 9to5Mac/Guardian)

Note what the R&A credits the partnership for: benefits across The Open, the AIG Women's Open, and "other championships and international matches," not The Open in isolation. Combined with the organization's reference to "the R&A's rights" rather than The Open specifically, that wording leaves open whether a future deal covers The Open alone or bundles in other properties. The statement doesn't resolve that question either way.

What remains unknown

Apple's own position is just as undefined as the R&A's. The report describes only "preliminary discussions with the R&A about bidding for The Open" (9to5Mac), a phrase well short of a formal bid.

A source described as having "knowledge of Apple's plans" told the Guardian that Apple "remains committed to investing in sports rights, and will continue to search for the right properties" (9to5Mac/Guardian). That's a general statement of appetite, not confirmation that Apple is pursuing this specific deal at any defined stage.

Neither statement specifies a deal structure or a timetable. The supplied reporting does not disclose a timeline, deal terms, or the status of any other company's interest (9to5Mac). There's no indication of what any company might pay, how long a new agreement would run, or when the R&A expects to conclude its process.

Scope is the other open question. Because the R&A talks about "the R&A's rights" rather than The Open alone, it's unclear whether a new agreement would cover the men's championship by itself or fold in the AIG Women's Open and other events the organization runs. Current reporting doesn't say which, and nothing in the R&A's statement commits the organization to a particular outcome, only to a process: discussions with NBC and Versant "in due course," alongside continued monitoring of "the wider interest in our rights."

What Apple TV Open Championship streaming rights could mean for US viewers

Apple's interest here isn't happening in isolation. Last year, the company announced a deal to become Formula 1's exclusive U.S. broadcast partner (9to5Mac). That agreement shows Apple has pursued at least one major exclusive U.S. sports property. It doesn't establish a broader pattern specific to golf, and the current reporting doesn't draw that connection either.

Two structures are worth naming as possibilities the reporting leaves open, not as predictions. If NBC and Versant retain some role in a new agreement, Golf Channel's existing programming operation would presumably continue to factor into how coverage reaches viewers. If Apple were to secure an exclusive arrangement instead, that could shift some or all U.S. live coverage to Apple TV, depending on the eventual terms. Nothing in what's public settles which of these, if either, is likely.

Netflix and Amazon's reported interest is scoped narrowly in the reporting itself: both companies are described as expected to be interested in the rights to The Open, not in a wider R&A package spanning multiple championships (9to5Mac). Any talk of bundling traces back to the R&A's own phrasing about "the R&A's rights," not to a stated strategy from Apple, Netflix, or Amazon.

Looking ahead

Apple's preliminary talks with the R&A mark the start of a negotiation, not its outcome. Two questions carry the story forward from here: whether the R&A ends up structuring this as a deal for The Open alone or a wider U.S. rights package including the AIG Women's Open and its other championships, and whether Apple's early conversations advance into a formal bid at all.

Neither question is answered by what's public as of this week. NBC's 12-year deal, signed in 2017, gives the network and Versant a substantial head start in any negotiation built around distribution and production history rather than rights fees alone. Whether that head start holds up against interest from three of the largest streaming operators in the country is the part of this story still left to play out.