Fox is serious about this, folks: Snags U.S. Open from NBC/ESPN

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In golf terms, what Fox did is open the match by holing out from the fairway on No. 1.

Game on, everybody.

Last night, Fox Sports announced it had landed the U.S. Open and other USGA events (U.S. Women’s Open, Senior, Amateur, and so on) in a 12-year deal, beginning in 2015. Suddenly, Fox is in the golf business with programming for the network and new Fox Sports 1.

And it took away a prime property from its main rival ESPN, which has televised the tournament for 32 years, not to mention NBC, which has had the Open for 19 years, and the Golf Channel, which covered other USGA tournaments.

Talk about a stunner.

Shackelford.com put it appropriately with this headline on his site: “Not April’s Fools: USGA announces new TV deal with Fox Sports on eve of PGA Championship.”

Sure, the timing was horrendous. But who cares? I’m sure the PGA of America still will listen to Fox when that tournament becomes available.

Fox Sports clearly is anxious to show that it is serious about its new sports network, which debuts on Aug. 17. For all the talk about studio shows, what ultimately will carry the day for Fox Sports 1 is quality live sports programming. The U.S. Open falls under that category.

From Richard Sandomir in the New York Times:

Randy Freer, the co-president of Fox Sports, said in an interview, “We were a little surprised that we got the opportunity to participate” in the talks, “but ultimately we like big events.” He added, “We think the U.S. Open can once again be the pre-eminent golf championship in the world.”

Here’s the kicker for all the other sports properties out there: Doug Ferguson of the Associated Press writes that Fox reportedly is spending in the neighborhood of $100 million for the USGA events, more than double the previous package.

Did you see that NBA (TV deals expire in 2016)? And how about you, Big Ten (through 2017)? Fox obviously is willing to write some big checks to bring Fox Sports 1 to the next level. The new sports network is going to make a lot of people very rich, increasing the price of poker for all the bidders.

Game on, indeed.