Sports Media Report
SiriusXM announced today its coverage for The 151st Open when golf’s original championship is contested July 20-23 at Royal Liverpool in Hoylake, England.
SiriusXM will offer listeners 45 hours of live on-course coverage as the world’s best compete for the Claret Jug. Live Championship play-by-play will air Thursday through Sunday on SiriusXM’s “The Open Radio” channel, which will be available to subscribers in their cars (channel 92) and on the SXM App (siriusxm.us/TheOpenRadio). Championship broadcasts will begin on SiriusXM on Thursday and Friday at 2:00 am ET, and on Saturday and Sunday at 4:00 am ET, and will continue through the conclusion of each day’s play.
Listeners will hear The Open Radio produced by The R&A. The Open Radio team will feature Marcus Buckland, Sue Thearle, Ron Jones, Matt Adams, Sophie Walker, Raymond Burns, Alison Walker, Paul Eales, Harry Ewing and SiriusXM’s Maureen Madill and Carl Paulson as analysts and commentators in the booth and out on the course.
“We’re very excited to deliver our listeners another extensive week of programming for the historic Open Championship,” said Scott Greenstein, SiriusXM’s President and Chief Content Officer. “Our coverage will feature live shot by shot commentary from voices who are excellent at capturing and conveying the character and excitement of Open Championship golf, as well as daily programming that will deliver all the latest news from the event and interviews with the competitors in the field. No matter where you are listening from across North America, you’ll feel like you are on the grounds at Royal Liverpool.”
Immediately after each round, The Open Postgame will give listeners a recap of the day’s play and a look ahead at the next day’s action. Will Haskett will host the show after the Thursday and Friday rounds. Gary Williams will host Saturday and Sunday. Major champions Hale Irwin, Dave Stockton, Scott Simpson and John Cook, who finished as runner up in the 1992 Open Championship, will also contribute to the post-round discussion.
In the days before and after The Open Championship, and every week throughout the year, SiriusXM’s weekday golf programming lineup features live shows starting at 7:00 am ET that offer news, analysis, expert instruction and more.
SiriusXM’s original programming during Open Championship Week will include The Rocco Hour (Tuesday at 6:00 pm ET), hosted by Rocco Mediate, who competed in nine Open Championships, including a top-20 finish in 1996, as well as ANNIKA (Tuesday at 7:00 pm ET) hosted by legendary 10-time major championship winner Annika Sorenstam.
Listeners can also tune in to two Open Championship specials on SiriusXM.
- Backstory: This one-hour special gives listeners an in-depth look at Royal Liverpool Golf Club, which will be hosting its 13th Open Championship, from the storied history of the course and its significance in both professional and amateur golf, to the course layout today and the new par-3 17th hole. Fans will hear the story of five-time Open Championship winner Peter Thomson, and two-time Open Champion Padraig Harrington and his longtime caddy Ronan Flood give us a first-person perspective on their dramatic playoff victory at Carnoustie in 2007. Backstory debuts on Friday, July 14 at 3:00 pm ET with multiple re-airs to follow.
- The Open Show: Listeners will hear conversations with Rory McIlroy, who won the last Open Championship played at Royal Liverpool in 2014, as well as 2003 Open Champion Ben Curtis on the 20th anniversary of his victory at Royal St. George’s. The special will also share the history of the famed Claret Jug, one of golf’s oldest and most coveted trophies, and recap one of the great final round duels in Open Championship history, when Henrik Stenson outpaced Phil Mickelson at Royal Troon in 2016. The Open Show debuts on Wednesday, July 19 at 8:00 pm ET.
For a full schedule of SiriusXM’s programming go to SiriusXM.com/golfonsxm.
SiriusXM’s broadcast rights for The Open Championship come through its agreement with the R&A and NBCUniversal, which owns the rights to The Open broadcasts in the U.S.
