The Open will be shown exclusively on Sky Sports from 2016, after the BBC dropped their coverage of the event a year earlier than expected.
The showpiece, which will take place at Royal Troon for the first time since 2004, was meant to be the farewell to the major until Sky Sports' contract runs out in 2021.
News emerged today that the BBC will not be showing the championship next year, with the BBC's director of sport, Barbara Slater, claiming the decision had been taken for pragmatic financial reasons.
“Following the announcement that Sky had been awarded the live TV rights to the Open and in light of financial developments since, the choice to amend the current contract from next year was a pragmatic one,” she said in a blog on the BBC website.
“We know that many fans are unhappy with the loss of rights and in an ideal world the BBC would still be the home of live coverage of the Open.”
She went onto say that the BBC “faced with some challenging financial savings targets. Sport on the BBC is not immune to those pressures and they are compounded by the highly inflationary nature of the rights market”.
The BBC will instead show extended TV highlights, provide live radio coverage and continue to cover the tournament online over the four days.
Legendary commentator, Peter Alliss, will remain part of the BBC team covering The Open.
Sky Sports had procured exclusive rights for the major this year in a £15-million-a-year deal that runs for the next 5 years.
Sports rights at the BBC have come under increasing pressure over the last two years, the corporation also having lost control of the Olympics from 2022 after the International Olympic Committee agreed a pan-European deal with Discovery.
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