Golf: BBC Sport to lose ‘The Open’ live broadcasting rights to Sky Sports?

The BBC are set to lose the live broadcasting rights to ‘The Open’ to Sky Sports, who will pay £10m a year.

According the Charlie Sale of the Daily Mail, The contract will be announced by the sport’s ruling body, the R&A, early next week.

It will end the BBC’s 59-year ownership of the rights after the next tournament at St Andrews in July 2015.

The BBC are likely to keep a highlights deal.

The Beeb have been resigned to losing The Open to Sky for some time and prioritised saving Match of the Day, costing £204m. That was seen as better value for licence-fee payers than golf’s flagship event, which costs the BBC £7m a year.