LPGA announces groundbreaking deal to transform TV broadcast

NAPLES, Fla. — When new LPGA commissioner Craig Kessler was hired, he laid out his four pillars for success. He strengthened one of them on Tuesday.

Kessler’s second pillar was “visibility,” which he said goes “beyond” the television broadcast of the LPGA. However, the broadcast was always the main part of the “visibility” pillar. The LPGA often only gets the weekend airtime on Golf Channel that is not vacuumed up by the PGA Tour and PGA Tour Champions.

But the LPGA’s television reality will look much different in 2026.

Thanks to a partnership with FM, Golf Channel and Trackman announced on Tuesday ahead of the CME Group Tour Championship, the LPGA’s broadcast visibility will substantially increase next year. The investment from FM, which sponsors a tour event with the largest non-major purse, will make it an official LPGA partner and bring new technology, equipment and content to the broadcast as well as transform and elevate the coverage of women’s golf by ensuring that every tournament and round is visible.

Starting in 2026, every tournament and every round will be broadcast live across the United States for the first time since Golf Channel started broadcasting in 1995. Some weekend rounds will air on CNBC, but every round of every tournament will air live.

“2026 will be a great year for LPGA Tour viewers as we will televise every single LPGA Tour event and coverage of every round will be live across the country, which is a direct result of Golf Channel and  CNBC both being a part of the VERSANT portfolio,” Tom Knapp, executive vice president and general manager of Golf Channel, said in a press release. “Additionally, we’ve worked together with the LPGA Tour and our partners at FM and Trackman to enhance our production, adding more technology to our telecasts as we continue to be the proud home of the LPGA Tour and showcase the best women’s golfers on the planet every single week.”

Craig Kessler Q&A: The LPGA’s new commissioner on goals, ‘pillars’ and what success looks like

By:

Dylan Dethier

As part of the investment from FM, state-of-the-art broadcast technology, which is often only used for major championship weeks, will make its way to weekly LPGA broadcasts.

There will be a 50% increase in the number of cameras from the 2025 season. There will also be slow-motion cameras, drone footage and three times the microphones to give fans better access to the players’ emotions and thought processes during the round. There will also be a “heightened focus” on athlete content like walk-and-talks with caddies and players during rounds. The new partnership with Trackman will quadruple the LPGA’s shot-tracing capabilities from the 2025 season.

“The commitments from FM, Trackman and Golf Channel are a game-changer for our athletes, our fans, our partners and our Tour,” Kessler said in a statement. “Starting in 2026, fans will immediately see and feel the difference: more cameras, better technology, richer storytelling and more ways to appreciate the unbelievable skill of our players, fully live. We’re grateful for the shared vision and investment from FM, Trackman and Golf Channel. This is a major step forward for the women’s game, and it’s only the beginning. The next chapter for the LPGA is going to be something special.”

Kessler has hit the ground running as the new head man of the LPGA. Earlier this month, Kessler and the LPGA announced a new tournament backed by Golf Saudi, which will be hosted at Shadow Creek in Las Vegas as part of the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund’s (PIF) five-tournament global series. The tournament will be held March 30-April 5. Fans will now be able to watch that, and every tournament, live.

Kessler wanted to strengthen and elevate the visibility of his tour. This new deal massively achieves that goal.

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