How To Watch The British Open Championship

This week features one of golf’s major championships, the 149th Open Championship at Royal St. George. (Commonly referred to as “The British Open.”) The event starts Thursday, July 15, and continues through Sunday, July 18. Coverage this week will not be on CBS. The British Open will be on NBC’s Peacock streaming service, Golf Channel and NBC. There will not be any PGA Tour Live coverage of the British Open. Instead, Peacock coverage will include Primary, Featured Groups, and Featured Holes throughout the tournament. This article will explain everything you need to know about watching the U.S. Open without a cable TV subscription.

Summary of How To Watch The Open Championship: Hulu Live TV Provides Golf Channel and NBC with a  1-week free trial. That coverage will be simulcasted on NBC’s streaming service Peacock on their Premium tier along with Featured Holes and Groups appearing on the Peacock streaming service’s free tier. Peacock’s premium tier costs $4.99 per month.

The British Open Championship TV Schedule

Golf Channel and Peacock cover the first and second rounds on Thursday and Friday. On Saturday and Sunday, the third and final round will see early afternoon coverage on Golf Channel (and Peacock), with later coverage switching over to NBC (Also simulcast on Peacock). The TV schedule for the British Open Championship is as follows:

(All Times Eastern)

• Thursday, July 15
  • 1:30-4 a.m., Peacock Premium (streaming)
  • 4 a.m.-3 p.m., Golf Channel (Simulcast on Peacock Premium)
  • 3-4 p.m., Peacock
• Friday, July 16
  • 1:30-4 a.m., Peacock (streaming)
  • 4 a.m.-3 p.m., Golf Channel(Simulcast on Peacock Premium)
  • 3-4 p.m., Peacock
• Saturday, July 17
  • 5-7 a.m., Golf Channel (streaming on Peacock)
  • 7 a.m.-3 p.m., NBC (Simulcast on Peacock Premium)
• Sunday, July 18
  • 4-7 a.m., Golf Channel (streaming on Peacock)
  • 7 a.m.-2 p.m., NBC (Simulcast on Peacock Premium)

Featured Holes and Groups

The featured groups and holes for The Open are available to watch free on Peacock. The schedule is below.

(All Times Eastern)

• Thursday, July 15
  • Featured Holes (14-16) — 5:30 a.m. to 3 p.m.
  • Featured Groups — 3 a.m. to 3 p.m.
• Friday, July 16
  • Featured Groups — 3 a.m. to 3 p.m.
  • Featured Holes (14-16) — 5:30 a.m. to 3 p.m.
• Saturday, July 17
  • Featured Groups — 6 a.m. to 2 p.m.
  • Featured Holes (14-16) — 7 a.m. to 1 p.m.
• Sunday, July 18
  • Featured Groups — 6 a.m. to 2 p.m.
  • Featured Holes (14-16) — 7 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Watching The British Open Championship Without Cable

To watch this year’s British Open you will need access to NBC, Golf Channel, and/or the Peacock Streaming service.  Featured-group and featured-hole coverage will be on Peacock’s free tier, but for full coverage, you will need Peacock Premium for a $4.99 per month subscription. NBC and Golf Channel can be watched for free using a free trial from any of the services below

• Hulu Live TV– Provides Golf Channel and NBC with a  1-week free trial.
• YouTube TV – Provides Golf Channel and NBC with a 1-week trial.
• FuboTV – Provides Golf Channel and NBC. They offer a 1-week free trial.
• DIRECTV STREAM – Offers both networks. See this page for offers.

I go into more details on all these services in the next section. Keep in mind there is no contract with any of these services, so that you can cancel at any time. If you are using a free trial, you can cancel during the trial period, and you will no be charged.

PGA Tour Live will not have any British Open Championship coverage. Featured holes and groups will stream on Peacock.

Best Way To Watch The British Open Championship

I recommend getting a free trial to Hulu Live TV for access to NBC and Golf Channel, but you can also check out our guide on How To Stream NBC Live and How To Watch Golf Channel for more options. This will provide you with most of the coverage. Also, sign up for Peacock’s free tier for access to featured holes and groups. If you want the early 1:30-4 a.m. coverage on Thursday and Friday you will need Peacock’s Premium tier starting at $5.99 per month. Peacock’s Premium will also simulcast NBC and Golf Channel coverage, so you can watch the entie tounament for just $4.99. You can cancel at any time. I go into more detail on Peacock, Hulu Live TV, and more below.

Hulu Live TV

Hulu Live TV provides NBC and Golf Channel in their channel lineup. Golf Channel is available nationwide, and NBC is available in nearly every TV market. You can check your zip code on the following page to verify the channels you will receive Hulu Live TV Channels by Zipcode.

Hulu Live TV offers a 7-day free trial, so you can sign up for the trial, watch The British Open Championship, and cancel your subscription before it’s over, and not be charged. This essentially allows you to watch all of The British Open Championship coverage free on both networks. If you decide to keep Hulu Live TV, you will be charged $69.99 per month after the trial. There is no contract so you can cancel at any time. 

Hulu Live TV is supported on Roku, Fire TV Devices, Apple TV, Chromecast, Xbox One, iOS, Android, and more. You’ll find more information on Hulu’s supported devices and everything else you would need to know in our full review of Hulu Live TV.

Peacock

Peacock will be covering early morning rounds and the last hour on Thursday and Friday on its Premium plan, which normally costs $4.99 per month. Peacock’s premium tier will also simulcast NBC and Golf Channel coverage. Peacock does have featured holes and group coverage but it is available on Peacock’s free tier. You can sign up for Peacock here. They don’t require a long-term commitment, so you can cancel at any time.

You can stream Peacock’s British Open Championship on your TV or mobile device. The streaming service supports Roku, iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, Apple T.V. 4K and Apple T.V. HD, Xbox One S and Xbox One X, Playstation 4, Android devices, Android TV, Chromecast, and Chromecast built-in, Xfinity Flex 4K and Amazon Fire TV or Fire Sticks. Follow these steps to install Peacock on your device:

1. Subscribe to a Peacock using this Link.
2. “Search” your devices app store or channel store for “Peacock”
3. Select the streaming service and press “OK.”, “Install” or “Download” depending on your device
4. Peacock is now installed on your Roku. Open Peacock, and log in with the credentials you used to subscribe to the service. Search for “British Open Championship” and watch.

If you need more information see our review of Peacock for more details.

Other Options to Watch The British Open Championship

Below are other streaming services that carry NBC and Golf Channel.

YouTube TV is similar to Hulu Live TV in that you can get access to Golf Channel and NBC with a 7-day free trial. However, if you forget to cancel, YouTube TV will cost you $64.99 per month. Youtube TV supports Android, iOS, Apple TV, Fire TV, Chromecast, and more. The YouTube TV app has also returned to Roku devices after settling a dispute between the two companies. You can read our review of YouTube TV for more details.

FuboTV carries Golf Channel. NBC is also carried in many parts of the country, but not as many as Hulu Live TV or Youtube TV. You can see if NBC is available using this link. FuboTV offers a 7-day free trial, so you can watch The British Open Championship for free. After the trial, The “standard” plan costs $69.99 per month. FuboTV is available on most major platforms, including AppleTV, AndroidTV, Roku, and Amazon FireTV. You can sign up for a 1-week free trial or check out our review of FuboTV for more details.

DIRECTV STREAM offers NBC in its “Entertainment” Package for $69.99 per month. However, Golf Channel is offered as part of their upgraded “Ultimate Package” package priced at $104.99 per month. To learn more about DIRECTV STREAM, check out their promo page or read more in our DIRECTV STREAM review.