RTÉ has strengthened its position as Ireland’s free-to-air home of major golf with a new multi-year broadcast agreement for the Amgen Irish Open and the acquisition of highlights rights for the 2027 Ryder Cup at Adare Manor.
The new Irish Open agreement covers video, audio and online rights and extends a long-standing relationship between the national broadcaster and one of the most significant annual events on the Irish sporting calendar. The broadcaster also delivered live coverage of the KPMG Women’s Irish Open at the K Club this year.
The announcement comes as the 2026 Amgen Irish Open gets underway at Trump International Golf Links in Doonbeg, with RTÉ beginning its live coverage on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player from 1.30 pm today.
There wil also be extensive live coverage of the Open and of the Ryder Cup on Sky Sports.
For the DP World Tour and title sponsor Amgen, the continuation of free-to-air coverage guarantees the tournament significant domestic reach as it seeks to maintain and build its profile within an increasingly competitive golf landscape.
The second element of the agreement will be particularly significant next year.
RTÉ has secured highlights rights to the 2027 Ryder Cup at Adare Manor, ensuring that coverage of golf’s biggest team event will be available free-to-air to Irish viewers when the competition returns to Ireland.
The agreement gives RTÉ television broadcast and 30-day catch-up rights in the Republic of Ireland, along with social media clip rights. The broadcaster will also hold radio rights for both the Amgen Irish Open and Ryder Cup.
This means RTÉ can build coverage across television, radio, digital and social platforms around what will be one of the biggest sporting occasions staged in Ireland during the decade.
The Ryder Cup will return to Ireland for only the second time, following the memorable staging at the K Club in 2006.
Adare Manor will host the competition matches from September 17th to 19th, 2027, with the event expected to attract an enormous international audience and place Ireland at the centre of the global sporting conversation.
For RTÉ, securing a free-to-air presence around the event is an important addition to its sporting portfolio, even though the agreement covers highlights rather than live television coverage.
“Given the drama, excitement and world-class field the Amgen Irish Open now attracts, we are delighted to renew our broadcast agreement and bring more great live sport to Irish audiences free-to-air,” said RTÉ Head of Sport Declan McBennett.
“On top of that, to be able to incorporate highlights from one of the world’s great sporting spectacles that is the Ryder Cup means that RTÉ will ensure Irish audiences have even more access to memorable sporting moments on Irish soil and all free-to-air.”
Sport for Business Perspective
The significance of today’s announcement extends beyond simply retaining another sports property.
Free-to-air visibility remains an important part of the commercial value of major sporting events, particularly for sponsors whose return is measured not only through those attending but through the wider audience following on television, radio, digital and social channels.
Continued live RTÉ coverage strengthens the reach of Amgen’s title partnership with the Irish Open.
The RTÉ agreement on the Ryder Cup ensures there will be a significant free-to-air window into what will unquestionably be one of the biggest sporting and commercial occasions Ireland has ever hosted.
And finally, it puts RTÉ front and centre stage between the annual Irish Open and the extraordinary year for Irish golf that 2027 is already shaping up to be.
RTÉ and Sky Ireland, as well as the DP World Tour, The Ryder Cup and Golf Ireland are full members of Sport for Business. KPMG are partners of our Golf coverage.
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