It has emerged overnight that a restriction on the broadcast of the US Masters Golf tournament will leave screens dark across Europe when the tournament gets underway in a little over a week.
It is understood that broadcasters will not be permitted to show live action or coverage within one hour of it taking place beyond the United States.
More details are expected to be confirmed, with trade restrictions to be announced as part of more general tariff impositions by the Donald Trump-led US government in the coming hours.
The ‘America First’ policy in trade is being extended to include live sports coverage, and this might also extend to other sports, including NBA Basketball, the NFL, Formula 1 and more.
With the FIFA World Club Cup scheduled to take place this summer and the FIFA World Cup itself, primarily on US soil in 2026, sporting authorities are scrambling to better understand what is proposed.
A spokesperson for the US Department of Communications is reported to have said last night that as of noon today, April 1st, all live sports broadcasts in international markets will have a one-hour time delay.
This is a developing story; we will keep on top of it throughout the day.
SPORT FOR BUSINESS PERSPECTIVE
Sport was always likely to feature in some way in the US Trade Tariffs to be announced this week, but a ban on live coverage will hit especially hard.
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