It’s the final major of the season as the world’s best golfers descend on the Royal Liverpool course in northwest England for the 151st Open Championship.
Defending champion Cam Smith will be aiming to cling on to the iconic Claret Jug trophy from the likes of world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler, P.G.A. Championship winner Brooks Koepka and US Open champ Wyndham Clark.
Rory McIlroy will have high hopes of ending his nine-year wait for another major title as he heads to Hoylake on a high, following his triumph at last weekend’s Scottish Open.
The 2023 British Open runs from Thursday to Sunday. Keep reading to find out the best live TV streaming services to use to watch each day of the tournament live wherever you are in the world.
Rory McIlroy has experience of glory at Royal Liverpool, having won the British Open back in 2014 when the tournament was last held in Hoylake.
Warren Little/Getty Images
What is the US TV schedule for the British Open?
Linear TV coverage of the British Open in the US is split between NBC and USA Network.
Streaming service Peacock boasts the most comprehensive live coverage of the tournament, however.
Here’s the full TV schedule (all times ET):
Thursday and Friday
Peacock (1:30 a.m. to 4 a.m. and 3 p.m. to 4 p.m.); USA Network (4 a.m. to 3 p.m.)
Saturday
USA Network (5 a.m. to 7 a.m.); Peacock and NBC (7 a.m. to 3 p.m.)
Sunday
USA Network (4 a.m. to 7 a.m.); Peacock and NBC (7 a.m. to 2 p.m.)
How to watch the British Open online from anywhere using a VPN
If you find yourself unable to view the tournament locally, you may need a different way to watch the British Open — that’s where using a VPN can come in handy. A VPN is also the best way to stop your ISP from throttling your speeds by encrypting your traffic, and it’s also a great idea if you’re traveling and find yourself connected to a Wi-Fi network, and you want to add an extra layer of privacy for your devices and logins.
With a VPN, you’re able to virtually change your location on your phone, tablet or laptop to get access to the tournament. So if your internet provider or mobile carrier has stuck you with an IP address that incorrectly shows your location in a blackout zone, a VPN can correct that problem by giving you an IP address in your correct, nonblackout area. Most VPNs, like our Editors’ Choice, ExpressVPN, make it really easy to do this.
Using a VPN to watch or stream sports is legal in any country where VPNs are legal, including the US, UK and Canada, as long as you have a legitimate subscription to the service you’re streaming. You should be sure your VPN is set up correctly to prevent leaks: Even where VPNs are legal, the streaming service may terminate the account of anyone it deems to be circumventing correctly applied blackout restrictions.
Looking for other options? Be sure to check out some of the other great VPN deals taking place right now.
ExpressVPN is our current best VPN pick for people who want a reliable and safe VPN, and it works on a variety of devices. It’s normally $13 per month, and you can sign up for ExpressVPN and save 49% plus get three months of access for free — the equivalent of $6.67 per month — if you get an annual subscription.
Note that ExpressVPN offers a 30-day money-back guarantee.
As mentioned above, linear TV coverage in the US is split between NBC and USA Network, while streaming service Peacock boasts comprehensive coverage of the entire tournament, with exclusive early round action, featured groups and featured hole coverage.
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Peacock offers two Premium plans. The ad-supported Premium plan costs $6 a month, and the ad-free Premium plan costs $12 a month. You can use either Premium plan to watch the Scottish Open.
Four of the major live TV streaming services offer NBC and USA Network. The catch is that not every service carries every local network affiliate, so check each one using the links below to make sure it carries NBC in your area.
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Hulu with Live TV costs $70 a month and includes NBC and USA Network. Click the “View channels in your area” link on its welcome page to see which local channels are offered in your ZIP code.
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YouTube TV costs $73 a month and includes NBC and USA Network. Plug in your ZIP code on its welcome page to see which local network affiliates are available in your area.
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DirecTV Stream’s basic $75-a-month package includes NBC and USA Network. You can use its channel lookup tool to see which local channels are available where you live.
Golf fans in the UK can watch the tournament live on Sky Sports. The tournament will be broadcast on its Sky Sports Golf channel. Coverage begins at 6:30 a.m. BST for Rounds 1 and 2, 12 p.m. for Round 3, and 11 a.m. for Round 4.
Viewers in the UK will be able to watch the British Open on Sky Sports Golf, with extensive coverage of each day’s play. Subscribers can also stream the action via the Sky Go app. Sky subsidiary Now (formerly Now TV) offers streaming access to Sky Sports channels with a Now Sports membership. You can get a day of access for £12 (perhaps just for the final round), or sign up to a monthly plan from £35 per month to watch all four days of the tournament.
The Open can be watched Down Under on Fox Sports via Foxtel. If you’re not a Fox subscriber, your best option is to sign up for streaming service Kayo Sports. Coverage kicks off at 3:30 p.m. AEST for Rounds 1 and 2, 7 p.m. for Round 3, and 6 p.m. for Round 4.
A Kayo Sports subscription starts at AU$25 a month and lets you stream on one screen, while its Premium tier costs AU$35 a month for simultaneous viewing on up to three devices.
The service gives you access to a wide range of sports including F1, NRL, NFL, NHL and MLB, and there are no lock-in contracts.
Better still, if you’re a new customer, you can take advantage of a one-week Kayo Sports free trial.
Comprehensive live coverage of the 2023 British Open will be available in Canada via TSN. Cord cutters can watch via the network’s streaming service TSN Plus. Coverage starts at 7 p.m. ET or 4 p.m. PT for Rounds 1 and 2, and at 7 a.m. ET or 4 a.m. PT for Rounds 3 and 4.
TSN Plus is a new direct streaming service, boasting exclusive coverage of the FIFA Women’s World Cup, NFL games, F1, Nascar and Grand Slam tennis tournaments. Ideal for cord-cutters, the service is priced at CA$20 a month or CA$200 per year.
Quick tips for streaming the British Open using a VPN
With four variables at play — your ISP, browser, video streaming provider and VPN — your experience and success when streaming the British Open may vary.
If you don’t see your desired location as a default option for ExpressVPN, try using the “search for city or country” option.
If you’re having trouble getting the tournament after you’ve turned on your VPN and set it to the correct viewing area, there are two things you can try for a quick fix. First, log into your streaming service subscription account and make sure the address registered for the account is an address in the correct viewing area. If not, you may need to change the physical address on file with your account. Second, some smart TVs — like Roku — don’t have VPN apps you can install directly on the device itself. Instead, you’ll have to install the VPN on your router or the mobile hotspot you’re using (like your phone) so that any device on its Wi-Fi network now appears in the correct viewing location.
All of the VPN providers we recommend have helpful instructions on their main site for quickly installing the VPN on your router. In some cases with smart TV services, after you install a cable network’s sports app, you’ll be asked to verify a numeric code or click a link sent to your email address on file for your smart TV. This is where having a VPN on your router will also help, since both devices will appear to be in the correct location.
And remember, browsers can often give away a location despite using a VPN, so be sure you’re using a privacy-first browser to log into your services. We normally recommend Brave.
