"The British Open will be an all-cable major beginning in 2010"

From Thomas Bonk's LATimes.com column, reporting on the 2008 British Open television ratings:

The overnight ratings for ABC's final round coverage Sunday fell 14.6%, from a 4.1 to a 3.5.

And this is surprising, particularly the dollar amount, which sounds awfully high.

The British Open will be an all-cable major beginning in 2010 and be carried only on ESPN, ending a 50-year association with ABC, according to SportsBusiness Journal. The seven-year deal is not yet finalized but reported to be around $25 million a year.