Fox President Shanks: U.S. Open Part Of Big Event Strategy

SI's Richard Deitsch sat down with Fox Sports President Eric Shanks to mostly talk about the possibility of Bill Simmons joining the Fox team.

But in his weekly media column, Deitsch includes Shanks' thoughts on picking up golf coverage. His words will be closely followed by those looking to Fox to bid on The Open or PGA Tour coverage should the tour opt out of its current deal with CBS and NBC.

Sure sounds like the The Open fits the Fox approach while PGA Tour golf does not. On the USGA's 12-year-deal:

“It wasn’t necessarily the start of a large golf strategy but we are big believers in broadcasting big event sports on broadcast TV,” Shanks said. “This is a big event that captures the attention for at least a week if not more. It’s a major sports championship where you get to crown a champion at the end of it, and that was the appeal. It fits well with our big-event strategy. It’s not about us getting us into 23 weeks of golf.”