LIV Golf finally on the verge of a TV Deal

[Stewart Abramson]

"The CW switched off LIV Golf's big Sunday finish, and the list of TV programs it aired instead is something else"

The end of the LIV event last weekend was not shown on most CW stations. It got cut off with three players tied.

Link to full GD article:  https://www.golfdigest.com/story/the-cw-switched-off-liv-golf-big-sunday-finish-incredible-list-tv-programs-seen-instead?utm_medium=email&utm_source=051523&utm_campaign=hitlist&utm_content=DM39805&uuid=1d03aae94c80473c9b8d48ff7843e70a


Excerpts:

...if you hoped to catch Dustin Johnson battling Cameron Smith (and Branden Grace) in extra holes, you were treated to a different dynamic duo: Penn & Teller. Yep, the CW pulled a magic trick of its own, making the final few holes of the tournament disappear off TV screens around the country. Abracadabra!...It happened all around the country due in part to LIV's TV deal with CW, which began this year. Unlike a traditional deal in which the network pays for the broadcast rights (and assumes production costs), LIV pays for all those costs and in return gets a split of ads. ... LIV Golf events are then shown in windows of coverage on CW affiliates across the country, but the affiliates (apparently) are not obligated to show any golf outside of those times. So when a two-hour weather delay during the final round caused a late finish that dragged past the expected 6 p.m. EDT sign-off, many affiliates across the country made the decision to return to their already scheduled programming. Given LIV's meager TV ratings from its first few events in 2023, perhaps a Penn & Teller special made more sense for these affiliates to show. Ouch.

[Tim Leahy]

Actually stumbled on LIV coverage while looking for AAA baseball game covered on same station and it was unwatchable even if I would have wanted to. Garbled music in the background, colored graphics over half the screen and pros wearing shorts with blinding white legs.

[Mike_Young]

Does anyone think there is even one 12 year old junior star out there on the junior circuit dreaming of being on the LIV Tour?

[Wayne_Kozun]

LIV  is gaining zero traction for the action on the course.  It generates a lot of press on the business and controversy aspect of the LIV vs PGA Tour rivalry, but if the Saudis want to use LIV for sportswashing then don't people have to give a shit about the sports product?

[Daryl David]

Does anyone think there is even one 12 year old junior star out there on the junior circuit dreaming of being on the LIV Tour?

Only if the junior is unusually financially astute for a 12 year old.

[Tim Leahy]

Does anyone think there is even one 12 year old junior star out there on the junior circuit dreaming of being on the LIV Tour?

Only if the junior is unusually financially astute for a 12 year old.

There's no age limitations on NIL, right?

[Joe_Tucholski]

Does anyone think there is even one 12 year old junior star out there on the junior circuit dreaming of being on the LIV Tour?

Only if the junior is unusually financially astute for a 12 year old.

Saw a video with Bento Assis.  Kid is 12 years old, 4x US Kids World Champion (62 in the final round when he was 10 years old).  He goes to a golf academy and putts 90 minutes a day on his own.  He was asked LIV or PGA and he said he likes PGA tour better but if he got offered the amount of money, he'd accept it" and go to LIV.

Kids aren't that different from adults.

[Rob Marshall]

Im going to the PGA 3 days this week. It will be interesting to see how the LIV players get treated. This isn’t the Masters where everyone is afraid to lose their badge.

[Ben Hollerbach]

Interestingly, since the Masters I've watched about 6 hours of golf coverage, all of it has been LIV. Once a watcher who spend nearly every Saturday and Sunday afternoon glued to the PGA Tour, today I can't find the ROI in watching that much of a regular tour event. So my watching has been limited to the majors only, catching up on regular PGA tour events through highlights.

While the style of the LIV broadcast is a bit in your face, they do show a lot of golf quickly, its easy to check in, watch a whole lot of shots in a quick period of time, and then move on to something else in my day. Having players all over the course at the same time, it seems like that within an hour they've shown play on all 18 holes, and I can get a feel of how the course is playing. It's not an investment to watch the coverage like the PGA tour can be at times.

Is the music a bit strange? Yes, but that what the mute button is for.

Are the graphics intrusive? Absolutely not. In many ways this is the one area the LIV broadcast is far better at than the PGA tour, the leaderboard is a fixture to the left side of the screen, the shot tracer is common on a large majority of shots, and beyond that they overlay virtually nothing else on the screen. It actually feels more optimized and less intrusive than the common PGA tour broadcast.

I can understand that LIV isn't for everyone, I can understand those who hate LIV on principle and don't want to give it a chance. For those who do turn it on for a period of time,  LIV is not a product that is completely void of merit and its certainly not unwatchable.

[Jake McCarty]

Im going to the PGA 3 days this week. It will be interesting to see how the LIV players get treated. This isn’t the Masters where everyone is afraid to lose their badge.

Could care less about the drama and have friends on both tours. I stay away from nasty types of people in life who like to kvetch and complain and grouse anyways.


I'll be at the PGA too, rooting for my buddy JJ. It'll be a blast, look for lotsa people with Red Feather hats... we were like a cult at the AT&T last week.