The newest and most controversial golf tour is struggling mightily to gain traction on television networks. LIV Golf approached Fox and offered to pay for the airtime to broadcast the Tour’s inaugural golf tournament.
The Tour was not successful in getting the airtime on Fox. According to a New York Times report, the discussions never got far. LIV Golf reportedly spoke with most American broadcasters but did not “have substantive discussions about a media rights agreement with any” before they made the offer to Fox, according to U.S. Reps for LIV Golf.
In the absence of any significant television coverage, LIV Golf was streamed on DAZN, Facebook, YouTube and LIV Golf’s website. According to the report, live streaming of those rounds resulted in “limited viewership numbers”. The final round in London averaged 68,761 viewers on YouTube and fewer than 5,000 viewers on Facebook.
For a comparison, 812,000 viewers watched the final round of the PGA Tour RBC Canadian Open when it was on the Golf Channel. When the tournament switched over to CBS, the network averaged 2.78 million viewers.
One of the factors that could be in play includes known player participation. Most of the major names did not sign on until just before the inaugural event. That would make capturing a television deal highly improbable. Will that change now that we know nearly half of the PGA Tour’s Top Ten Player Impact Program will be involved in the new tour?
