The 2024 season for LIV Golf will end soon, and so will its broadcast deal. The PIF-backed league and the CW joined hands in 2023 after the league streamed its first season on YouTube. The deal was said to be multi-year but the rumors have it that it will soon be over. At this time, LIV Golf has been searching for its next big partner for linear TV broadcast, but Phil Mickelson begs to differ on that front. On the occasion of LIV Golf Chicago, Lefty was present at the press conference, where he briefly discussed the TV network and LIV Golf.
According to the 6-time major champion, unlike the PGA Tour, the Saudi-backed circuit doesn’t need the traditional network for broadcast. He said, “I just know that the old-school model is not where LIV Golf is headed. It’s not where the future is going, and we don’t want to get stuck in a rut.” However, Mickelson’s opinion on LIV Golf moving forward with a TV network is way different than what the circuit itself has been planning.
As per John Ourand of Puck News’s newsletter, the Greg Norman-led circuit has been negotiating to extend the existing deal with The CW Network. And on the offsite, the Saudi-backed company has been talking with Warner Bros. Discovery. Although it has all been just talk, nothing serious has come out of it. It implies that LIV Golf still sees the linear broadcasting network as a way to gain an audience and expand in the golf community, inadvertently contradicting and ignoring Mickelson’s statements.
via Getty
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Only if they get more stars
And even if the league does have plans to have more streaming-friendly events, it may take a few years until that deal is closed. In February, LIV Golf onboarded Caffeine TV as its streaming partner; however, the firm shut down soon after, leaving the league astray. So, now the breakaway circuit will look for a TV network rather than what Mickelson wanted. But how does it comply with Bryson DeChambeau’s thoughts?
What did Bryson DeChambeau want LIV Golf to do?
Since LIV Golf started broadcasting its event on the CW Network, its TV ratings have been abysmal. The highest the league could garner was 432k viewers during LIV Golf Mayakoba’s Sunday. But for almost all events, LIV Golf has fewer than 200k fans turning in. Even on Saturday and Sunday of LIV Golf Greenbrier, the count was 136k and 165k on The CW Network, respectively.
Thus, LIV Golf needs a better broadcasting partner to entice the audience and push them to watch LIV Golf events. In a Q&A session with Golf Magazine, Bryson DeChambeau was asked about the importance of LIV Golf finding a TV network, and unlike Phil Mickelson, he was in its favor. He said, “I think it’s important, but they don’t really listen to me on that.”
But this time, the PIF-backed league has heard the 2-time US Open winner’s suggestion, and they are heading in the direction of finding a linear TV network to host LIV Golf events in America and also internationally. But LIV Golf does not need to hurry because, even though the season will end in two events, it will have five more months to close a deal with either CW or a bigger TV network. With time, it will be seen if things will fall in LIV Golf’s favor.
