LIV Golf Has Marquee Names and Giant Purses. So Why No TV Deal?

For the Saudi-backed upstart LIV Golf tour, the technique for luring prime golfers like Phil Mickelson and Dustin Johnson away from the status and stability of the PGA Tour was easy: Supply money, and many it.

The arrival of the brand new tour and the defection of PGA Tour stars have been main disruptions in what has been a steady and even staid sport. However when the primary LIV occasion was lastly held outdoors London final weekend after months of anticipation, it was not proven on tv in the USA. And it’s unlikely that any American community will probably be broadcasting LIV occasions anytime quickly.

The rationale boils all the way down to this: The networks are comfortable airing the PGA Tour.

“We’re positioned as the house of golf on this nation,” mentioned Pete Bevacqua, the chairman of the NBC Sports activities, which exhibits by far probably the most golf in the USA. “We aren’t solely glad the place we’re, however unbelievably happy the place we’re.”

Some golfers couldn’t resist the pull of the brand new tour, whose occasions are shorter than the PGA Tour’s (three days as an alternative of 4) and supply big payouts, with particular person winners receiving $4 million and the members of successful groups sharing $3 million, way over most PGA Tour occasions. Even last-place finishers get $120,000; PGA Tour gamers who don’t make the reduce after two rounds get nothing.

However the LIV tour obtained nowhere with those that may need aired its occasions in the USA. Representatives for LIV Golf spoke with most American broadcasters, however didn’t have substantive discussions a couple of media rights settlement with any of them, in accordance with individuals acquainted with these discussions. LIV broached the thought of shopping for time to point out the London event on Fox — an inversion of the conventional enterprise relationship, the place the media firm pays the sports activities group to point out its occasion — however discussions didn’t go far.

In the long run, the London event was not on American broadcast TV or standard sports activities streaming platforms corresponding to Peacock and ESPN+. As a substitute, golf followers might watch it on the streaming service DAZN, YouTube, Fb or LIV Golf’s web site, with out commercials.

Restricted viewership numbers counsel not a lot of them did. The ultimate spherical of the London occasion attracted a mean of 68,761 viewers on YouTube and fewer than 5,000 on Fb, in accordance with Apex Advertising, a sports activities and leisure analytics agency. On the identical weekend, 812,000 viewers watched the ultimate spherical of the PGA Tour’s Canadian Open on Golf Channel, and a couple of.78 million watched when protection converted to CBS.

The absence of a media rights settlement would usually threaten the survival of a brand new sports activities league. However LIV Golf will not be a business entity with a revenue crucial. It’s bankrolled by Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund and half of a bigger effort by the dominion to enhance its picture all over the world. Gamers who’ve joined the LIV tour have been accused of helping to “sportswash” Saudi Arabia’s file of human rights abuses, together with the killing of the journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

LIV didn’t reply to a request for remark.

However NBC and different broadcast networks have a protracted listing of causes aside from reputational injury to avoid the brand new enterprise.

LIV’s essential barrier to entry in the USA is that the majority main media firms are deeply invested within the success of its competitor, the PGA Tour. NBC, CBS and ESPN are collectively within the first yr of a nine-year, $6 billion-plus settlement to point out the PGA Tour in the USA, whereas Warner Bros. Discovery (which owns TNT and TBS) is paying the PGA Tour $2 billion to point out the tour worldwide.

The media firms aren’t contractually restricted from displaying LIV, in accordance with the individuals acquainted with the offers, who spoke on situation of anonymity to debate personal agreements. However they consider that doing so would draw consideration away from the tour on which they’re spending billions.

Fox, which has a historical past of risk-taking in sports activities (it’s presently investing in spring soccer), would possibly appear to be an excellent candidate to crew up with LIV, however Fox doesn’t televise any golf, and that’s by design. The community had the rights to broadcast the U.S. Open via 2026, however paid cash to surrender these rights to NBC.

Even when networks needed to take an opportunity on LIV Golf, the logistical challenges could be important. Golf monopolizes total weekends all year long and is costlier to supply than arena- and stadium-based sports activities. (Golf presents a very troublesome hurdle for Fox, which not often places sports activities on its streaming service, Tubi, that means it’s troublesome to point out golf when schedules collide.)

LIV Golf additionally didn’t have any stars on board till lately, and it isn’t clear whether or not it should entice sufficient prime golfers to make its occasions engaging to followers. Questions in regards to the tour’s backing have been uncomfortable for many who have joined.

“I might ask any participant who has left or any participant who would ever think about leaving, ‘Have you ever ever needed to apologize for being a member of the PGA Tour?’” Jay Monahan, the commissioner of the PGA Tour, mentioned in a televised interview Sunday.

Gamers who’ve signed contracts with LIV have been booted from the PGA Tour, although that might quickly turn out to be the topic of litigation. Gamers have additionally been dropped by sponsors, both due to the affiliation with Saudi Arabia or as a result of firms don’t need to help golfers competing on a tour few are watching.

Nonetheless, a lot of these concerned within the PGA Tour media deal acknowledged that curiosity within the PGA Tour would lower if LIV lured away extra prime golfers. They consider the PGA Tour’s attraction lies on this planet’s finest golfers competing in opposition to each other each weekend, and LIV is instantly threatening that.

LIV’s future might rely partly on whether or not LIV gamers are allowed to play within the 4 main golf tournaments — none of which is run by the PGA Tour. Augusta Nationwide Golf Membership hosts the Masters; the USA Golf Affiliation levels the U.S. Open; the Skilled Golfers Affiliation of America runs the P.G.A. Championship; and the R & A places on the British Open.

If allowed to compete in majors, LIV golfers might earn big paydays on the less-taxing LIV tour whereas persevering with to play within the legacy-defining occasions in entrance of tens of millions of followers.

“Majors are extraordinarily essential to skilled golfers, and they are going to be a key variable whether or not that is profitable or not,” mentioned David Levy, a former president of Turner Sports activities who created the Match, a high-stakes golf exhibition.

This yr’s third main, the U.S. Open, is on the Nation Membership in Brookline, Mass., this weekend, and LIV golfers are current. The united statesG.A., which organizes the event, mentioned in a carefully worded statement final week that any golfer who had certified could be allowed to compete. However the united statesG.A. famous that its choice “shouldn’t be construed as the united statesG.A. supporting another organizing entity,” and on Wednesday, the group’s chief govt, Mike Whan, mentioned that he might foresee a day when gamers have been denied entry to the U.S. Open primarily based on which tour they got here from.

The opposite majors haven’t mentioned whether or not they are going to bar LIV golfers from their occasions. Nor have these tournaments mentioned whether or not they are going to proceed to increase lifetime invites to gamers who’ve gained them. (Mickelson has exemptions from the Masters and P.G.A. Championship for all times, as an example.) Selections are anticipated this fall and winter as plans are solidified for tournaments in 2023.

A generally neglected golf physique, the Official World Golf Rating, can be anticipated to have affect. The group bestows rating factors on golfers primarily based on their efficiency, and tournaments use these rankings to find out eligibility. At present, LIV golfers don’t obtain rating factors, that means they are going to inevitably fall on this planet rankings and lose their eligibility to compete within the majors.

LIV has mentioned it should submit an utility to have its occasions ranked. That utility will probably be thought of by the governing board of the Official World Golf Rating, whose chairman is Peter Dawson, an English former skilled golfer. The board additionally consists of representatives from every of the 4 majors, together with the PGA Tour, the European Tour and the Worldwide Federation of PGA Excursions, an umbrella group {of professional} golf excursions.

Whereas the PGA Tour will nearly definitely vote in opposition to LIV’s utility, it’s much less sure how the opposite excursions will vote. And even when additionally they vote no, if representatives from the 4 majors all vote to permit LIV’s golfers to accrue rating factors — and subsequently sign they’re snug with LIV golfers competing of their occasions — LIV Golf would possibly simply reach attracting extra golfers.