Regardless of the latest additions of Jon Rahm and Tyrrell Hatton, LIV Golf continues to be struggling to draw viewers.
Final Saturday, the ultimate spherical of LIV Las Vegas drew 297,000 viewers on the CW. The telecast completed 51st for all sports activities packages that day, on par with the Golf Central pregame present upfront of PGA Tour protection.
The PGA Tour viewers for the third spherical of the Waste Administration Phoenix Open was practically six occasions the scale, coming in at 1.7 million viewers and rating No. 3 in sports activities programming for the day. And people have been really the worst third-round rankings for the occasion in additional than a decade, coming in 32 % decrease than the earlier 12 months (2.54M).
Two weeks in the past, LIV’s Mayakoba event received a major break when the ultimate spherical of the PGA Tour’s AT&T Pebble Seashore Professional-Am wasn’t performed as a result of climate. LIV produced a report 432,000 viewers—however a CBS Sunday re-air of the third spherical from Pebble Seashore introduced in thrice that viewers.
Even when factoring within the inherent benefit of the PGA Tour being on community tv, it’s fairly clear that the viewers is resonating extra with the legacy product.
The viewers can also be resonating with all kinds of different golf merchandise. Contemplate that the Good Good Desert Open—a par-3 event with influencers—had practically 100,000 dwell viewers on YouTube final week. A day later, LIV’s first-round protection was accessible on YouTube and had about one-fifth the viewers (the Good Good Desert Open has a couple of million views whole as of this writing).
PGA Tour rankings, whereas nonetheless small in comparison with different main sports activities, have held regular in recent times. The tour’s ESPN+ streaming product has made golf the most-watched sport on the platform from January-August the previous two years.
LIV has a streaming story to inform additionally, however the YouTube numbers we see present that only a few individuals are watching.
Level clean: LIV has not proven any significant progress in attracting viewers, an issue that has left the circuit with no broadcast associate for early event protection.
Trying to find a Second TV Accomplice
With out actual fan curiosity, LIV’s long-term viability is proscribed.
LIV has confirmed it has no downside spending cash, they usually can proceed to throw money at prime gamers to get them concerned. However till followers begin to watch constantly, it is going to be exhausting to discover a TV deal that generates income. And till the league generates actual TV income, it gained’t be a functioning enterprise past the bottomless pit of money the Saudi Arabia Public Funding Fund spends on it.
LIV has a revenue-sharing cope with the CW, which broadcasts the ultimate two rounds of every occasion. The primary spherical, nonetheless, is just aired on YouTube and the CW app—that means there isn’t any TV income coming in for 33 % of the golf proven.
Officers at LIV have publicly said they’re on the lookout for a second broadcast associate, however we haven’t heard any information up to now.
Final 12 months, LIV made about $3 million in TV income. The PGA Tour remodeled $500 million.
There’s one other 12 months remaining on the CW contract, and it stays unsure the place LIV goes from right here. Potential unity with the PGA Tour is possible, which might change the dynamic utterly.
However for now, the largest motive to be skeptical about LIV as a standalone product is that there isn’t any juice with the product.
Why Aren’t Individuals Watching
It’s an inexact science to determine why extra individuals aren’t watching LIV—however there are a handful of potential solutions.
The primary is familiarity. The PGA Tour has historic venues and tournaments with storied legacies. Golf followers are used to watching a course like Riviera, host of this week’s Genesis Invitational. They know each gap. They know why the course is so revered. There’s lots of context constructed into why successful there issues.
We should wait to see if the PGA Tour takes any rankings hit from gamers like Rahm and Hatton leaving. It very properly might, particularly at a marquee occasion just like the Gamers Championship the place so many prime LIV gamers aren’t competing.
However there isn’t any doubt that a lot of the PGA Tour’s infrastructure will preserve it afloat within the short-term, barring a mass exodus of gamers.
On the LIV facet, followers don’t appear to be figuring out with the format. One widespread criticism is that there aren’t any stakes in a event the place the wealthy battle the wealthy for particular person and group titles, the golfers belonging to arbitrary groups. There are additionally only a few, if any, notable programs that get individuals excited.
For probably the most half, gamers didn’t earn their approach onto the tour and may’t earn their approach off the tour. There aren’t any main invites at stake or Ryder Cup factors in play, for now. And whereas LIV has stolen a number of of probably the most attention-grabbing personalities golf has to supply, solely two of the highest 20 gamers within the Information Golf rankings are from LIV.
Wrapped into all the above is that the golf appears considerably much less critical whereas additionally not being noticeably completely different from the PGA Tour. It doesn’t veer exhausting into actual drama or the absurd, leaving it caught someplace within the center.
The published itself has lots of positives—it’s fast-paced, reveals a ton of golf pictures, contains attention-grabbing graphics, has limited commercial interruption for apparent causes and is scheduled to incorporate a feature where every shot can be seen live—however some have famous that they don’t like listening to incessant background music coming from on-course hospitality.
It’s additionally value declaring that some viewers gained’t even give it an opportunity due to the controversial supply of funding.
The Highway Forward
The following two LIV occasions are unlikely to see any rankings enhance.
The occasions might be in Saudi Arabia and Hong Kong subsequent month, a lot of the golf coming whereas Individuals are sleeping.
Maybe a surprise addition will stir some interest, but it surely’s exhausting to think about these rankings getting higher. That is particularly the case as a result of LIV has scheduled a number of of their occasions similtaneously the PGA Tour’s finest tournaments.
LIV Hong Kong goes up in opposition to the Arnold Palmer Invitational. LIV Houston will face the Memorial Match. LIV Nashville counters the Vacationers Championship. LIV Andalucia is on similtaneously the Genesis Scottish Open. And LIV Greenbrier is competing in opposition to the FedEx St. Jude.
One of the best golfers on the planet might be on the PGA Tour these weeks.
In case you are a LIV fan on the lookout for positives, the Australia cease is developing in April and might be performed throughout the Zurich Basic, which is likely one of the PGA Tour’s worst occasions. Australia was an enormous success a 12 months in the past, particularly in particular person. The July occasion in Spain might additionally draw giant crowds.
However in the interim, the numbers say golf followers should not flocking to LIV.
