LIV Golf ‘is on the verge of finally agreeing a TV deal with CW Network’
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LIV Golf will reportedly announce a partnership with the CW Network, America’s fifth-largest commercial television outlet, to broadcast its 14 league events this year, following failed attempts to reach deals with Fox Sports, ESPN , NBC, CBS, ESPN, Apple and Amazon.
The CW Network, which is known for its syndicated programming, does not have a rich history of broadcasting competitive sporting events other than WWE SmackDown between 2006 and 2008 after the UPN and WB merger.
The over-the-air cable network’s deal with LIV would deal a major coup for the Saudi-backed golf tour, headed by CEO and Australian golf legend Greg Norman, as it would air in more than 220 local markets in the USA
LIV Golf is about to agree to broadcast all 14 of its events live in the US with the CW Network
Greg Norman, CEO of LIV, has been trying to reach a deal with an American broadcaster since 2021
The CW Network has no history of showing live sporting events other than WWE Smackdown
Former PGA and European Tour golfer David Feherty, who left NBC Sports to join the broadcast team at LIV Golf in July, hinted that a deal had been struck with the CW Network on a comedy show in West Palm Beach. , Florida, last week. .
Have you heard of CW? she said, according to The Palm Beach Post. ‘I might get fired for this, but…’
Neither LIV Golf nor the CW Network have confirmed the deal.
An unnamed source said Sports Illustrated that the nature of any deal would involve revenue sharing between LIV and the CW Network without an upfront rights fee being paid, the opposite of Fox Sports’ stance on agreeing to have tour events shown on its FS1 channels and FS2.
Former PGA Tour golfer David Feherty hinted at a deal between the two parties last week in Florida.
LIV Golf had a wild card at Donald Trump’s golf course in Bedminster, New Jersey last year
LIV Golf, which has streamed its events live for free on its official website as well as Facebook and YouTube, has struggled to gain an audience since its founding in 2021.
His renowned tour will begin on February 24 at the El Camaleon Mayakoba golf course in Playa del Carmen, Mexico, although no announcement has been made about its 48 participants. Their full schedule of 14 events has yet to be made official. Last year, the tour hosted a tournament at former US President Donald Trump’s golf course in Bedminster, New Jersey.
Earlier this month, several reports indicated that LIV came close to offering live TV rights to UK broadcasters for free amid desperation by top executives, including Norman, to find a traditional broadcast partner.
Sportsmail has learned that a new round of negotiations with Sky Sports, BT Sport and DAZN failed to reach an agreement over the winter break period, shortly after LIV failed to convince major US broadcasters. to take on the second season of the Saudi-funded rebel tour. .
DAZN only showed tour events outside of major markets, including Germany, Italy, Spain, and Japan.
Loyalty is the main reason behind the refusal of the world’s most-watched channels to participate in the PIF-backed tour, as they are closely aligned with LIV’s arch-enemy, the PGA Tour.
Golfweek Magazine reported last year that LIV came close to reaching an agreement with US network Fox Sports over the purchase of airtime, six years after the network parted ways with Greg Norman.
Despite Jared Kushner’s effort to broker a deal between the two parties, no deal had been reached by the end of 2022.
Jared Kushner tried to broker a deal with some of America’s biggest sports networks for LIV
Western media and golf commentators have repeatedly criticized the Saudi-backed LIV Golf tour for its corruption and human rights abuses and for its efforts to enhance its global reputation image through the sport.
Last year, in August, Feherty admitted in an interview with the Toledo sheetthat the main reason behind his switch from NBC Sports to LIV was money, despite being an employee of the US television network for seven years.
“I heard, ‘Well, it grows the game.’ Bulls***,” said the 64-year-old Northern Irishman. They paid me a lot of money.
He also hinted at a new challenge after ‘covering all the majors’, as well as the Winter and Summer Olympics.
‘It was an opportunity to be a principal analyst. And more than anything, being me,” she added. ‘To be myself. Maybe have that edginess, but push the irreverent envelope a bit. The shackles are off. I felt a bit limited towards the end. [at NBC] and at the end of my tenure at CBS as well. I loved everything and was incredibly lucky.
LIV Golf convinced other big names to join its roster, including current pros Cameron Smith, Bryson DeChambeau, Dustin Johnson, and Brooks Koepka, among others.
The tour is also embroiled in a legal battle with the PGA Tour for interfering with their player contracts.
The Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund and Yasir Al-Rumayyan, governor of the fund that finances LIV Golf, were named in the lawsuit in October.