Liv Golf, funded through Saudi Arabia, on Tuesday denied a report that it closed a deal with U. S. television in which it would buy time to be broadcast on FS1.
Golfweek cited several resources it identified when it said the deal is still being finalized.
This would be contrary to what Greg Norman, executive director and commissioner of LIV Golf, told a Chicapass radio station two weeks ago when he said, “We reached out to 4 other networks and conversations where donations are put on the table. They can see what they are calling
LIV Golf issued a report that the report was “incomplete and inaccurate” and that it was ahead of its inaugural year, adding slots such as broadcast rights.
“As stated in the past, LIV Golf is just beginning its process and is in active discussions with various corporations about broadcasting the LIV Golf League,” he said. “We warn that no one deserves to draw conclusions about possible media rights given that we are still in the middle of negotiations with various media outlets. “
Fox Sports declined to comment.
Networks pay a fee to broadcast a sport. The PGA Tour, for example, this year introduced an expanded media rights deal to air its tournaments on CBS, NBC, Golf Channel and ESPN. The nine-year deal is worth about $7 billion.
In this case, LIV Golf would pay for the time slot and take over production and any sales advertising. In some time-buying cases, the agreement includes some promotional spaces to tell the audience when it will be broadcast.
But any deal, even a timely purchase, would give LIV Golf what it desperately wants: a TV audience on a U. S. linear channel. The U. S. and tournament awards $25 million in prizes. It has no visual corporate support.
Getting the mainstream networks seemed like a big blow because of its existing deals with the PGA Tour and the animosity between rival tours, as well as the source of the deep wallet of LIV Golf, Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund, which sparked protests against some of the tournaments held in the United States over the summer.
The Wall Street Journal recently reported that Apple and Amazon were interested.
LIV Golf only broadcasts on its YouTube channel, Facebook and website, and the audience number is modest.
The series is played next month in Thailand and Saudi Arabia before wrapping up its inaugural season near Miami for a $50 million tag team championship. The 54-hole event came to an end on Sunday.
It was unclear whether a televised deal would begin in Miami oct. 28-30 or wait until 2023, when LIV Golf announced it would have a full schedule. The 2023 calendar is expected to be published until November.
If the time saving is with FS1, there may only be disorders with September and October when the cable network has a normal Saturday school football regime.
Golfweek reported that LIV sought payment for the current year of any deal and a guaranteed time slot, but Fox was not interested.
LIV Golf was unveiled in early June and now boasts 12 of the 50 most sensible players in the world rankings, joining Dustin Johnson, Bryson DeChambeau, Brooks Koepka, Phil Mickelson and Cameron Smith, who officially joined LIV Golf a month after winning the British Open.
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