LIV Golf could be on its way to Fox, after leaving The CW behind
LIV Golf could be on its way to Fox, after leaving The CW behind
The controversial golf league could begin airing tournaments on Fox or FS1 this year, according to a new report.
LIV Golf could be on the move. The golf league, which has attracted controversy ever since its inception thanks to funding from the Saudi Public Investment Fund, no longer has a broadcasting deal in place with The CW, and is looking for a new partner. Sports Business Journal reports the league has had “high level discussions” with Fox executives about moving to that channel in 2025.
Key Details:
- LIV Golf tournaments could air on Fox or FS1 in a new agreement.
- The 2025 LIV season is expected to wrap up in August, in time for Fox to shift its efforts to college football.
- A move to Fox could help LIV grow ratings substantially.
The LIV had been airing its tournaments on The CW, thanks to a two-year deal first agreed to in 2023. That deal expired following the end of the 2024 season, but a third-year option built into the agreement was not picked up.
That means LIV is now a free agent, but high-level discussions with Fox could indicate that state of affairs won’t last much longer. It’s not yet clear if LIV Golf tournaments would air on Fox or its cable sports sibling FS1, or a mix of both channels.
One of the drawbacks of going with Fox is its lack of a streaming option. LIV has its own partner service in [LIV+], and in 2024 offered the first rounds of events on YouTube free. The golf tournament’s chief media officer Will Staeger called streaming a “critical part of the future” for LIV earlier this year, but perhaps it’s comfortable enough with its own streaming efforts that it doesn’t need a TV partner with a streamer.
There’s no doubting Fox could use live golf in its sports inventory. ABC, CBS, and NBC all have ties to at least some PGA Tour events, leaving Fox as the only major broadcast outlet without anything in the way of live golf. SBJ also reports that the 2024 LIV season is looking to wrap up around August, so as to give Fox time to transition to college football broadcasts. In 2024, the LIV season ended in September.
Ratings could jump substantially for LIV if it moved to Fox. Its presence on The CW made it available in 120 million homes, but the final round of a tournament in August only drew 165,000 viewers. A merger with the PGA could also help LIV boost its viewership, but despite such a transaction being announced in June 2023, there has been essentially no public movement on a combination since.
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