LIV Golf Nears Deal with CW Network to Show Tournaments on US TV

LIV Golf is near a deal with the CW Network to air its tournaments on US TV, according to a person familiar with the matter, a move that would help the Saudi-backed league reach a wider audience in its second season.

(Bloomberg) — LIV Golf is near a deal with the CW Network to air its tournaments on US TV, according to a person familiar with the matter, a move that would help the Saudi-backed league reach a wider audience in its second season.

Nexstar Media Group Inc., the largest owner of TV stations in the US, acquired majority control of the CW from Warner Bros. Discovery Inc. and Paramount Global last year. Nexstar management has said they want to reprogram the network, dialing back on expensive scripted dramas and finding content more in tune with the network’s average viewer, who is 58 years old.

A LIV Golf spokesperson declined to comment. A Nexstar spokesperson did not respond to requests for comment.

LIV Golf, which debuted last year, has recruited some of the world’s best golfers, luring them away from the PGA Tour with large upfront payments and plunging the golf world into a nasty civil war. But its tournaments have so far not aired on US TV. Instead, they streamed on YouTube and on LIV Golf’s website, where the audience was smaller and less desirable to potential advertisers.

LIV Golf has said it plans to host 14 tournaments this year. The first one listed on its website begins Feb 24 in Mexico.

LIV Golf’s advanced talks with the CW Network were reported earlier Tuesday by Sports Illustrated, which said the initial deal would be a revenue-sharing agreement without a rights fee being paid.

LIV struggled to find a TV partner in part because the major US sports broadcasters such as CBS, NBC and ESPN all have long-term contracts with the PGA Tour, the top circuit for men’s golf.

The league has also attracted criticism for being backed by Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund, with detractors citing the country’s treatment of women and dissidents.

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