As expected, LIV Golf has announced a multi-year rights agreement with The CW Network.
The deal marks the Saudi-backed golf league’s first U.S. TV and streaming deal. Previously, LIV Golf streamed tournaments to its website and YouTube.
- Starting with LIV’s 2023 season, CW will air all 14 global events live in the U.S. while also streaming the action to the CW app.
- LIV tournaments run three days (Friday-Saturday-Sunday) vs. the typical four-day tournament on the PGA Tour. Saturday-Sunday golf will air on CW, while Friday action will stream on the app.
- LIV’s TV announcers include Arlo White, David Fehert, and Jerry Foltz in the broadcast booth. Dom Boulet, Su-Ann Heng, and Troy Mullins serve as on-course and feature reporters.
LIV officials have long admitted their rebel league won’t really take off until it cracks the U.S. media market, where most of the available partners are already connected contractually to the PGA Tour.
Golf legend turned LIV chief executive officer Greg Norman called it a “momentous” step in LIV’s global challenge to the PGA Tour.
“The CW will provide accessibility for our fans, and maximum exposure for our athletes and partners as their reach includes more than 120 million households across the United States,” said Norman in a statement.
Making Sports Debut
For The CW, the deal marks the first time in the network’s 17-year history that it will be the exclusive broadcast home for live mainstream sports.
“Our partnership with LIV Golf marks a significant milestone in our goal to re-engineer the network with quality, diversified programming for our viewers, advertisers, and CW affiliates,” said president Dennis Miller.
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