LIV Tour Discussion Thread (*** NO POLITICS ***)

[idrive]

And speaking of worse...

 

TV Ratings for LIV Golf Plummeted Last Weekend (msn.com)

 

According to Sports Media Watch, the final round of the LIV Golf Las Vegas tournament on Saturday ranked 51st among sports programs. It attracted approximately 20,000 fewer viewers than the Kansas State-BYU basketball game.

 In contrast, the WM Phoenix Open was the third highest-rated sports TV show, while LIV Golf ranked 51st.

 

Rahm is not a needle mover, at least not here in the US.  What a waste of $600 million again proving there is simply very little interest outside of the few fans here. 

[CBarns92]

1 hour ago, idrive said:

And speaking of worse...

 

TV Ratings for LIV Golf Plummeted Last Weekend (msn.com)

 

According to Sports Media Watch, the final round of the LIV Golf Las Vegas tournament on Saturday ranked 51st among sports programs. It attracted approximately 20,000 fewer viewers than the Kansas State-BYU basketball game.

 In contrast, the WM Phoenix Open was the third highest-rated sports TV show, while LIV Golf ranked 51st.

 

Rahm is not a needle mover, at least not here in the US.  What a waste of $600 million again proving there is simply very little interest outside of the few fans here. 

 

Just feels properly crazy to me that this is the headline when their ratings increased compared to their 2nd event last year, and the tour's dropped by over a third... 

[notsohard]

1 hour ago, idrive said:

And speaking of worse...

 

TV Ratings for LIV Golf Plummeted Last Weekend (msn.com)

 

According to Sports Media Watch, the final round of the LIV Golf Las Vegas tournament on Saturday ranked 51st among sports programs. It attracted approximately 20,000 fewer viewers than the Kansas State-BYU basketball game.

 In contrast, the WM Phoenix Open was the third highest-rated sports TV show, while LIV Golf ranked 51st.

 

Rahm is not a needle mover, at least not here in the US.  What a waste of $600 million again proving there is simply very little interest outside of the few fans here. 

[bekgolf]

31 minutes ago, CBarns92 said:

 

Just feels properly crazy to me that this is the headline when their ratings increased compared to their 2nd event last year, and the tour's dropped by over a third... 

 

Cherry picking stats?

[Nic1972]

On 2/13/2024 at 5:07 AM, bcjim said:

He did get paid for his 3 wins,  right? And probably could have jumped to the pga tour, right?

 

At least he didn't trot out the hackneyed "want to spend more time with his family" bit.  Lol.

 

But it certainly sounds a bit "I'm taking my ball and going home!!"

Actually he did use the “want to spend more time with the family” argument:

 

The 2023 season made me feel that despite all of my successes, 287 days a year which I spent away from home is too many. The LIV schedule gives me more time with my loved ones and more space to work on every aspect of my game. 

 

This is from the Livgolf website.

 

[bcjim]

6 hours ago, CBarns92 said:

 

Just feels properly crazy to me that this is the headline when their ratings increased compared to their 2nd event last year, and the tour's dropped by over a third... 

The tour probably made more money from just beer in one weekend than liv has ever made period.

[freeze16172002]

6 hours ago, CBarns92 said:

 

Just feels properly crazy to me that this is the headline when their ratings increased compared to their 2nd event last year, and the tour's dropped by over a third... 

when did their ratings increase compared to ratings that were unavailable last year? last saturday 2/3 when they had a 168k viewers?

 

[freeze16172002]

13 hours ago, Holy Moses said:

LIV really needs the PGA Tour to rescue them. Why would anyone buy the teams when there doesn’t seem to be any hope of LIV ever making money?

are they really trying to sell teams? LIV is a financial disaster they have spent billions and they cant give it away for free. Just look at the lastest blunders Rahm and Hatton were horrible investments, LIV lost value adding them. They are taking players to bully the pot to hurt and force the PGAT into a deal, if that falls apart LIV has nothing but a league of devalued product

[heynow]

I would love to see an all lefty team!

[freeze16172002]

1 hour ago, heynow said:

I would love to see an all lefty team!

Yes and an all blonde hair team, 

[PhilsFanDrew]

12 hours ago, idrive said:

And speaking of worse...

 

TV Ratings for LIV Golf Plummeted Last Weekend (msn.com)

 

According to Sports Media Watch, the final round of the LIV Golf Las Vegas tournament on Saturday ranked 51st among sports programs. It attracted approximately 20,000 fewer viewers than the Kansas State-BYU basketball game.

 In contrast, the WM Phoenix Open was the third highest-rated sports TV show, while LIV Golf ranked 51st.

 

Rahm is not a needle mover, at least not here in the US.  What a waste of $600 million again proving there is simply very little interest outside of the few fans here. 

 

Rory could leave the PGAT and play in the next LIV event and it wouldn't make a difference in TV ratings.  It's not a matter of Rahm, DJ, Phil, Cam Smith, Brooks, Bryson, etc not being a needle movers.  It's a matter of golf viewership as a whole is declining and LIV being a relatively new venture that is broadcasting on a smaller network not known for sports that is in far less households than CBS and NBC.  

 

It's a false measurement of success or failure to compare LIV viewership to the PGAT.  It would be like declaring the UFL a failure when it doesn't rival the viewership numbers of NFL broadcasts.  

 

 

 

[Holy Moses]

2 hours ago, PhilsFanDrew said:

 

Rory could leave the PGAT and play in the next LIV event and it wouldn't make a difference in TV ratings.  It's not a matter of Rahm, DJ, Phil, Cam Smith, Brooks, Bryson, etc not being a needle movers.  It's a matter of golf viewership as a whole is declining and LIV being a relatively new venture that is broadcasting on a smaller network not known for sports that is in far less households than CBS and NBC.  

 

It's a false measurement of success or failure to compare LIV viewership to the PGAT.  It would be like declaring the UFL a failure when it doesn't rival the viewership numbers of NFL broadcasts.  

 

 

 

The CW Network is in just as many households as NBC and CBS. The problem is that LIV is paying a ton and getting almost no return after 3 years. And the losses are only getting much much worse. LIV isn’t uber or someone expecting venture capitalist type of returns. This is golf. The measurement of success according to MBS is using LIV to grow Saudi Arabis’s GDP through sport 1% year after year and I don’t see that happening anytime soon, at least not with LIV.

[cdnglf]

2 hours ago, PhilsFanDrew said:

 

Rory could leave the PGAT and play in the next LIV event and it wouldn't make a difference in TV ratings.  It's not a matter of Rahm, DJ, Phil, Cam Smith, Brooks, Bryson, etc not being a needle movers.  It's a matter of golf viewership as a whole is declining and LIV being a relatively new venture that is broadcasting on a smaller network not known for sports that is in far less households than CBS and NBC.  

 

It's a false measurement of success or failure to compare LIV viewership to the PGAT.  It would be like declaring the UFL a failure when it doesn't rival the viewership numbers of NFL broadcasts.  

 

 

 

 

Your analogy could use some work. 

There are dozens of players in the NFL who each make more than all the players in the UFL combined.

[BlackDiamondPar5]

3 hours ago, PhilsFanDrew said:

 

Rory could leave the PGAT and play in the next LIV event and it wouldn't make a difference in TV ratings.  It's not a matter of Rahm, DJ, Phil, Cam Smith, Brooks, Bryson, etc not being a needle movers.  It's a matter of golf viewership as a whole is declining and LIV being a relatively new venture that is broadcasting on a smaller network not known for sports that is in far less households than CBS and NBC.  

 

It's a false measurement of success or failure to compare LIV viewership to the PGAT.  It would be like declaring the UFL a failure when it doesn't rival the viewership numbers of NFL broadcasts.  

 

 

 

If golf fans are interested then they'd find it.

 

They currently chase pga coverage en mass around the internet, cable channels and network TV. Yet somehow they can't be inconvenienced to watch LIV via a single app, YouTube or cw? 

 

It has little to do with visibility & access and everything to do with the product. Simply put, the vast majority of golfers don't like LIV. 

[freeze16172002]

4 hours ago, PhilsFanDrew said:

 

Rory could leave the PGAT and play in the next LIV event and it wouldn't make a difference in TV ratings.  It's not a matter of Rahm, DJ, Phil, Cam Smith, Brooks, Bryson, etc not being a needle movers.  It's a matter of golf viewership as a whole is declining and LIV being a relatively new venture that is broadcasting on a smaller network not known for sports that is in far less households than CBS and NBC.  

 

It's a false measurement of success or failure to compare LIV viewership to the PGAT.  It would be like declaring the UFL a failure when it doesn't rival the viewership numbers of NFL broadcasts.  

 

 

 

how do you measure success? Not viewership? not being profitable? A sports league that loses billions with little to no interest in three years I would consider a failure. The UFL is a low cost league that's schedule doesnt compete with the NFL. 

[Barfolomew]

Everyone so quick to put their spin on what's a failure or not.... ratings and money..... is that all you got?

 

Think a cat cares about ratings and money when its playin with a mouse 🐁

[tacklingdummy]

I watched LIV Las Vegas. It was great tournament. No commercials, top players, and high quality golf. 

[Cactus Jack]

23 hours ago, idrive said:

And speaking of worse...

 

TV Ratings for LIV Golf Plummeted Last Weekend (msn.com)

 

According to Sports Media Watch, the final round of the LIV Golf Las Vegas tournament on Saturday ranked 51st among sports programs. It attracted approximately 20,000 fewer viewers than the Kansas State-BYU basketball game.

 In contrast, the WM Phoenix Open was the third highest-rated sports TV show, while LIV Golf ranked 51st.

 

Rahm is not a needle mover, at least not here in the US.  What a waste of $600 million again proving there is simply very little interest outside of the few fans here. 

 

It was a tough weekend for golf viewership. Nobody can compete with Mother Nature or the Super Bowl. Hopefully Tiger makes the cut this week. The biggest story on tour this year is arguably the negativity around the WM. Nobody remembers stuff like Nick Dunlap’s win. Not good. We need Tiger to move the needle. 
 

 

https://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/Articles/2024/02/14/audience-analysis-iowa-womens-basketball#:~:text=The WM Phoenix Open saw,half of the Super Bowl.

[st1800e]

On 2/10/2024 at 4:42 PM, Titleist99 said:

For those who still do not know how important Media rights are:

 

This is what Phil thought that the PGAT should hand right over.....

 

LIV Golf fails to land Friday TV partner in time for 2024 season (msn.com)

Here’s a shocking revelation from that “news” link:

 

“Rahm Concedes High Pay Played Part in Surprise LIV Golf Move”

 

SHMG.  

[idrive]

Very interesting read.

 

Tiger Woods Claims PGA Tour Doesn’t Require Saudi Funds, But Doesn’t Completely Reject Possibility of Future Agreement. (msn.com)

 

A couple of opinions:

 

-The framework agreement was all about ending the huge sums of money being spent (needlessly) in the courts.

-The pif/liv obviously want a lot more of the pie than what the PGAT is willing to give up, especially now that they have the new investors.

-As ugly as this is, it's just going to get worse with liv spending outrageous amounts of money poaching anyone who will take it. Players looking for the shortcut who are only interested in the money, don't care about the legacy of the game, or their name. (Hope I'm wrong about this one)

 

What I'm sure about is regardless of how many players liv poaches there are a ton of very talented players standing in line to take their place and will only be a matter of time before we have a new generation of outstanding players that will be recognized in a short time.

 

 

 

.

 

 

 

 

Edited February 15 by idrive
sp

[drbonesvt]

On 2/13/2024 at 4:44 PM, Holy Moses said:

LIV really needs the PGA Tour to rescue them. Why would anyone buy the teams when there doesn’t seem to be any hope of LIV ever making money?

Florida swamp land is always appealing to someone ….

[drbonesvt]

 Costco driver grows the game more than LIV ever will…..

[aus10KC]

Alan Shipnuck dropped a nugget about contract renegotiations. Apparently a top player isn't afraid to walk if Yasir gets stingy. Not sure how much leverage they have, depends on how the PGAT handles things on their end. 

[ahenderX]

6 hours ago, idrive said:

Very interesting read.

 

Tiger Woods Claims PGA Tour Doesn’t Require Saudi Funds, But Doesn’t Completely Reject Possibility of Future Agreement. (msn.com)

 

A couple of opinions:

 

-The framework agreement was all about ending the huge sums of money being spent (needlessly) in the courts.

-The pif/liv obviously want a lot more of the pie than what the PGAT is willing to give up, especially now that they have the new investors.

-As ugly as this is, it's just going to get worse with liv spending outrageous amounts of money poaching anyone who will take it. Players looking for the shortcut who are only interested in the money, don't care about the legacy of the game, or their name. (Hope I'm wrong about this one)

 

What I'm sure about is regardless of how many players liv poaches there are a ton of very talented players standing in line to take their place and will only be a matter of time before we have a new generation of outstanding players that will be recognized in a short time.

 

 

 

.

 

 

 

 

From Golf Monthly: Arthur Blank, a partner in SSG, stated he was not worried about LIV. The inference is he’s not worried about LIV’s continued poaching of Tour players. He was very positive on the Tour’s future.

[Golferpaul]

3 hours ago, drbonesvt said:

Florida swamp land is always appealing to someone ….

Especially alligators.

[leezer99]

2 hours ago, aus10KC said:

Alan Shipnuck dropped a nugget about contract renegotiations. Apparently a top player isn't afraid to walk if Yasir gets stingy. Not sure how much leverage they have, depends on how the PGAT handles things on their end. 

 

Exactly! All those early guys that made 8 to 9 figures are going to want a raise during their next contract negotiations. The waiting game only helps the PGAT. 

[Holy Moses]

2 hours ago, ahenderX said:

From Golf Monthly: Arthur Blank, a partner in SSG, stated he was not worried about LIV. The inference is he’s not worried about LIV’s continued poaching of Tour players. He was very positive on the Tour’s future.

Arthur Blank isn’t going to say anything negative about his investment 

[Holy Moses]

4 hours ago, aus10KC said:

Alan Shipnuck dropped a nugget about contract renegotiations. Apparently a top player isn't afraid to walk if Yasir gets stingy. Not sure how much leverage they have, depends on how the PGAT handles things on their end. 

Sounds like this top player (Brooks?) is really happy with LIV

[pingbling23]

4 hours ago, aus10KC said:

Alan Shipnuck dropped a nugget about contract renegotiations. Apparently a top player isn't afraid to walk if Yasir gets stingy. Not sure how much leverage they have, depends on how the PGAT handles things on their end. 

As they should.  Players deserve the freedom to play where they want.

[bcjim]

3 hours ago, leezer99 said:

 

Exactly! All those early guys that made 8 to 9 figures are going to want a raise during their next contract negotiations. The waiting game only helps the PGAT. 

Wonder if they'll now say they're sick of their familes and need some space.