PGA Tour dominates LIV Golf in ratings as rebel tour's rocky start continues
LIV Golf continues to struggle in ratings, especially when compared to the PGA Tour. Their new season, which is the first one they've had with an official TV deal, has not gotten off to the start they had hoped for.
Despite signing with the CW and no longer being forced to only stream on YouTube, no one is really watching LIV these days.
Estimated golf viewership from the weekend, per a source:
LIV Mayakoba: Saturday 286K, Sunday 291K
PGA Tour: Saturday 1.61M, Sunday 2.38M
Per Josh Carpenter, the rebel league had incredibly poor numbers:
"Estimated golf viewership from the weekend, per a source- LIV Mayakoba: Saturday 286K, Sunday 291K; PGA Tour: Saturday 1.61M, Sunday 2.38M."
Taking it a step further, the overall ratings do not look good as well. This was supposed to be the saving grace for LIV, but it looks as if this will be a huge flop.
Official ratings are in. This is US viewership for LIV on CW and Honda on NBC. People can make the argument about international audiences, streaming #’s etc but we all know US is the biggest market. It’s why LIV flaunted being in 120M+ homes on US TV (via @JoshACarpenter)
🚨Official ratings are in. This is US viewership for LIV on CW and Honda on NBC. People can make the argument about international audiences, streaming #’s etc but we all know US is the biggest market. It’s why LIV flaunted being in 120M+ homes on US TV (via @JoshACarpenter) https://t.co/jFp8ShOEun
The PGA Tour still reigns supreme. If anyone questioned that, they probably shouldn't have. However, it's alarming to see just how much of a chokehold they have on the viewership.
They dominated the weekend viewings to the tune of millions. The Tour captured almost 2.5 million viewers on Sunday, while LIV had less than 300 thousand.
There is talent on LIV Golf. They have star players like Cameron Smith, Phil Mickelson, Dustin Johnson, Bryson DeChambeau and more.
There are people that fans want to see and those people are now on television. It seems to matter not though, as most fans still prefer to watch the PGA Tour when it comes down to it.
Perhaps LIV should consider holding events on different days so that they can command the golf audience and not have to compete directly with whatever PGA Tour event is going on.
Despite ratings, LIV Golf will benefit the sport
Based on the ratings, it's easy to see that LIV Golf is struggling and will likely have to turn things around if they want to make it. One economist that spoke with CEO Greg Norman doesn't see it doing so.
He said via Golf.com:
“Is Greg Norman’s story believable? Is LIV Golf making the world a better place? Will the franchise model unlock enormous value, making the upfront investment worthwhile? On the question of LIV Golf making the world a better place, my own personal opinion is that yes, competition is good. It spurs innovation."
He continued:
"And, ultimately, I suspect it will be a benefit to golf fans. Because not only is LIV Golf trying out all sorts of new things, but the PGA Tour is innovating also, like with the new Monday night team matches, slated to start in 2024."
That much is true because the PGA Tour has already made changes in reaction to LIV's functions. That was one of the things they wanted to do, but they wanted to do it themselves and with long-lasting effects.
If they're to fizzle out like they might, then did it matter? They helped the PGA Tour players get a better situation, but does that really matter for Mickelson, Smith, and others?
What they needed was to change the game and remain a part of it. It doesn't look like that's truly going to happen anymore.