Any hopes of a speedy resolution to the ongoing split in professional golf has been slowly fading away over the last year. And with LIV Golf signing a new television deal with Fox Sports, it shows no indication of being solved any time soon.
After reports emerged last month that the two sides were in potential talks over a new rights deal for the renegade Saudi golf league, it became official on Thursday.
Fox made the announcement complete with a hype video announcing the arrival of LIV Golf, which begins its season in February in where else but Riyadh. It features some of LIV Golf’s nine figure signees like Phil Mickelson, Bryson DeChambeau, and Brooks Koepka.
FOX Sports & LIV Golf to Enter Multi-Year Media Rights Agreement ⛳️
Starting in February, @livgolf_league will air live across the FOX family of networks – with over half of the League’s schedule airing on FOX or FS1.
For more info ➡️ https://t.co/AMCfsFGrGK pic.twitter.com/eHCQyAK6bh
— FOX Sports PR (@FOXSportsPR) January 16, 2025
In the announcement, Fox revealed that a variety of networks will televise LIV in 2025. While Fox and FS1 will air the bulk of the action, it will also be spread out to FS2, Fox Business, and the Fox Sports app. Fox also says that it is a “multi-year” deal with LIV. Also, LIV’s announce team of Arlo White, David Feherty, and Jerry Foltz will remain in tact.
FOX Sports and LIV Golf today announced a multi-year media rights agreement that will deliver live coverage of LIV Golf League competition to viewers throughout the U.S. beginning this February with the start of LIV Golf’s third official League season.
Throughout the season, all three days of LIV Golf tournament competition will air live across the FOX family of networks, with more than half of the League’s schedule airing on FOX or FS1. Select rounds will air on FS2, FOX Business Network and the FOX Sports App, with nearly all of the LIV Golf season’s 210 hours of competition carried live across FOX Sports platforms. All LIV Golf coverage will also be streamed on the FOX Sports App and to LIV Golf+ app subscribers.
“We are thrilled to partner with FOX Sports, one of the preeminent broadcast networks in the world,” said LIV Golf CEO Scott O’Neil. “LIV Golf is getting bigger and bolder, and this relationship signals the next phase of growth as our League joins the company of the nation’s premier sports leagues and conferences. I want to thank the FOX Sports team who share our vision for the future of golf, a new model that is redefining how the sport is experienced. LIV Golf is drawing a younger, more active and tech-savvy fan base, and as our players and teams prepare for LIV Golf’s biggest season yet, this agreement will take our broadcast to new heights.”
“FOX Sports is excited to broadcast the LIV Golf League, showcasing athletes at the top of their game competing at an elite level for viewers across the nation,” said Jordan Bazant, Executive Vice President, FOX Sports. “The addition of LIV Golf is a natural fit for FOX Sports’ prominent slate of big events, world-class names and premium sports coverage.”
In spite of the mockery of LIV Golf’s lower-than-low television ratings during its first seasons on The CW, it’s hard to see this as anything but a huge victory for the Saudi golf league. They now have one of the biggest and most mainstream media companies on board as a partner and will get serious airtime on major broadcast and cable television. And also Fox Business… which sounds strange until you realize the target audience for both.
Will any more people watch now that LIV tournaments will be on Fox? Probably. But it’s still got a steep uphill climb to get anywhere close to PGA Tour numbers, or even what TGL has been able to register during its first two broadcasts on ESPN. If anything, LIV may struggle to match their CW numbers when shifted to FS1 or Fox Business, and especially when tournaments air on the ghost town that is FS2.
Surprisingly, LIV is reportedly pulling a “modest” rights fee according to longtime golf writer Bob Harig, however they are footing the bill for production costs. However much profit that works out to be, given the money that has already been spent on the golf league by the bottomless well of the Saudi government, that’s probably the least of their concerns.
What is a concern for golf fans is that this deal represents a continuation of the split in golf. LIV is going nowhere. And that makes any merger or reunion between LIV and the PGA Tour all the more complicated.
