What’s the Truth Behind the CW-LIV TV Deal?

For most sports organizations, a media rights deal with a television network in the U.S. is getting the golden goose.

The PGA Tour, for example, is getting $7 billion over the course of their nine-year deal with ESPN, NBC, and CBS that went into effect last year.

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Those networks also pay to produce the events. They pay the announcers and crew to put the tournaments on their networks. In exchange, those stations get to sell advertising time in front of audiences that hovered between 1 and 2 million viewers on network TV for a typical PGA Tour event in 2022 (majors and events like the Tour Championship draw considerably more than that).

The PGA Tour’s media rights deal is structured similarly to other major sports like the NFL, MLB, and NBA.

Is LIV Golf Cashing in on This Deal With CW?

Reading between the lines of LIV Golf’s deal with the CW Network, there are significant differences that suggest the new league won’t suddenly be on Easy Street when it comes to finances from this deal.

Officially official. LIV Golf announces its TV deal with the CW, a “multi-year agreement” that will include streaming rights on the CW app. pic.twitter.com/Vk83wjWSKK

— James Colgan (@jamescolgan26) January 19, 2023

Reports state that the terms of the deal are being highly protected. One would think that if this were a lucrative deal, LIV Golf would be happy to spread that news in the same way that the terms of the PGA Tour’s deal were revealed.

According to insiders, LIV Golf will not be paying for the airtime, as was suggested in the league’s negotiations with cable channel FS1 that didn’t pan out. But it’s also said to not be a traditional deal where CW is paying LIV to broadcast the events. LIV will continue to produce the events (like it did in 2022 when the events were put up for free on YouTube), but it’s believed that LIV and CW will share in advertising revenue.

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Both Parties Benefit From the Deal

It appears that both parties will benefit from the deal since the network is not risking much by putting it on the air, and LIV gets the credibility of being on network television.

The CW was acquired by Nexstar, which owns local network affiliates across the country, last year. Since then, they have been looking to diversify the network’s programming. LIV will become its first foray into live sports broadcasting since the acquisition.

The CW is available in nearly every television home in the country, but it isn’t as prominent as the big-four networks of CBS, NBC, ABC, and FOX. For the 2021-22 TV season, the highest-rated program on CW was All American, which averaged 457,000 viewers. Among the big four networks, the average prime-time viewership number is 3.9 million. Other programming on CW is typically driven by the local affiliate. It can range from local newscasts to syndicated daytime shows like “The People’s Court” and “Family Feud” and reruns of old shows like “Seinfeld.”

But if the reports are true that CW won’t be making gigantic payments to LIV to show its events, it’s a low-risk proposition for the network with a chance to draw a new audience by diversifying its programming.

Will LIV’s Ties to Saudi Government Limit Its Potential?

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It’s been speculated that one of the reasons LIV Golf was unable to land a traditional media rights deal with a larger network is due to its ties to the Saudi Arabian government. Saudi’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) operates and financially backs the league, and there’s already been some backlash to this CW deal by the National Press Club.

In the end, this will be a proving ground for LIV Golf. If they can attract a strong viewership, it could alleviate some of those concerns that larger networks may have. For example, the PIF operates the soccer team Newcastle United of the Premier League in England, and it hasn’t affected their revenue streams since it’s an established organization.

In the end, like other television shows and sports leagues, the public will decide the fate of LIV Golf—starting next month in Mexico.