Will the new TV deal with FOX increase fan interest in LIV Golf?

Each week, we ask our panel of writers, PGA members and golf industry experts to weigh in with their views on the hot topics of the day.

Last week LIV Golf inked a broadcast deal with Fox Sports. The two-year agreement will allow FOX viewers to see all 14 LIV tournaments each season. It’s an improvement from their previous TV deal on The CW but is it enough to substantially increase overall interest in LIV Golf?

Jim Deeks, Fairways Magazine (@jimdeeks): Marginally, yes, I think it will.  But will it be sustainable?  I doubt it. Being out of sight for two years has meant out of mind for many of the former big names like Koepka, DeChambeau, Cam Smith, and Jon Rahm.  Will former fans be dying to watch these guys play team events in short pants.  Not for long, methinks.  And BTW, the deal with Fox Sports certainly suggests to me that any imminent merger with the PGA Tour is a complete non-starter.

Craig Loughry, Golf Ontario (@craigloughry): I think any exposure on a major Network (or streaming service) helps legitimize the product and open it to a legitimate viewing audience. I think that’s what this deal does. I’m not sure how many will tune in or be interested time will tell. It just got a lot easier for everyone to actually watch it, it has to help.

Michael Schurman, Master Professional / Hall of Fame Member, PGA of Canada: My golf interest is shared with the NFL until after the Super Bowl. Certain events appeal more than others, with the Majors leading the way, followed by the playoffs. I mix certain LPGA events into my schedule, which leaves about 10 average-interest events. I will take a look at the LIV TV schedule, but we are starting to get to a saturation point. I really enjoy off-season TV, but in the summer, I have to have a stronger desire to sacrifice being outside. I don’t see LIV taking anything away from the PGA TOUR. They might add viewers, but they won’t take them away.

Peter Mumford, Fairways Magazine (@FairwaysMag): I believe most golf fans made up their mind about LIV in the first couple of years and being able to see it more readily isn’t likely to change many minds. The product is abhorrent to traditional golf fans, what with the loud music and shotgun starts and the team concept isn’t at all what traditionalists think of when team golf is discussed. Perhaps some of the TGL crowd will glom onto the LIV broadcasts, but the bottom line is there’s nothing on the line for these events except money. And we’re already seeing too much of that elsewhere.

All of the professional tours are getting underway now. Assuming the PGA Tour is at the top of your list in terms of interest, which Tour commands the next biggest block of your attention and why?

Deeks: The LPGA, as it has for some time now.  Partly because of my continual rooting for Brooke Henderson, but also because I think the women’s game is more interesting than the bomb-and-gouge game the male pro’s play.

Loughry: DP World Tour always gets my attention. If I’m being honest, I watch as much of this Tour as I do PGA Tour. It’s perfect timing on Saturday and Sunday mornings – early to watch (if I’m not playing myself). And I find the coverage more to my liking, commentators are a blast with fresh perspective vs their North American counterparts covering the PGA Tour.

Schurman: Currently, the LPGA is my ‘after the PGA TOUR’ choice. I’m interested in other tours, but I don’t watch them. Quite simply, it comes to star power and depth of field.

Mumford: I’m not sure I have a second favourite tour. I tend to watch them all occasionally but with the exception of the LPGA majors, it’s pretty hit and miss. I’ll check LIV out this year because their top players bring some excitement – think Bryson DeChambeau, Jon Rahm and Brooks Koepka – but that shotgun start is really tough to stomach.

Pick a player that you expect to win his first major this year?

Deeks: Patrick Cantlay is overdue, in my opinion.

Loughry: I know he didn’t have a great year last year, but I could see a sneaky win out of Hovland. He has a new coach and they’ve been working on his weaknesses and he’s right in his prime. He also has some experience floating around the lead in several Majors. He’s on my list to crack the egg in 2025.

Schurman: Ludvig Aberg.

Mumford: I’d put a small wager down on Tyrrell Hatton. He just won the Dubai Desert Classic on the DP World Tour and has been sniffing the lead in majors before. Most of all, he’s determined to be on the European Ryder Cup team this fall and what better way to get Captain Luke Donald’s attention than with a Green Jacket or Claret Jug.

The Round Table
The Round Table is a panel of golf writers, PGA members and industry experts.

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