Although there’s been a prolonged stagnation in terms of agreeing a deal there has at least been a more amicable relationship between the PGA Tour and LIV Golf of late – that is before NBC chief Sam Flood threw a grenade.
NBC Sports executive director Flood has dished out a jibe at LIV Golf over TV ratings, and by calling it a “sideshow” his comments will no doubt find their way to Saudi Arabia.
And while Flood was upbeat in talking about the PGA Tour’s improving ratings and a continued partnership with NBC, he cast doubt over LIV Golf’s own future due to the lack of viewers being pulled in.
And it brought up big questions for LIV Golf, about whether the future lies outside of the United States and whether the Saudi PIF needs to inject even more cash to re-stock the field with golf’s biggest names.
What did NBC Sports chief say about LIV Golf?
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“We feel a lot better than we did a year ago,” Flood said in an exclusive with Golf.com.
“Everyone feels a lot better than they did a year ago, because golf is heading in a much better direction. I think we’ve had really good results, good tournaments, good drama. Now we just need a great U.S. Open, and roll that right into a great Open Championship, and we’ll be smiling all the way to the bank.”
PGA Tour numbers dipped as LIV Golf viewers climbed, but even with a new TV deal with FOX, Flood does not see it as a big rival anymore.
“The LIV stuff is almost a total sideshow,” he insisted. “The reality is, their opportunity was when the tournament happened in Doral [LIV Miami], and they had every name on the leaderboard and no one paid attention.”
Those are comments that neither new LIV Golf boss Scott O’Neil nor FOX will enjoy hearing – and the response will be interesting.
How will LIV Golf respond?
(Image credit: LIV Golf)
TV ratings can be clouded in one way or another, and that’s before you take streaming and online viewing into account.
But a Golf.com analysis of TV ratings reports that LIV Miami saw an average of 603,000 viewers in Nielsen’s Big Data + Panel against the 2.2 million for NBC’s Valero Texas Open coverage, which peaked at 4m…
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