DORAL, Fla. — LIV Golf faces two major challenges: the absence of Official World Golf Ranking points at events and the absence of a television partner in the United States.
Atul Khosla, chief operating officer of LIV, addressed the challenges facing the new circuit that Greg Norman has created and is supported by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund.
LIV examines its TV broadcast in two distinct parts: domestically in America and internationally.
Khosla, speaking before the semifinal matches on Saturday morning, said that “on the U.S. Front, we are back-and-forth with a few other networks at this moment in time.” “Step 1 was to show them our product. They want to understand it. Show them the graphics. It’d be very different.”
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Khosla stated that step two was to get the time on-air. LIV has been communicating “with a variety” over the past month to discuss where events might land, which golf courses might work, and so forth.
Khosla said, “We’re now at the point where we have been able to clear up time on a few networks that require set times to be cleared.” So we have completed that exercise. We are now at the stage where we can say, “Okay, these are all possible options, both sides have interest, let’s see what commercial arrangements might look like.”
Khosla is pleased with the current position of LIV in the process to secure U.S rights for 2023 when the series transitions into the 14-event LIV Golf League. However, he also knows that there is still much work to do.
Golfweek reported last month that LIV Golf was close to a deal to buy air time with Fox Sports 1 for its tournaments. LIV would pay for the time slot as well as the production costs in the yet-to-be finalized deal.
LIV called the report “incomplete” and inaccurate at the time. However, when asked specifically if LIV was open to paying for tournaments, Khosla did not reject the idea.
“Yes, we’re going to it in the rights discussion that we believe we are providing an amazing commercial product. These are not deals for six months or one year. Khosla stated that if a TV network supports it, they will support it for multiple years. That’s what we really want, to build a product and drive behavior on air.” So we’ll discuss the final arrangements.
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LIV has currently 20 international partners that broadcast events in 160 countries. It is also in discussion for 2023. LIV officials aren’t the only ones involved in this process.
Khosla stated that the players are also being used for broadcast discussions. He said, “They’ve been amazing.” “Depending on where they are located, they have been on calls with us with TV networks, discussing the model and explaining why it would be so amazing. This has been a wonderful experience and we are grateful for their support.
It was the same song at a separate party for OWGR points. LIV formed a alliance with the MENA Tour in an attempt to force it to receive points.
“I believe that we are entitled to the points from our side. He explained that clearly, with our strategic alliance and the MENA Tour we definitely deserve these points. “Can’t control who is on the board and who’s not, who votes on it, I don’t think there’s a mislead. But, it’s quite obvious at this point there are divisions that vote for points.
Khosla refers to OWGR board members Jay Monahan, DP World Tour chief executives Keith Pelley and USGA CEO Mike Whan. R&A chief executive Martin Slumbers, PGA of America CEO Seth Waugh, Augusta National Golf Club executive Director Will Jones are all examples of Khosla.
Although it is not clear if LIV’s problems can be resolved by February 2023, when the new league format will start, moves such as paying for airtime or aligning with a development tour show that the circuit will do what it takes to get its way.
