Greg Norman’s ability to make humiliating defeats seem like bold victories is why it’s not surprising that he doesn’t appear annually at Augusta National in a green jacket, insisting that what happened 1996, or ’87, and ’89, and ’99 was a victory worthy of being a place setting at Champions Dinner.
Norman called it “a momentous day in LIV Golf” when he described the announcement of his league’s broadcast deal with The CW. (The CW’s average viewer age is 58 so they see every show louder).
Will Staeger, LIV’s chief press officer, saw an opportunity to impress his boss and conjured a version that would have George Santos calling to restrain the narrative.
He wrote that “Following an open bidding window with multiple U.S. streaming platforms and networks, the sports story in 2022 has just moved into pole place for the top story in 2023” via social media.
Staeger’s comment raises 2 questions for people who are predisposed to cynicism. Did autocorrect transform “begging” into “bidding?” And how can a competitive process between multiple parties lead to giving away the product to the worst-case scenario?
LIV and its hookworm hangers on must be disappointed by the truth of the deal. There was no money transfer, no major or minor network willing to pay a fee, and the product has not been sponsored by any legitimate sponsors. These are just the facts.
Although the agreement is described as a revenue share, LIV does not generate any revenue at all. The MBS’s checkbook has provided many a corrupt politician, executive, and player with income beyond their means. It is possible that sponsors could be found, particularly if the Saudi Public Investment Fund, which holds 93% of LIV, covers all its costs and claims it isn’t subject to U.S. law as it does business in America, puts pressure on its partners.
Although advertising could provide a payoff for The CW in the future, it will not cover LIV production costs or the premium it paid to acquire Brooks’ melancholy and Bryson’s tantrums. It is important to note that The CW does not submit to Nielsen’s standard viewer ratings beyond weekday prime-time hours. Therefore, actual audience figures for LIV broadcasts won’t be available or at the very least, unvouched. Advertisers will require reporting metrics that are more reliable than Greg’s gibberish.
It is also not clear how many people will have access to LIV broadcasts. Friday rounds will be only available on the CW App, which was announced as having been downloaded 90,000,000 times. A quick scan of your smartphone will show the difference between downloading and actually using an app. Saturday and Sunday rounds will air on CW stations. Perhaps.
The CW’s parent company Nexstar Media Group owns about one-third the TV stations. All the rest are affiliates that can choose to air LIV tournaments, or teen drama reruns, or local sports. It was not mentioned in the announcement how many stations had committed to LIV. It is a shame that the factotum might be called upon one day to explain to MBS why certain markets prefer repeats of “Buffy the Vampire Slayer”, rather than his $2 billion folly.
Norman pointed out that The CW is currently available in 120 million American homes. LIV streams were accessible on all connected devices worldwide, but audience numbers declined after initial curiosity sampling. LIV’s failure to attract fans could be due to many factors, including the format, the frat brats involved in the lineup, insignificance and the outrageous theatrics as well as the funding source. Although access to tournament broadcasts may have been another factor, it is unrealistic to expect The CW to achieve better results than YouTube’s 2.6 million active users.
Norman and his team have made a lot of noise, but LIV simply found a smaller storefront for the exact same product that was ignored on the biggest platform. This week’s announcement is more of a distress sale than a broadcast deal. However, it does not imply that anyone would pay for it.
