LIV Golf 'Lost to PGA Tour'... Complete Defeat in Viewership Ratings Competition

Opening Game Viewership: 291,000 vs 2,400,000

The LIV Golf League suffered a complete defeat in the TV viewership ratings competition against the PGA Tour in the United States.

The Sports Business Journal reported on the 1st (local time), "The final round of the LIV Golf League 2023 season opener last week recorded 291,000 viewers as of 1 PM," adding, "On the same day, the PGA Tour Honda Classic had 2.4 million viewers as of 3 PM."

The LIV Golf League opener was completely defeated in the viewership competition against the PGA Tour Honda Classic.

Sponsored by Saudi Arabian capital, the LIV Golf League held its 2023 season opener over three days starting February 24 in Mayakoba, Mexico, while the PGA Tour hosted the Honda Classic over four days starting February 23 in Florida, USA.

Although the LIV Golf League’s season opener featured major players such as Dustin Johnson, Phil Mickelson, Bryson DeChambeau, and Brooks Koepka (all from the USA), the PGA Tour Honda Classic saw most of the world’s top players absent, yet the PGA Tour overwhelmingly dominated the TV ratings competition.

On February 25, 286,000 people watched LIV Golf, while the PGA Tour event drew 1.61 million viewers. As of February 26, the US college women's basketball game broadcast on ESPN 2 had 316,000 viewers, and the English Premier League match between Chelsea and Tottenham had 481,000 viewers, both exceeding the LIV event. Golf Digest sarcastically noted, "The LIV Golf tournament’s ratings were lower than those of the ‘World’s Most Interesting Animals’ program."

Launched last year, LIV Golf took an aggressive approach this year. It signed a TV broadcasting rights contract with the CW Network, which has over 120 million viewers in the US. In its inaugural year, 2022, it streamed broadcasts for free through its own website and other platforms.