What Is LIV Golf? It Depends Who You Ask.
What’s with that identify?
LIV (rhymes with give) Golf selected Roman numerals for its identify. If it’s been some time because you studied these at school, LIV interprets to 54, which is the variety of holes every participant will full in every occasion’s three-round format, which is one fewer spherical than a typical PGA Tour workweek, however for a lot extra money.
(Before you ask: The most up-to-date N.F.L. championship recreation was Super Bowl LVI, or 56.)
How can I watch?
Despite its high-profile golfers and its big-money backing, LIV Golf has not but secured a broadcast rights settlement within the United States — probably the most profitable market for televised sports activities — and will probably be proven on lesser-watched streaming companies in a lot of the world. (Here’s a full list of non-U.S. options.) That doesn’t imply you may’t watch within the United States, although: This week’s match will probably be out there through reside streams on LIVGolf.com, YouTube and Facebook.
Normally, tv networks would have jumped on the likelihood to point out reside sports activities throughout gradual instances on the calendar; witness one more spring soccer league being proven on tv. But ESPN, CBS, NBC and Amazon are within the first year of a nine-year settlement that has them collectively paying tons of of hundreds of thousands of {dollars} yearly to the PGA Tour to point out tournaments. Those networks could have their fill of golf. They might also not need to courtroom controversy, nor anger their business associate, the PGA Tour.
History suggests, nevertheless, that if LIV Golf does show to be successful, main rights agreements received’t be far behind. With customers persevering with to slowly abandon pay tv, reside sports activities is nearly the one sort of programming that delivers massive, and profitable, audiences anymore. And the streaming companies which might be luring these customers away know that reside sports activities is without doubt one of the finest methods to get new clients, and maintain outdated ones.
So is that this only a vainness project for Saudi Arabia?
Not precisely. We requested Ben Hubbard, who covers the Middle East because the Beirut bureau chief for The Times and has written a guide on Saudi Arabia’s crown prince, to clarify the dominion’s motivations in a bit extra depth. His response:
Saudi Arabia’s backing of the brand new collection is the most recent instance of the best way oil-rich Gulf monarchies use their huge wealth to spend money on sports activities and cultural establishments in hopes of elevating their nations’ worldwide profiles and shifting how they’re considered by folks in Western nations.
