It is officially official: LIV Golf will air on Fox Sports in the new year.
On Thursday morning, LIV announced a “multi-year” television deal that will see the Fox family of networks take over broadcasting duties for golf’s Saudi-backed league in 2025 and beyond. The news was first reported weeks ago by the Sports Business Journal and ends a multi-year flirtation between the league led by CEO Greg Norman and the broadcast network operated by his longtime friends, the Murdoch family.
It is hard to overstate the significance of the television deal, which brings LIV to a national TV network far larger than its original partners at the CW, and which brings Fox back into the fold broadcasting golf after a popular but financially mired stint with the USGA. Thursday’s announcement officially ends LIV’s agreement with the CW after two years of lackluster TV ratings and squabbles over television windows.
There is still a lot to make sense of regarding the LIV/Fox agreement, including some of the very important financial specifics, but in the meantime let’s break down what we know below.
1. Money matters
The biggest question of the agreement comes down to money, specifically, how much of it is going from Fox to LIV for the right to carry its events. Reports have LIV receiving a rights fee in the Fox agreement, though specifics about the size and shape of that fee are still a mystery.
LIV initially operated under a revenue share with the CW in the early stages of that agreement, though the contract included escalators based on LIV’s audience performance.
2. Where to watch
A press release announcing the agreement stipulates that “more than half” the league’s 2025 schedule will air live on Fox or FS1, while “select” additional rounds will air on FS2, Fox Business and the Fox Sports app.
This is a big detail for LIV, which is hoping to maximize the number of hours it can be carried on Fox’s over-the-air broadcast network and to the national audiences it reaches. Of course, the devil here is in the details: “big” Fox generates audience sizes multiples larger than FS1, which generates multiples more than FS2 or Fox Business. The percentage breakdown of broadcasts on the national network versus the cable channels will go a long way in determining the size of the audiences who tune in for LIV.
3. No more tape delays
According to the release, “nearly all” of the 2025 season’s 210 hours of competition will air “live” on the Fox family of networks, ending a practice of tape-delayed telecasts that drew the ire of golf fans under the CW agreement. Given the international nature of the LIV schedule, several LIV events will air first in the United States in the dead of night, including the season-opening event in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Still, it’s likely the Fox agreement will give the league another broadcast window in a more traditional golf time slot to reach American golf audiences.
