Tag: The CW

Despite canceled final round at Pebble Beach (and no NFL playoffs), LIV Golf still struggles in TV ratings

LIV Golf’s event still drew a rating well below that registered by the PGA Tour.

With a number of factors lining up during the opening weekend of the LIV Golf season, the fledgling circuit had all the pieces in place to capture a significant TV audience.

However, a playoff between a pair of big names did little to draw viewers to the CW Network, according to reports.

Joaquin Niemann went wire-to-wire to claim his first win on the Saudi-backed circuit at the league’s 2024 opener at Mayakoba’s El Camaleon Golf Course in Mexico following a four-hole playoff in the dark against Sergio Garcia on Sunday. Niemann, who shot a blistering 12-under 59 in the first round, made one final clutch putt to seal the deal for his first win since joining the league. Also, Jon Rahm made his LIV Golf debut, and his newly formed expansion team, Legion XIII, won the team title by four shots at 24 under.

But despite the impressive leaderboard, the cancellation of the final round at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am and no NFL playoffs on the schedule, LIV Golf’s event still drew a rating well below that of the PGA Tour, according to Sports TV Ratings.

Although the head-to-head numbers on Saturday were strongly in favor of the PGA Tour (168K to 1.91M), the Sunday number for LIV Golf did show a significant year-over-year improvement.

LIV’s first event in 2023 received 291K viewers on Sunday, according to Josh Carpenter of the Sports Business Journal. The 2023 Honda Classic, on the other hand, reeled in 2.38 million.

The numbers do not include streaming, which is available on LIV Golf Plus as well as via a pay-per-view YouTube option.

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Someone walking through the Virginia – Boston College announcers’ booth hilariously interrupted the broadcast

The CW Sports team is learning on the fly during unexpected interruptions.

The CW has been getting in on ACC football games this fall, and it looks like the CW Sports broadcasts are still a bit of a work-in-progress.

During the network’s live broadcast of Virginia – Boston College, broadcasters Tom Werme and James Bates got a surprise interruption as someone from their broadcast crew just walked right through one of their live shots from one end of the screen to the other.

The two folks in the booth handled the unexpected guest really well, so kudos to these two for navigating what’s sure to be one of the more awkward encounters in college football broadcasting this weekend.

Hey, we’ve all had moments where we’ve had to pivot in the middle of something to field a surprise, and The CW’s sports team is learning on the job how to make the best broadcasts happen.

Sometimes, that means some poor guy is going to walk right behind your broadcast booth setup as he’s trying to make it from one side to the other.

If you handle it like these two broadcasters did, you’ll be just fine.

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NASCAR Xfinity Series moving to The CW in 2025

The future broadcasting home of the NASCAR Xfinity Series will be The CW Network beginning in 2025, in what will be the first of a seven-year deal through the 2031 season. Sports Business Journal first reported the news, saying the deal is worth …

The future broadcasting home of the NASCAR Xfinity Series will be The CW Network beginning in 2025, in what will be the first of a seven-year deal through the 2031 season.

Sports Business Journal first reported the news, saying the deal is worth $800 million, or approximately $115 million a year.

The CW will carry all 33 races for the Xfinity Series as well as practice and qualifying. NASCAR Productions will produce the events.

Every race will be available on free, over-the-air broadcast television. Additional content will be available through The CW’s digital platforms.

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“Landing the NASCAR Xfinity Series is a game changer for The CW and our CW Sports division and represents another important building block in our programming strategy,” said Dennis Miller, president of The CW. “Live sports are the most watched television content and with The CW’s national reach, moving NASCAR Xfinity Series to The CW will transform and elevate the viewing experience for the series and its fans.

“The CW has quickly become a destination for sports, as the NASCAR Xfinity Series joins our growing slate of sports programming, including Inside the NFL, ACC college football and basketball, LIV Golf, and the motorsports documentary series 100 Days To Indy. Beginning in 2025, The CW will have 48 weekends per year of live sports programming. With ubiquitous distribution across one of the nation’s five major broadcast networks, NASCAR Xfinity Series races on The CW will deliver more access for fans and far more revenue opportunities for The CW and its affiliates.”

NASCAR Productions is moving to a new state-of-the-art facility in Concord, North Carolina, next season. It will be adjacent to the NASCAR R&D Center. It was not announced who the on-air talent will be for the Xfinity Series broadcasts.

“CW’s leadership shared a compelling vision for cultivating the next generation of NASCAR talent by bringing the NASCAR Xfinity Series exclusively to broadcast television and we are thrilled for the opportunity to partner with them,” Brian Herbst, senior vice president for NASCAR, said. “With more than 1 million viewers tuning in each week to see NASCAR’s future stars battle some of its biggest names at our most legendary tracks, NASCAR Xfinity Series consistently delivers the moments that excite current fans and create new fans of our great sport.”

The CW is owned by Nexstar.

“Nexstar is already NASCAR’s third-largest broadcast partner, carrying NASCAR Cup and Xfinity Series races across its FOX and NBC affiliates and has a deep understanding of NASCAR’s value,” Andy Alford, president of Nexstar’s broadcasting division, said. “NASCAR’s loyal and passionate fan base and adrenaline-fueled races will provide CW stations with highly valuable live sports content that can deliver big audiences. These exciting events resonate in our local markets and with a local Nexstar station within driving distance of each and every NASCAR market, we are uniquely suited to drive attendance, viewership and revenues through local coverage, fan engagement, promotion and value-added marketing solutions for advertisers and brands.”

Pac-12 columnist evaluates the ACC’s new TV deal with The CW Network

The #Pac12 has suffered from woefully insufficient exposure. The #ACC noticeably increased its exposure with its CW deal.

Fans and talk-radio hosts know that the Pac-12 has been second-rate and minor-league in terms of giving its games and its overall product the biggest possible platform.

The Pac-12 Network did not work out for revenue sports. It was and is great for the Olympic sports, but that’s never the primary reason for a conference network’s existence. It’s not what a conference commissioner is primarily required to achieve on the job.

The DirecTV mess removed Pac-12 Network from a lot of American households. The conference’s level of national visibility has suffered to a considerable extent. Larry Scott made the Pac-12 a laughingstock in the world of college sports.

Because of this reality, George Kliavkoff has to balance two competing needs with his media rights deal. He does need to get a competitive price point and offer significant revenue to member schools. That’s one part of the equation. However, he also needs to improve the exposure of the conference.

Given that the Pac-12 is likely to pursue a digital deal with Apple or Amazon — a foray into streaming to boost revenue but not necessarily mainstream exposure — the conference will also need an arrangement which solves the exposure problem which has dogged the Pac-12 for a long time.

This is where the ACC’s recent TV deal with The CW Network comes into the picture. The ACC got a small amount of revenue from the deal, but it will get a noticeable boost in exposure. That was the play. The move was more about the exposure side than the revenue side.

Pac-12 columnist John Canzano, at his Substack, commented on the ACC-CW deal:

“It was a distribution play by the ACC. It solved an ongoing visibility problem for that conference and will sprinkle a little revenue over the members,” Canzano wrote. “Everyone in America can get the CW. The network will broadcast 50 football and basketball games a year until 2026-27. Next season, the CW will air 13 football games, 28 men’s basketball games, and nine women’s basketball games. It will sweeten the revenue pot a little, but it was more of an exposure move.

“The dirty secret? We all know that the Pac-12 would have been mocked for doing the exact same deal. I think the ACC’s deal with CW probably served to underscore that point, too.”

The Pac-12 can’t just solve one part of its problems. The conference has to solve both the revenue and exposure problems in its media rights deal.

Pac-12 media day is Friday, July 21. Follow us for extensive coverage.

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‘I didn’t know that’: U.S. Ryder Cup captain Zach Johnson didn’t know the CW broadcasted LIV Golf

When asked where he watches LIV Golf, Johnson offered a subtle if unintended snub to the CW network.

ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Zach Johnson was squarely focused on his own golf game during the final round of the 2023 PGA Championship, finishing an uneven day with a 71, one that included five birdies, four bogeys and a double on No. 17. Although he survived the cut, Johnson struggled to a 10-over 290 through four days at Oak Hill Country Club.

But Johnson is also taking notice of the field, as the selection process for the 2023 Ryder Cup is fast approaching and he’s handling his first tour of duty as the U.S. team captain.

When asked if he would attend a LIV Golf event to scout prospective players, Johnson implied that he would not. And then, when asked where he watches the upstart golf series, the Iowa native offered a subtle if unintended snub to the network broadcasts.

Here’s how the exchange with the reporter went:

Q. Do you get the CW … to watch their broadcast or YouTube?

ZACH JOHNSON: CW?

Q. That’s where it’s on television?

ZACH JOHNSON: I didn’t know that. I do get to see it — I have to ask my kids. I think I get the CW.

As for the team he needs to help build, six players automatically qualify through a point system that would require LIV players to win at least one or more majors to be in the running.  Johnson will have six picks to round out the rest of the team and noted that he would rely heavily on input from the six qualifiers.

When asked about Koepka, who opened the day at Oak Hill in the lead and then promptly birdied three of the first four holes to take a commanding lead, Johnson said he’s always been impressed with the Florida State product’s resolve.

“Look at his résumé prior to this week. He’s an amazing player,” Johnson said about Koepka. “What I appreciate about Brooks is just how he goes about his work in massive tournaments. He’s a rare breed mentally where he just is able to bring out his best in the most difficult and trying of circumstances.”

Koepka, Dustin Johnson and Bryson DeChambeau all have Ryder Cup experience and because LIV players paid their membership dues before June 30, 2022, they retain their PGA of America membership through the end of June 2023 and then through a grace period that runs through the end of June 2024. That means each could be eligible for selection to the team.

Johnson said he’s taking chemistry into consideration when considering his half-dozen picks.

“I mentioned chemistry. I don’t think I mentioned character,” Johnson said. “So take that in context. I mean, chemistry is important on any team. It’s important with any leadership of any team. It’s important with anything you’re trying to construct if you want to go out and win. My No. 1 goal as the leader is to go put these guys in a position to win, whatever that looks like. Time will tell.”

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LIV Golf League rosters for 2023 to be announced this week; CW broadcast schedule revealed

Opening rounds will only be available on the CW app, while the second and third rounds will air 1-6 p.m. ET.

Correction: A previous version of this article indicated every CW affiliate would air LIV Golf broadcasts. LIV will be broadcasted in every U.S. market, not necessarily on every network affiliate. 

By the end of the week the full 2023 rosters for all 12 teams in the LIV Golf League will be revealed.

LIV officials will announce the rosters of four teams per day, Wednesday, Feb. 15 to Friday, Feb. 17, as momentum builds to the first event of the season at Mayakoba’s El Camaleón Golf Course in Mexico, Feb. 24-26.

After securing a TV deal with the CW Network earlier this year, LIV announced that CW affiliates, as well as Nexstar owned and operated stations, in the U.S. would air all 14 events of the re-branded league’s first season in every U.S. market. Second- and third-round coverage on Saturday and Sunday will be broadcasted from 1-6 p.m. ET for all 14 events. Opening rounds on Friday will only be available on the CW app. If fans want to watch the live action when LIV tees it up in time zones opposite the states – visits like Australia, Singapore or Saudi Arabia, for example – live coverage will be available on the app.

Details on LIV broadcasts in regions outside the U.S. will be announced at a later date.

The upstart circuit led by Greg Norman and financially backed by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund also launched a new campaign titled “12 Teams. You Choose.” That asks fans to pick their team to support for 2023.

“Our diversity in teams that feature elite skillsets and unique personalities will help build new rivalries and fresh ways to watch professional golf as the sport enters a new era,” said Norman.

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LIV Golf makes more changes ahead of second season with 2023 schedule, new role for Greg Norman

The schedule is out and Greg Norman has more responsibilities.

LIV Golf is making some big changes in 2023.

In the wake of players like Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy saying Greg Norman should lose his job as commissioner and CEO of the upstart circuit backed by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, Norman will now have an elevated role in the company as LIV makes more leadership changes ahead of its second year.

Majed Al-Sorour, CEO of the Golf Saudi Federation, will leave his position as LIV Golf’s managing director but remain as one of seven LIV Golf board members. Sports Illustrated was first to report the news.

“Majed Al-Sorour has been and will continue to be an invaluable part of LIV Golf, as he continues in his Board of Directors capacity,” said LIV Golf via a statement to Golfweek. “Majed’s role was pivotal in supporting the launch of LIV Golf. As the business transitions into its first full season with a new broadcast partnership in place, the time is right for the Managing Director role to transition and for Majed to focus efforts and attention on other interests.

“We are grateful for Majed’s hard work, contributions and getting LIV to this new stage.”

The SI report also included the complete schedule as LIV Golf transitions to its league format in 2023. Seven of the 14 events were already announced, with the league set to resume play, Feb. 24-26, at Mayakoba in Mexico. The league will unexpectedly return to Saudi Arabia for its season-ending team championship and also end a month later than previously planned.

LIV Golf 2023 schedule

Date Event Course City
Feb. 24-26 LIV Golf Mayakoba El Camaleon Golf Club Riviera Maya, Mexico
March 17-19 LIV Golf Tucson Gallery Golf Club Marana, Arizona
March 31-April 2 LIV Golf Orlando Orange County National (Crooked Cat) Orlando
April 21-23 LIV Golf Adelaide Grange Golf Club Adelaide, Australia
April 28-30 LIV Golf Singapore Sentosa Golf Club Sentosa, Singapore
May 12-14 LIV Golf Tulsa Cedar Ridge Broken Arrow, Oklahoma
May 26-28 LIV Golf Washington, D.C. Trump National Washington, D.C. Potomac Falls, Virginia
June 30-July 2 LIV Golf Valderrama Valderrama Sotogrande, Spain
July 7-9 LIV Golf London Centurion Club Hertfordshire, England
Aug. 4-6 LIV Golf Greenbrier The Greenbrier White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia
Aug. 11-13 LIV Golf Bedminster Trump National Bedminster Bedminster, New Jersey
Sept. 22-24 LIV Golf Chicago Rich Harvest Farms Sugar Grove, Illinois
Oct. 20-22 LIV Golf Miami Trump National Doral Doral, Florida
Nov. 3-5 LIV Golf Jeddah Royal Greens Golf & Country Club King Abdullah Economic City, Saudi Arabia

The event in Orlando at Orange County National did not appear on last year’s schedule, and will be held the week before the Masters. The stop at Trump National in the Virginia suburbs of Washington, D.C. is also new in 2023. Last year’s team championship was held at Trump National Doral, but this year’s event at the former president’s club near Miami will be a normal, regular-season tournament.

Last week it was announced that LIV Golf had come to an agreement on a tv deal with the CW Network.

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It’s official: LIV Golf and The CW Network agree on multi-year broadcast TV deal

“A league that has only existed for one year has secured a full broadcast deal,” Greg Norman said in a release.

Early this week, rumors began to swirl that LIV Golf was finally in agreement to come to a TV near you. David Feherty, who joined the Saudi-backed league last year, hinted at the upcoming deal during a show in Florida.

Now, the news becomes official.

The CW Network and LIV have agreed on a multi-year broadcast deal. The CW will air all 14 events throughout next season as well as offer a streaming option through its app.

“This is a momentous day for LIV Golf as this partnership is about more than just media rights. The CW will provide accessibility for our fans and maximum exposure for our athletes and partners as their reach includes more than 120 million households across the United States,” said Greg Norman, CEO of LIV Golf, in a release. “We’re very proud to note how consequential it is that a league that has only existed for one year has secured a full broadcast deal in its debut full league season.”

Events are 54 holes with no cut. Saturday and Sunday coverage will be available on The CW and CW app while Friday’s action will be exclusively on the app.

“Our new partnership between The CW and LIV Golf will deliver a whole new audience and add to the growing worldwide excitement for the league. With CW’s broadcasts and streams, more fans across the country and around the globe can partake in the LIV Golf energy and view its innovative competition that has reimagined the sport for players, fans and the game of golf,” said Dennis Miller, President, The CW Network, in a release.

“For The CW, our partnership with LIV Golf marks a significant milestone in our goal to re-engineer the network with quality, diversified programming for our viewers, advertisers and CW affiliates. This also marks the first time in The CW’s 17-year history that the network is the exclusive broadcast home for live mainstream sports.”

According to ESPN, the agreement is a revenue-sharing one in which CW will not pay the league for rights fees and LIV will not pay the network for airtime. ESPN also reported that LIV Golf will continue to pay for production costs, which it also did in 2022.

Broadcast features and on-air talent LIV Golf debuted in 2022 will remain the same in ’23.

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