Well now, I gotta tell ya, this LIV Golf thing sure has been makin’ some waves, but not the kind of waves folks mighta been hopin’ for. Y’know, at first, folks thought it was gonna be somethin’ big, real big like the PGA Tour, but it looks like they still got a long way to go before they catch up. Just last Sunday, I heard that more folks tuned in to watch LIV Golf than ever before—432,000 viewers, they said. That’s a lot of eyes, ain’t it? But still, when you look at the bigger picture, it ain’t as big as some might think.
Now, don’t get me wrong, there’s a lot of buzz ’round LIV Golf. They’ve been makin’ moves, had all them big names joinin’ up, and even got their own channel on TV. But here’s the kicker—the ratings ain’t lookin’ all that hot, especially compared to the PGA Tour. I heard from the Nielsen folks that the final round had a decent 432,000 viewers, but then, when they looked at the LIV Golf Championship over in Chicago, the numbers weren’t so kind—only 89,000 folks tuned in for that. That’s not great, folks. That’s real low, ain’t it?
Let’s not forget when LIV Golf first came to TV on The CW. They thought it would be a real showstopper, but it didn’t quite hit the mark. The debut showed a puny 0.18 rating. That’s like, not even a blip on the radar compared to the PGA Tour. Now, I don’t know much about ratings, but I know enough to tell ya that those ain’t the kind of numbers you wanna see if you’re tryin’ to make a big splash.
And then there was Jon Rahm’s win at the LIV Individual Championship. Folks were hopin’ it’d draw more eyes, but the average audience for that was only 89,000. That’s still low when you think about it. I mean, you’d think a big winner like that would pull in more folks, right? But nope, them numbers stayed small. It’s like when you make a big pot of soup, but nobody shows up to eat. It’s a little discouragin’, I reckon.
But here’s where it gets a little tricky—ratings don’t always tell you the whole story. Yeah, they show the numbers, but they don’t always explain why people aren’t watchin’. Maybe folks just don’t like the format, or maybe they prefer the tradition of the PGA Tour. It’s hard to say for sure. Sometimes people watch a game ‘cause it’s familiar, like your mama’s old stew recipe. LIV Golf? It’s still workin’ on findin’ that flavor that’ll bring folks back for more.
But I heard that things weren’t all bad for LIV Golf this year. They had a couple of bright spots—like their first two events this year, which saw a little bump in viewers. Over 400,000 folks tuned in for the first event in Mexico, and about 297,000 watched the next one in Las Vegas. That’s a good sign, I’d say, even though the numbers still ain’t where they want ‘em to be. Folks still get curious, I guess, ‘bout new things, especially when it comes to sports.
But let’s be real for a second here. LIV Golf is still struggin’ to make ends meet. Reports say they didn’t even make $100 million last season, and their TV revenue was barely over $3 million. That’s a lotta zeros missing if ya ask me. Now, I don’t know about y’all, but when you got that many events and all them big names in the game, you’d expect more money comin’ in, wouldn’t ya?
Now, they’ve had 14 events this year, and I reckon they’ll keep goin’ for a while, tryin’ to find their place in the world of golf. But whether LIV Golf can catch up to the big leagues like the PGA Tour? Well, that’s somethin’ I can’t say just yet. It’s gonna take more than a few big names and a fancy channel on TV. LIV Golf’s gonna need a whole lot more folks watchin’ before they can say they’ve made it. Maybe next year, they’ll have a better go at it, who knows?
So, that’s all I gotta say about the ratings for LIV Golf. I ain’t got no fancy talk for ya, just the facts. Whether you like it or not, LIV Golf’s got a long road ahead if it wants to be the real deal. But hey, don’t count ‘em out just yet. Stranger things have happened, and who knows? Maybe one day we’ll be talkin’ ‘bout LIV Golf like we do the PGA Tour. Time’ll tell, won’t it?
Tags:[LIV Golf, LIV Golf Ratings, Golf TV Ratings, Jon Rahm, PGA Tour, Sports Ratings, CW Network, Golf Viewership, LIV Golf Championship, 2023 Golf Season]