Well, let me tell you, folks, this LIV Golf thing is kinda big right now, but it ain’t exactly like the old PGA Tour folks are used to. You see, the LIV Golf viewership has been on a bit of a roller coaster, and it sure ain’t as steady as them PGA Tour numbers. But it ain’t too bad either, considering how new it is. If you take a good look, the numbers sure tell a lot, though maybe not everything, and some folks might be scratchin’ their heads a bit tryin’ to figure it all out.
Now, let’s get to the heart of it. LIV Golf, it pulled in some mighty numbers on Sunday. The final round had an average of 432,000 folks watchin’ on The CW. That’s the best they ever done, and let me tell you, that’s a big deal! This here is “nearly three times” the number of people they had watchin’ on a Saturday afternoon—only 168,000 folks tuned in then. That’s a huge jump, and it shows that people are startin’ to pay more attention to what LIV’s doin’. Seems like Sunday draws ’em in, while Saturday’s a little slower, but what can ya do, eh?
And, get this, over on YouTube for LIV Golf Mayakoba, they saw a big ol’ increase. Compared to the year before, their three-day event saw a rise of 173.3% in views, and the Sunday crowd was up 124.4%. That’s mighty impressive, especially when you think about all the competition out there. The thing is, LIV’s been up against the big ol’ PGA Tour events, and it’s gotta be tough tryin’ to compete with them, especially when they’ve been around for so long.
But, don’t get me wrong. It ain’t all sunshine and rainbows for LIV. Even though they saw these big jumps in viewership, the money ain’t exactly flowin’ like some thought it would. Reports say LIV Golf didn’t even pull in $100 million for the 2023 season, and their TV revenue was under $3 million. Now, that don’t sound like much for a league that’s supposed to be the big new thing, does it? They had 14 events this year, but almost half of ’em went up against PGA Tour events. So, folks might’ve been busy watchin’ the bigger, older league instead. Makes it tough to grow an audience when you’re competing with the old guard.
Now, I know some folks like to compare the two, but it’s kinda tricky. See, the PGA Tour is a seasoned ol’ feller, and it averages about 2.2 million viewers for their Sunday shows in 2024, without even countin’ the big ol’ majors. That’s a huge difference from what LIV’s pulling in, but then again, LIV’s still got time to grow. It ain’t an easy road, but I reckon they’ll keep workin’ at it.
The truth of the matter is, these viewership numbers don’t always tell the full story. Like I said before, averages don’t always give you the full picture. You can have a lot of folks clickin’ on your stream, but that don’t mean they stick around long, and that’s what matters. LIV Golf’s gotta keep workin’ on holdin’ onto them viewers, not just attractin’ ’em for a quick peek. The numbers can be up one day and down the next, so it’s important to look at the bigger picture.
Folks will be watchin’ closely to see where LIV goes from here, and whether they can keep buildin’ on these numbers. It’s a new player in the game, so we’ll see how it all shakes out in the end. Maybe they’ll get there, but it’ll take some time. They’ll need more than just flashy new events and high viewership numbers. They need consistency, and consistency is a tough thing to find in this here world of sports.
So, if you ask me, LIV Golf’s got some work to do, but they’re makin’ progress. Whether they can catch up to the PGA or not, well, that’s still somethin’ to be seen. For now, they’ll keep tryin’ to draw them crowds in and see where the wind blows.
Tags:[LIV Golf viewership, PGA Tour, sports viewership, YouTube, TV ratings, golf events, CW, Jon Rahm, sports competition, LIV Golf 2023, Mayakoba]