While LIV Golf continues to make headlines, its U.S. TV coverage remains off course.

Backed by Saudi Arabia's sovereign-wealth fund, LIV Golf has gained attention for offering high-profile players like Dustin Johnson, Bryson DeChambeau, Brooks Koepka and Phil Mickelson huge up-front sums to join the upstart circuit. It also is delivering record purses to those participating in its 54-hole, team-format tournaments, and it plans to significantly expand its event slate and prize money in 2023.

But for all its glitz and gossip, LIV is having a hard time breaking into the U.S. television market, which has long-standing ties to the U.S.-based PGA Tour. Major U.S. networks appear reluctant to bid on LIV TV rights due to the circuit's connection to Saudi Arabia and that country's history of human rights violations, sports media experts said, though streaming platforms may show more interest.

"I can't see any of the U.S. companies that do business with the PGA getting involved," said Curt Pires, the founder of sports program management and distribution company CAP Sports.

PGA U.S. rights-holders off course

ESPN Inc., CBS Sports, NBC Sports and Golf Channel (US) are in the first year of a deal with the PGA Tour that runs through the 2030 season.

"We are positioned as the home of golf in this country," said NBC Sports Chairman Pete Bevacqua. "We are not only satisfied where we are but unbelievably pleased where we are."

CBS did not respond to queries; ESPN declined to comment about LIV.

Patrick Crakes, principle of Crakes Media Consulting, said ESPN could roll LIV into its multiplatform windows on such cable networks as ESPN2 (US) or ESPNews (US) if the sports programmer chose to move forward with LIV.

The additional programming could also be seen as a way to add to ESPN+'s streaming base of 22.3 million subscribers, should executives at the Walt Disney Co.-owned ESPN believe there is room to add more golf fans beyond those watching the current presentation of PGA Tour Live, said CAP Sports' Pires.

Limited viewership thus far

In the U.S., YouTube has streamed LIV events live, attracting relatively small audiences. According to Apex Marketing Group estimates, LIV's inaugural tournament from London attracted 217,779 viewers from June 9-11. The second event in Portland, Ore., garnered 202,403 watchers on the platform from June 30 to July 2.

In comparison, during coverage of the third and final rounds of the PGA Tour's Canadian Open on June 11 and 12, CBS tallied 1.96 million and 2.78 million viewers. For the PGA's John Deere Classic, CBS averaged 1.53 million and 1.91 million on July 2 and 3.

Golf has historically drawn a relatively small but attractive audience of affluent viewers, said CAP Sports' Pires. That audience composition is appealing to financial companies, insurance firms and auto manufacturers as key sponsors and advertisers.

A spokeswoman for DAZN Ltd., which has been streaming this year's LIV series in the U.S., Canada and other nations, said the company is not paying any rights fees. Viewership, she said, has been minimal, though DAZN has not been promoting the events.

Viaplay Group AB (publ), which is streaming LIV's events this year in Denmark, Finland, Iceland, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland and Sweden, did not specify its arrangement with the golf circuit. The company said the first two tournaments have attracted good viewing levels. According to a spokeswoman, Viaplay will evaluate the LIV tour's performance in 2022 before making any decision about future presentations.

Asked if there had been any hesitancy to work with the Saudi-supported LIV, Viaplay said it presents events it thinks will be interesting to its subscribers and that it complies with relevant rules and regulations in the markets where it operates. "Showing a particular event does not mean that we agree with everything that the organizers or financiers of that event do or say," the company said.

LIV did not respond to queries seeking comment about its media game play.

What does the Fox say?

Back in the U.S., sports media watchers discussed other potential LIV carriers, including Fox Corp.'s FOX Sports.

FOX Sports teed off a 12-year rights deal in 2015 with the United States Golf Association and its marquee U.S. Open event and other properties. In 2020, however, FOX Sports backed off the green commitments, transferring the remaining USGA rights to NBC Sports.

Crakes, a former FOX Sports executive, said FOX should not be ruled out as a potential landing spot for LIV. He noted that David Hill, another former FOX Sports executive, is consulting on the LIV broadcasts. Hill still holds influence with his former employer, Crakes said.

LIV reportedly approached FOX Sports and tried to buy airtime for the circuit's initial London tournament but was turned down. Fox Sports did not respond to requests for comment.

Other options

Warner Bros. Discovery Inc. was cited as another potential home to LIV. The company holds PGA Tour and other golf rights for direct-to-consumer service Golf TV, which streams around the globe, but outside of the U.S.

In the U.S., Warner Bros. Discovery cable networks TNT (US) and TBS (US) have strong live sports lineups and are moving away from original scripted programs, potentially creating an opening for LIV.

Warner Bros Discovery did not respond to requests for comment.

Analysts also consider Qatar-based beIN Media Group LLC as a possible LIV home, though declining subscriber bases at the company's cable networks could make it a less attractive partner for LIV, said Scott Robson, an analyst with Kagan, a media research group within S&P Global Market Intelligence. BeIN Sports (US) and beIN Sports en Español (US) are expected to count 10.2 million and 7.4 million average U.S. subscribers this year, according to Kagan estimates, down from 11.3 million and 8.9 million in 2021.

Pires thought beIN's deeper household penetration abroad could still make it a viable option for LIV.

BeIN Sports did not respond to requests for comment.