This week has shaped up to be a big one for the golf world as a series of developments have seen LIV Golf further solidify its position as a future dominant force in the sport.
In an announcement this morning, LIV Golf revealed a free-to-air broadcasting arrangement with UK terrestrial media outlet ITV for the 2025 season. The deal will see selected live broadcasts on ITV1 and ITV4 along with highlights.
A total of 41 rounds of live golf will be broadcast across 14 LIV Golf tournaments on ITVX, the broadcaster’s online streaming platform. The arrangement will start with round two of the LIV Golf Riyadh event, the opening fixture of the season, taking place today (Friday 7 February 2025).
This is a big deal in the UK as it means that the only free-to-air golf broadcast in the country will be the Saudi Arabia-backed LIV Golf. The BBC had previously broadcast the Masters and the Open, but opted to drop the latter in 2016 and the former in 2023.
“Our partnership with ITV represents a major milestone as we strive to bring LIV Golf to every corner of the world,” said Ron Wechsler, LIV Golf Senior Vice President of Broadcast Partnerships and Programming Strategy.
“With a premier sports broadcaster like ITV, we can ensure that more fans than ever will be able to access the excitement of the LIV Golf experience and connect with the world-class players, teams, and stories that make us a truly standalone global sports league.”
LIV Golf extends its reach
LIV Golf is solidifying its position as one of the biggest forces in global sports despite its controversial origins. The tournament was founded in 2021 as a competitor to the PGA Tour and with financial backing from the Saudi sovereign wealth fund, the Public Investment Fund (PIF).
This occurred against a backdrop of the Saudi state increasing the country’s presence on the international sports stage as a result of Crown Prince Mohamed bin Salman’s Vision 2030 project. The Riyadh Season in particular has brought a lot of sporting attention to Saudi Arabia through world title boxing matches, the WTA tennis finals and UFC events, among others, while the country will host the 2034 World Cup.
Due to Saudi Arabia’s troubled human rights record, this has led to accusations of ‘sportswashing’, though the Saudi state claims that is part of its goal of diversifying the country’s economy through sports and entertainment.
Securing free-to-air rights in a major sports market like the UK will undoubtedly help LIV Golf build up its reputation to a wider audience, buidling on another recently announced deal with FOX Sports in the US as well as an active social media strategy.
The deal is also a win for ITV against a backdrop of many major UK sports tournaments shifting increasingly towards having pay-TV partners, namely Sky Sports and TNT Sports.
Niall Sloane, Director of ITV Sport, said: “This is an exciting time for LIV Golf as we look ahead to the innovative 2025 season. This partnership delivers free-to-air coverage for fans in the UK and we are delighted to welcome LIV Golf to ITV Sport.”
A chilly reception warming up
In yet another boost to LIV Golf this week, the tournament seems to be becoming steadily accepted by the established order in the sport. Unsurprisingly, the biggest opponents to the tournament since its inception have been the European Tour and PGA Tour – though a merger between the latter and LIV Golf could be on the cards.
Several PGA Tour players migrated to LIV Golf shortly after the tournament’s foundation but were subsequently blacklisted from PGA Tour and European Tour events, such as the US Open.
This week, an agreement was reached which will allow one LIV Golf player to compete in the US Open, rising to two in 2026. This is indicative of the wider golf world becoming more accepting of LIV Golf’s presence in the sport, albeit maybe reluctantly.
“We’re pleased that the USGA has formally created a new exemption for LIV Golf players to compete in the US Open and appreciate Mike Whan’s leadership and commitment to growing the game of golf,” said Scott O’Neil, LIV Golf CEO.
“Every golf fan in the world longs to see the greatest players in the world competing on golf’s biggest stages at the majors. LIV Golf is committed to working hand in hand with golf’s governing bodies to elevate the sport in all corners of the world.”
Golf set for 2025 shakeup?
Meanwhile, the aforementioned potential merger with LIV Golf could be closer than ever after Jay Monaghan, Commissioner of the PGA Tour, confirmed this week that he has been meeting with US President Donald Trump on the matter.
The PGA Tour, PGA European Tour and LIV Golf first announced plans to merge their commercial rights in June 2023 but the December deadline for a deal to be finalised was not reached.
Donald Trump has previously stated, in his trademark blunt-yet-confident style, that he could get a PGA-LIV deal done in ‘15 minutes’. Monaghan meeting with the President to discuss the negotiations with the Saudi PIF could be indicative that a major shakeup is set to take place in the golf world this year.
A statement signed by Monaghan and PGA Player Directors, and former pro-golfers, Tiger Woods and Adam Scott, read: “We know golf fans are eagerly anticipating a resolution to negotiations with the Public Investment Fund and want to thank President Trump for his interest and long-time support for the game of golf.
“We asked the President to get involved for the good of the game, the good of the country, and for all the countries involved. We are grateful that his leadership has brought us closer to a final deal, paving the way for reunification of men’s professional golf.”
