LIV Golf TV ratings: How viewership compared to PGA Tour in debut on The CW
The start of LIV Golf’s second season this past weekend in Mayakoba, Mexico, was marked by something: the level of accessibility afforded to US fans of the tour.
In mid-January, LIV Golf announced it was teaming up with the CW Network in a television and streaming agreement. This is LIV Golf’s first TV deal after going streaming-only for its inaugural season, and moves into a multi-year partnership where CW will broadcast all 14 global events and stream the events live on the CW app.
However, they will not all be live. Some of the international events are not broadcast in real time and will be broadcast on The CW with tape delay. Namely, the events in Australia, Singapore, Spain, England and Saudi Arabia will be broadcast live on the CW app rather than on the network itself.
MORE: Updated roster of LIV Golf players for 2023 season
Here’s what LIV Golf brought in for viewers on The CW in its inaugural weekend versus the PGA Tour’s weekend event, the Honda Classic.
LIV Golf TV Ratings 2023
The first round was broadcast exclusively via the CW app, so the numbers weren’t available for comparison.
Below are the TV viewership figures for the Saturday and Sunday streams on the CW:
| Transfer | Total viewers | Viewers aged 18-49 | network |
| LIV Mexico – Sunday | 291,000 | 48,000 | cw |
| LIV Mexico – Saturday | 286,000 | 55,000 | cw |
MORE: Can LIV golf stars compete in 2023 Masters at Augusta National?
PGA Tour Ratings 2023
For comparison, below are TV viewership figures for the PGA Tour, which hosted the Honda Classic from Thursday 23rd February to Sunday 26th February. Broadcasts were held on NBC and the Golf Channel.
| case | Total viewers | Viewers aged 18-49 | network |
| Honda Classic – Sunday | 2,383,000 | 390,000 | ABC |
| Honda Classic – Sunday | 631,000 | 130,000 | gulf channel |
| Honda Classic – Saturday | 1,610,000 | 295,000 | ABC |
| Honda Classic – Saturday | 555,000 | 68,000 | gulf channel |
| Honda Classic – Friday | 471,000 | 66,000 | gulf channel |
| Honda Classic – Thursday | 342,000 | 50,000 | gulf channel |
While LIV Golf’s first-time numbers aren’t spectacular compared to those of the PGA Tour, they still have solid room for growth. This was just their first weekend in cohort with the new network, and having those numbers after failing to land a TV deal in their inaugural season is something to remember.
LIV Golf’s next event will be held March 17-19 in Tucson, Arizona.