LIV Golf Launch On CW Was “Very Successful,” New Parent Company President Says, Jabbing Rival PGA For Doing “A Really Nice Job” Keeping Media Partners From Bidding Up Rights
deadline.comTom Carter, president and COO of The CW parent Nexstar Media Group, said the debut of Saudi-backed LIV Golf on the network in late-February was a hit and may well help spur more talks with sports rights holders. “It was very successful from our perspective,” Carter said during an appearance at the Morgan Stanley Technology, Media and Telecom Conference.
He said the average hourly audience was about 500,000, which he said was one-quarter to one-third the size of rival PGA Tour broadcasts of the Honda Classic. “But the PGA’s been around for 40 years and this was LIV’s first broadcast.
So, we’re very excited about it.” Nexstar acquired 75% ownership of The CW for no upfront cash or stock last fall, with prior joint venture partners Paramount and Warner Bros Discovery each retaining 12.5% stakes.
Nexstar has pledged to turn the network profitable by 2025 and is in the midst of overhauling the schedule, promising to replace a lineup long defined by young-skewing scripted dramas with a wider range of less-expensive programming.
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