“Initial stories were incomplete” - LIV Golf reveals reason for delay in Mayakoba viewership report

LIV Golf’s new and extended second season kickstarted on February 24 with the event in Mayakoba. Following the event, reports came out claiming ‘unflattering’ numbers in viewership. However, the series’ executive has now revealed that the ‘initial stories were incomplete’ and went on to explain the delay in the viewership report.

Having signed a multi-year revenue-sharing TV deal with the CW in January, LIV Golf is now claiming that the series’ season opener received an audience of 3.2 million viewers. As the reports continue to squint fans' eyes, LIV Golf’s chief media officer, Will Staeger, has claimed that they wanted the reports “to be thorough”, thus delaying the release.

Speaking about LIV Golf’s viewership report, Will Staeger said, as quoted by Golf Week:

“This is why we wanted to be thorough and take our time and not leap or react to initial stories which were incomplete. The way that we are distributed on Nexstar and CW platforms includes both the CW affiliates throughout the country, but also a web of Nexstar owned stations and some independent stations.”

He added:

“So just taking a small sample is just not going to be accurate given the distribution strategy of our partner on linear. So those numbers were not taken into account from the small sample.”

It is pertinent to note that the rebel series’ first season as the re-branded LIV Golf League is being treated as a huge success by the organizers. LIV reported 3.2 million total viewers across the three days, which is notably higher compared to the initial ‘average’ audience.

Staeger added:

“iSpot has a broader glimpse of the way viewers view content than simply the panel process. These numbers take into account not only the Nexstar stations and the combination of CW and Nexstar but also set top boxes, connected TVs, out of home and video players, so the attempt here is to be comprehensive and thorough.”

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LIV Golf executive lauds second season's 'very good start'

Further lauding the viewership numbers as a “very good start,” LIV executive Will Staeger said that the event’s strategies seemed to be working. He also noted that the numbers sit well with the rebel series’ long-term plans.

He said:

“It’s a very good start in that sense and our strategy seems to be working. The other piece of the puzzle is this is just a start. It’s a long-term growth curve for a new league. We’ve had our expectations in the realm of reality, and these numbers exceeded our expectations.

"We thought it was a great strategy in 2022, in our beta season, to put the product out where people could find it for free, and YouTube was one of the better ways of doing that. We’re pretty proud of the numbers that we tallied, but we’re talking 20 times what we saw in viewership, just on the first weekend, by being on a broadcast network in 120 million homes. So it’s a big growth step for us.”

Known for its bold and brash moves, the LIV event’s viewership reports raised a few eyebrows. Fans even questioned the legitimacy of the numbers released. LIV Golf League will return on March 17 with LIV Golf Tucson at the Gallery Golf Club in Marana, Arizona.