3.2 MILLION VIEWERS: LIV Golf fans flock to new network ‘exceeding expectations’ for season opener
The opening weekend of the 2023 LIV Golf League on The CW Network generated an audience of over 3.2 million total viewers across all linear and digital platforms.
Viewing figures were provided in partnership with audience measurement provider iSpot along with internal CW and LIV Golf digital data capturing the those tuning into the golf league’s three-day competition between 24-26 February As part of a new rights deal with The CW announced on 19 January, LIV Golf’s Saturday broadcast saw more than 1.6 million total viewers tune in on linear television including CW affiliates, Nexstar stations carrying LIV Golf in key markets, and out of home viewings, with more than 1.3 million total linear viewers on Sunday.
LIV Golf’s 2023 opening tournament saw The CW Network’s local market ratings for the time period increase by double digits in ten top U.S. markets compared to their year-to-date weekend averages for the time period. In addition, The CW’s weekend primetime national ratings were up +24% among total viewers compared to the network’s weekend season to date average, according to Nielsen. An indication of how new technology and capabilities are shaping consumer habits, new downloads of The CW App jumped by nearly 1 million in February, a +40% month-to-month increase in the lead-up to LIV Golf’s 2023 debut. LIV Golf Plus, unveiled on February 23, was the weekend’s highest downloaded free sports app across major platforms, recording nearly 350,000 views over the tournament’s three days. In addition, LIV Golf League and team social media accounts experienced 34 million video views throughout the tournament week.
Will Staeger, LIV Golf’s Chief Media Officer, said: “Our first weekend of live coverage for the 2023 LIV Golf season exceeded expectations.
“It represented the LIV Golf League’s debut on The CW, The CW App, and the weekend’s highest downloaded free sports app, LIV Golf Plus. LIV has diversified its consumption model, tailoring our distribution to the way viewers consume their content – and these numbers reflect the new ways that sports are watched. This is a long-term game of growing our viewership, but we are delighted with our start in the US and extremely encouraged by our global engagement.
“Our preliminary rollout with 12 international broadcast partners and counting signifies a far-reaching demand for LIV Golf, which will be delivered in over 160 territories to more than 380 million homes worldwide.”
Dennis Miller, President of The CW Network, said: “This was a great start for LIV Golf and a great debut for CW Sports.
“We are really encouraged by the dramatic viewership increases we saw across our affiliates. The performance of LIV Golf is very competitive with other longstanding sports leagues, and we are confident that the audience for the league will continue growing throughout the season, as The CW delivers high quality sports programming to our broadcasting and advertising partners for the first time.”
