LIV Golf president not ‘hung up’ on paying for television airtime
- LIV’s initial season is available on YouTube but it is not on TV despite being offered to broadcasters free of charge
- The tournament’s president Atul Khosla says he was not worried about a short-term TV deal, saying LIV’s wealthy backers were playing the long game
The disruptive new LIV Golf circuit could pay for television coverage temporarily as it tries to build a long-term presence, its president said, adding that the tour’s Saudi backers were looking a decade ahead or more.
LIV, whose luring of top players with record purses has enraged golf’s establishment, is currently on a “roadshow” of US and international broadcasters, president and chief operating officer Atul Khosla said at the Jeddah Invitational.
Responding to a report that LIV will buy airtime from US network Fox Sports, Khosla said LIV did not have “commercial terms figured out with any partner”.
“It could be that, it could be [revenue] share, it could be advertising dollars,” he said in an interview, when asked if LIV would buy airtime for a season before receiving any payment. “There’s so many different ways to build deals out … I personally don’t get too hung up on any of it at this point.”
Khosla referred to Major League Soccer, the NBA in China and Formula One in the US, which all started with small-scale TV deals before building up.