'I'm happy to take a beating...' LIV Golf CEO makes shock 2.5m TV ratings claim
LIV Golf CEO Scott O'Neil has revealed 2.5 million people tuned in to watch their season opener in Saudi Arabia from 6-8 February.
LIV Golf CEO Scott O'Neil has told ESPN that 2.5 million viewers watched their season opener in Saudi Arabia from 6-8 February.
According to a number of reports last month, including Nielsen TV data supplied by @YeahClickClack, LIV Golf Riyadh pulled just 54,000 viewers in the final round.
Multiple publications also indicated only 34,000 viewers tuned in to watch Joaquin Niemann win the latest LIV Golf event in Singapore.
While viewership numbers in the United States certainly look bleak for LIV Golf, at least when compared to the PGA Tour's Players Championship final round that drew 3.6m viewers with a peak of 6.2m last month, O'Neil admits LIV is doing well in terms of viewership around the world.
In the eyes of O'Neil, LIV is playing a very different game to that of the PGA Tour.
O'Neil told ESPN a total of 2.5 million viewers tuned in to watch all three rounds of LIV Golf Riyadh at the start of the season.
LIV is screened on 100+ channels globally.
The breakaway Saud league announced a new deal with FOX Sports in the United States earlier this season.
News then emerged that DAZN had secured an exclusive broadcast rights for LIV in Austria, Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Portugal and Switzerland.
Golf fans also have access to LIV Golf+ service.
Scroll down for O'Neil's latest comments...
"It's not that the facts aren't accurate," O'Neil told ESPN.
"It's just we're playing a different game. Check our ratings in the Middle East. Check our ratings in Europe when we're playing there.
"I like where we are, like our positioning. I like being a global sports league. I think that's different."
O'Neil added: "I'm happy to be held accountable for ratings on Friday, Saturday, Sunday.
"I'm happy to take a beating, quite frankly, if they're not high enough. Nobody can possibly be any more critical of us than us."
O'Neil's latest comments about TV ratings come a week after LIV Golf superstar Brooks Koepka admitted the league is "behind where it should be" in 2025.
Koepka expanded on that again ahead of LIV Golf Miami this week.
Bryson DeChambeau also chimed in.
Watch the video here:
🚨⛳️🎤 #WATCH — Brooks & Bryson share some thoughts on LIV Golf’s progression:
— NUCLR GOLF (@NUCLRGOLF) April 2, 2025
Bryson: “There needs to be some continued thought on what LIV is doing for the global game of golf.”
Brooks: “We all hoped it would be a little bit farther along.”
pic.twitter.com/ZlBnYn1rbC
Related:
LIV heads into its fifth event of the season at LIV Golf Miami this week.
Jon Rahm, Bryson DeChambeau, Joaquin Niemann, Tyrrell Hatton and Brooks Koepka once again start at the front of the betting market.
LIV Golf Miami marks the final tournament before golf's first major of the season at The Masters next week.
A total fo 13 LIV players are in the 2025 Masters. Check out the full list below:
Bubba Watson |
Brooks Koepka |
Bryson DeChambeau |
Cameron Smith |
Charl Schwartzel |
Dustin Johnson |
Joaquin Niemann |
Jon Rahm |
Patrick Reed |
Sergio Garcia |
Phil Mickelson |
Sergio Garcia |
Tyrrell Hatton |
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