Sep 15, 2022
The list of broadcasting companies to pass on the new LIV Golf series grew this week.
Amazon and Apple — two of the biggest and newest players in the sports streaming market — both declined to carry LIV on their platforms, according to The Wall Street Journal. Other companies like ESPN, CBS, NBC and Fox have also already refused to air the Saudi-backed league, according to the Journal.
It wasn't surprising when other major networks passed on LIV — CBS, NBC and ESPN already have deals with LIV's biggest rival, the PGA Tour. But Amazon and Apple deciding against the upstart golf series is significant because of the two company's recent foray into live sporting events. Amazon is set to unveil its new "Thursday Night Football" broadcast this week after paying in the neighborhood of $100 billion for the NFL's slate of games. Apple, meanwhile, inked a 10-year, $2.5 billion deal to stream Major League Soccer matches on Apple TV+ and also airs one "Friday Night Baseball" game a week.
Currently, LIV streams live on Facebook and YouTube and has a worldwide broadcast deal with the sports-streaming service DAZN. LIV also has deals with international networks like ServusTV in Germany and Austria and Eleven Sports in Italy.
Source: Yahoo Sports