Brandel Chamblee in June on the U.S. Open.
Getty Pictures
Brandel Chamblee, through posts on his X social-media account, ripped the TV scores of LIV Golf, saying the tour is in “the witness safety program of sports activities viewership.”
The remark on Tuesday night time got here in response to an X publish from the Sports activities Enterprise Journal’s Josh Carpenter, who reported that the CW Community broadcast of LIV’s season-ending particular person championship drew 134,000 viewers for Saturday’s second spherical and 89,000 viewers for Sunday’s ultimate spherical. Chamblee, a longtime Golf Channel analyst who has additionally labored on NBC broadcasts, has ceaselessly commented on the Saudi-backed league, which is finishing its third season this weekend.
Beneath is Chamblee’s full, unedited publish:
“Regardless of billions of {dollars} for golf megastars, LIV stays within the witness safety program of sports activities viewership. Partly as a result of they’re attempting to ‘scale’ the county-fair motleyness of the sixteenth gap on the WM Phoenix Open and the Seve-like ardour of the RyderCup, they fail, not least for the dearth of innovation of their concepts but in addition for the origin of their funding.”
Fifteen minutes later, Chamblee posted once more, this time in response to a remark on his unique publish. Beneath is the whole, unedited alternate:
Wrote the commenter: “Bud the pga can barely get 300k viewers on nationwide television”
Wrote Chamblee: “It will depend on the occasion, and to make certain viewership is down, however total the picture of the PGA Tour continues to be about charity and benefit. Which is why it nonetheless stays such a robust industrial property. Innovation is little question coming, however the PGA Tour with its companions nonetheless provides tons of of tens of millions to charity and has essentially the most wanted demographic in all of sport. None of which will be mentioned about LIV.”
Notably, in a separate publish, Carpenter of the Sports activities Enterprise Journal reported that the Golf Channel broadcast of the PGA Tour’s Procore Championship attracted 69,000 viewers for Sunday’s ultimate spherical. A yr in the past, Carpenter wrote, 289,000 viewers tuned in for the ultimate spherical.
In an analytically written article printed Wednesday to GOLF.com — which you’ll learn in full right here — James Colgan examined each excursions’ scores, and the causes for the PGA Tour’s dip have been a number of. Amongst them, final yr’s Procore was gained by Sahith Theegala, a preferred professional, whereas this yr’s champion was Patton Kizzire, who hadn’t gained since 2018; and the printed was competing in opposition to the NFL — and each excursions have skilled the development of customers transferring to platforms outdoors of TV. Nonetheless, Colgan famous that Sunday’s broadcast ranked beneath the August common for a Golf Channel telecast of any variety (76,000), whereas Carpenter of the Sports activities Enterprise Journal, as a part of a query final month to PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan, quoted one PGA Tour community associate as having confronted a year-over-year scores swoon of 15 to 17 %.
On the LIV facet, as Colgan additionally reported, the Sunday determine was lower than one-third of the 286,000 viewers who watched the league’s first occasion on the CW, in February in Mexico. LIV was additionally competing on Sunday with the NFL, together with the Solheim Cup, however Colgan additionally famous that LIV performed arguably its largest occasion of the yr and noticed star Jon Rahm win because it continues to work to achieve a viewing foothold.
Gloomy TV scores dangle over LIV Championship, PGA Tour fall debut
Then there’s the battle between the PGA Tour and LIV Golf, which appeared to be nearing an finish final June, when LIV’s backer, the Saudi Arabia Public Funding Fund reached a funding deal with the PGA Tour, however negotiations proceed and a decision date stays imprecise. When requested this week on the DP World Tour’s BMW PGA Championship if he felt optimism on the discussions, although, Rory McIlroy mentioned he did.
“I feel to me it looks as if the individuals which are actually making the choices are all rowing in the identical route, which is a very good factor,” the four-time main winner mentioned. “And even when they’re all rowing in the identical route, it nonetheless doesn’t imply {that a} deal might get carried out as a result of it’s only a very difficult set of circumstances.
“However yeah, from what I hear, there’s optimism there, and that’s good to see.”
Editor’s notice: To learn Colgan’s full story, please click on right here. For extra on Chamblee, this text right here from GOLF’s Dylan Dethier can also be properly value your time.
