LIV Golf's CW debut scores low ratings; Nexstar CEO bullish

The LIV Golf League promised to be «golf but louder,» but TV ratings for its season opener in Mexico last weekend suggested few people were listening or watching.

The CW's inaugural live broadcast of the LIV Golf League drew an average of 289,000 viewers and a 0.18 household rating on Saturday and Sunday. The opening round on Friday was available to U.S. viewers on the CW app and the league's official website.

Speaking to reporters during an earnings call Tuesday, Perry Sook — CEO of Nexstar, The CW's parent company — said it was still a good start for the circuit, which is being financed by Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund and fronted by two-time Open Championship winner Greg Norman.

Sook told reporters that 1.4 million people watched at least a few minutes of the LIV Golf League tournament at Mayakoba, either across The CW broadcast network or on the CW app.

«Those numbers exceeded our expectations, and, most importantly, the affiliates as well as our own stations were thrilled,» Sook said. «I know that our affiliates and CW affiliates in the top 10 markets generated about three times the amount of money that the network generated for this first outing, and so it's selling very well, and, you know, and I think will continue to grow as we get more into the season and more involved.»

LIV Golf's ratings didn't come close to matching those of the PGA Tour's Honda Classic, which, for Saturday and Sunday, averaged about 593,000 viewers on the Golf Channel and about 2 million viewers on NBC.

With the Honda Classic sandwiched between four of the PGA Tour's biggest events, most of the tour's top stars didn't play in the tournament. In fact, none of the top 17 players in the world competed in the opening event of the tour's