LIV Golf will reportedly pay Fox Sports to broadcast its tournaments

LIV Golf is nearing an agreement with the US cable television network Fox Sports 1 to purchase air time for its tournaments, Golfweek reported Wednesday, citing multiple sources.

Since it was formally announced in March, the upstart professional golf circuit bankrolled by Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund has operated without a TV deal, instead streaming its events for free on YouTube and Facebook, despite an initial outlay of more than $1bn to poach some of the sport’s biggest names from the PGA Tour.

While the vast majority of major sports organizations sell their broadcast rights as a block to media companies in exchange for substantial up-front fees, the reported deal will see LIV Golf pay for its own airtime with the goal of recouping costs by selling their own commercial sponsorships.

Should the LIV Golf deal with Fox Sports 1 come to pass, it would also be required to comply with US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) requirements enacted in March that mandate broadcasters disclose when foreign governments or their representatives lease time on their airwaves.

LIV Golf did not respond to a request for comment from the Guardian about the potential deal and the FCC regulations, which require disclosure at the time of a broadcast if a foreign governmental entity paid a radio or television station, directly or indirectly, to air material.

Critics have accused the Saudi government of using its reported $2bn investment to sanitize the kingdom’s dismal human rights record, alleged ties to the September 11 attacks, severe repression of women’s and LGBTQ+ rights and the 2018 murder of the dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi since the breakaway golf tour was announced six months ago.

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