In new court documents, LIV Golf alleges its troubles finding television deals in 2022 was due to a PGA Tour executive using “illegal means” to kill off potential partnerships.
LIV Golf and the PGA Tour’s battle for the sport’s supremacy has been going on for the last year. It has included suspensions, bans and litigation. While the Saudi Arabia-backed league has massive finances to combat the Tour’s prestige and reach, the upstart league has had a lot of trouble finding television partnerships around the world.
The entire first season of LIV Golf was mostly broadcast through streaming platforms like Facebook. It wasn’t until just before the new season that the tour scored a North American media rights deal with the CW Network. That was a problem for LIV abroad as well, and it alleges in an ongoing anti-trust suit against the PGA that Tour executive Thierry Pascal used his international influence to undercut the league’s chances of securing broadcast contracts.
