LIV Golf has been dealt a significant blow as their US streaming partner, Caffeine TV, has unexpectedly ceased operations, throwing the Saudi-backed series’ broadcast strategy into chaos.
The upstart golf league is scrambling for solutions after Caffeine TV, which provided a pay-to-view service for American audiences, announced its closure. This comes at a critical time with six events remaining in LIV Golf’s 2024 schedule.
Despite only half a year since celebrating their partnership, LIV Golf now finds itself without a streaming platform as Caffeine TV bows out, citing profitability issues in the competitive sports streaming market.
In a sombre announcement, Caffeine TV declared: “All good things come to an end,” signalling the end of their venture. “We’re at the point where we are still not quite profitable, so we’ve made the decision to end the service as of June 26th as we figure out our next steps.”
LIV Golf had high hopes when they joined forces with Caffeine TV earlier this year, aiming to capture a ‘younger, more diverse audience than many traditional broadcast platforms’ and secure significant exposure. Now, they face the remainder of the season without a key broadcaster.
Fans in the United States can still tune into LIV Golf on the cable CW Network and on the CW app – but this is a setback for those without cable access. LIV Golf Plus and the LIV Golf YouTube channel mean that online streaming is still available for international followers.
However, the domestic market remains the biggest in golf globally. Caffeine TV was viewed as a robust tool to help LIV Golf generate some revenue following the highly-publicised financial outlay from the Saudi Public Investment Fund.
Bryson DeChambeau’s Crushers GC lead the team standings on the back of their consecutive wins in Jeddah and Hong Kong along with their second-place finish at Nashville last week. Meanwhile, Joaquin Niemann – who also has two wins – leads the individual standings ahead of Legion XIII teammates Jon Rahm and Tyrrell Hatton, who emerged victorious in Nashville last weekend.
Hatton posted a six-under-par final round to finish 19-under for the three-round tournament, defeating Sam Horsfield by six strokes. The Englishman pocketed $4 million in prize money.
The 10th LIV Golf event of the season takes place in Spain next month. LIV Golf Andalucia takes place from July 12-14 at Real Club Valderrama.
