(06-06-2023 03:56 PM)dbackjon Wrote:  

(06-06-2023 03:51 PM)quo vadis Wrote:  LIV is victorious. Their players are vindicated. They made the right move and get to have that LIV cake and eat it too on the PGA tour.

Remains to be seen.

There were a sizable number of golf fans who were rooting for LIV, and especially their Saudi sugar daddies, to lose. Right now it appears that they won. It will be interesting to see whether any of the corporate sponsors and advertisers withdraw their support of the PGA. I'll be surprised if there isn't a lot of blowback from politicians, especially in the US. How soon will Americans' outrage directed at the Saudis abate and professional golfers view this as "just business"?

(06-06-2023 04:58 PM)ken d Wrote:  I'll be surprised if their isn't a lot of blowback from politicians, especially in the US.

You won't get it from party leaders on both sides.

Trump and his son in law does business with the Saudis
Biden shook hands with the guy who allegedly ordered Jamal Khassogi's murder.

Would be hypocritical to go after the PGA

What’s the next move for the Saudis? Are they going for the Pro Tennis Tour? NBA? I mean, can you imagine poaching NBA players out of high school that aren’t draft eligible?

But I think a soccer Super League should be the number one target.

Oh, and Rory probably feeling like the ex-girlfriend pro tennis player he dumped for a hotter blonde; his precious PGA tossed him and the rest of the tour aside for a more lucrative thing. He lost millions by staying loyal to the PGA.

Saw this on twitter just now…. Gave me a good laugh

https://twitter.com/ShooterMcGavin_/stat...93249?s=20

An international basketball league would be something

(01-22-2023 11:03 PM)Frank the Tank Wrote:  LIV Golf is effectively giving away its product right now because anyone with a relationship with the PGA (which primarily consists of CBS and NBC/Golf Channel along with ESPN for the PGA Championship) wasn’t going to touch them.

I don’t see the CW/Nexstar going after anything other than minor or very inexpensive sports rights. As other posters have mentioned, they are in heavy cost cutting mode (even more compared to the rest of the industry) and just trying to wring out whatever cash is available from these legacy linear TV channels.

You haven't seen the latest news on LUV Golf & the PGA Tour, have you Frank?? They are merging!!

(01-22-2023 06:56 PM)World Wide Swag Wrote:  PAc-12 on CW? Kidding, kind of.

Why? They cover most of the country. They're OTA. They now have a bunch of slots open. They clearly are interested in some sports content. The Pac might even draw better ratings than the dozens who were tuning in to watch LIV.

(01-22-2023 11:03 PM)Frank the Tank Wrote:  LIV Golf is effectively giving away its product right now because anyone with a relationship with the PGA (which primarily consists of CBS and NBC/Golf Channel along with ESPN for the PGA Championship) wasn’t going to touch them.

I don’t see the CW/Nexstar going after anything other than minor or very inexpensive sports rights. As other posters have mentioned, they are in heavy cost cutting mode (even more compared to the rest of the industry) and just trying to wring out whatever cash is available from these legacy linear TV channels.

Kliavkoff: So you're saying there's a chance!?!

(01-24-2023 02:59 AM)SoCalBobcat78 Wrote:  

(01-22-2023 11:03 PM)Frank the Tank Wrote:  LIV Golf is effectively giving away its product right now because anyone with a relationship with the PGA (which primarily consists of CBS and NBC/Golf Channel along with ESPN for the PGA Championship) wasn’t going to touch them.

I don’t see the CW/Nexstar going after anything other than minor or very inexpensive sports rights. As other posters have mentioned, they are in heavy cost cutting mode (even more compared to the rest of the industry) and just trying to wring out whatever cash is available from these legacy linear TV channels.

LIV Golf presented by MBS and the Saudi Government. They are giving this away for exposure because no one else would touch it. Even Apple and Amazon were not interested. This is either an image enhancement tour or the Saudis just have too much money and don't know what to do with it all.

What's interesting to me about this whole thing is that Monahan chose to attack LIV on the source of their money, and now he's paying for that. Tiger and many other top golfers happily took their money for decades in tournaments here and there. The DP World Tour was very friendly with them and is in fact excited to rekindle that romance. Monahan made it about terrorism instead of what it really was: an economic power play by a Country with a whole lot more money than the PGA Tour. This merger was far from guaranteed, but it was always a distinct possibility. Once all the details come out, I wouldn't be surprised if Monahan was backed into a corner by the DP World Tour. If they'd defected then he couldn't have used the "dirty money" argument, and anything else he came up with would have sounded hollow. Now, he looks like a Corporate Shill who was willing to say whatever he needed to say to keep his stars from taking $100m checks from another, legitimate Tour. His players are pissed. I'm not sure that they'll force him out or leave to form their own Tour when they see how enormous their new prize pools are going to be, however. Those guys were already getting paid, but they're about to get PAID.

(06-06-2023 11:11 PM)bryanw1995 Wrote:  

(01-22-2023 11:03 PM)Frank the Tank Wrote:  LIV Golf is effectively giving away its product right now because anyone with a relationship with the PGA (which primarily consists of CBS and NBC/Golf Channel along with ESPN for the PGA Championship) wasn’t going to touch them.

I don’t see the CW/Nexstar going after anything other than minor or very inexpensive sports rights. As other posters have mentioned, they are in heavy cost cutting mode (even more compared to the rest of the industry) and just trying to wring out whatever cash is available from these legacy linear TV channels.

Kliavkoff: So you're saying there's a chance!?!

So.... Phil Mickelson made $200 million dollars and now gets to still play in the PGA?

(06-06-2023 11:02 PM)bryanw1995 Wrote:  

(01-22-2023 06:56 PM)World Wide Swag Wrote:  PAc-12 on CW? Kidding, kind of.

Why? They cover most of the country. They're OTA. They now have a bunch of slots open. They clearly are interested in some sports content. The Pac might even draw better ratings than the dozens who were tuning in to watch LIV.

Counterpoint: CW leadership has just run off the network's entire audience by canceling their most popular shows like the Arrowverse shows, Charmed, and Riverdale to name a few. Those shows are going to be replaced by reality shows.

(06-07-2023 05:57 AM)TeamRamRod1 Wrote:  

(06-06-2023 11:02 PM)bryanw1995 Wrote:  

(01-22-2023 06:56 PM)World Wide Swag Wrote:  PAc-12 on CW? Kidding, kind of.

Why? They cover most of the country. They're OTA. They now have a bunch of slots open. They clearly are interested in some sports content. The Pac might even draw better ratings than the dozens who were tuning in to watch LIV.

Counterpoint: CW leadership has just run off the network's entire audience by canceling their most popular shows like the Arrowverse shows, Charmed, and Riverdale to name a few. Those shows are going to be replaced by reality shows.

Killed their audience but will probably lose less money since the production budget of reality TV and the acquisition rights for foreign shows is tiny compared to the Arrowverse

(06-07-2023 01:41 AM)ChrisLords Wrote:  So.... Phil Mickelson made $200 million dollars and now gets to still play in the PGA?

Why should he not be able to play? Why do people hate competition, free agency, more opportunity, more choices? Is a Slav a bad guy if he leaves there to play in the NBA? Is a Brazilian a bad guy if he plays EPL?

(06-06-2023 10:39 PM)DawgNBama Wrote:  

(01-22-2023 11:03 PM)Frank the Tank Wrote:  LIV Golf is effectively giving away its product right now because anyone with a relationship with the PGA (which primarily consists of CBS and NBC/Golf Channel along with ESPN for the PGA Championship) wasn’t going to touch them.

I don’t see the CW/Nexstar going after anything other than minor or very inexpensive sports rights. As other posters have mentioned, they are in heavy cost cutting mode (even more compared to the rest of the industry) and just trying to wring out whatever cash is available from these legacy linear TV channels.

You haven't seen the latest news on LUV Golf & the PGA Tour, have you Frank?? They are merging!!

That post was from January though

(06-07-2023 05:57 AM)TeamRamRod1 Wrote:  

(06-06-2023 11:02 PM)bryanw1995 Wrote:  

(01-22-2023 06:56 PM)World Wide Swag Wrote:  PAc-12 on CW? Kidding, kind of.

Why? They cover most of the country. They're OTA. They now have a bunch of slots open. They clearly are interested in some sports content. The Pac might even draw better ratings than the dozens who were tuning in to watch LIV.

Counterpoint: CW leadership has just run off the network's entire audience by canceling their most popular shows like the Arrowverse shows, Charmed, and Riverdale to name a few. Those shows are going to be replaced by reality shows.

As has been pointed out, those shows lost money. Most of their "audience" was on streaming services, which doesn't do the CW any good. When the CW was owned by CBS Paramount and Warner Bros, that was okay because they'd use the CW to launch the show, then sell it to streamers and internationally and make the money that way.

The CW doesn't have a measurable audience, in P5 college sports terms. But it exists nationally, it's on a relatively accessible spot on your cable guide / channel lineup. The PAC doesn't have a lot of options for linear TV. Showing the games on the CW for nickels is better than paywalling Oregon-Washington so no one who doesn't own Ducks or Huskies gear sees it..

(01-24-2023 09:09 AM)Frank the Tank Wrote:  

(01-24-2023 08:35 AM)johnbragg Wrote:  

(01-22-2023 11:47 PM)AllTideUp Wrote:  

(01-22-2023 11:03 PM)Frank the Tank Wrote:  LIV Golf is effectively giving away its product right now because anyone with a relationship with the PGA (which primarily consists of CBS and NBC/Golf Channel along with ESPN for the PGA Championship) wasn’t going to touch them.

I don’t see the CW/Nexstar going after anything other than minor or very inexpensive sports rights. As other posters have mentioned, they are in heavy cost cutting mode (even more compared to the rest of the industry) and just trying to wring out whatever cash is available from these legacy linear TV channels.

Cheap sports, yes, but LIV is relatively high profile given the controversy. It could draw some decent viewership on a network that doesn't have to fight for carriage. It's a pretty smart play especially given the price tag.

I'm not suggesting they'll go after anything major anytime soon, but it's an interesting option for any college conference looking for OTA opportunities. Unlike the other broadcast networks, The CW will have plenty of slots.

Also, I think you're underestimating the power of OTA a little bit. It will never be what it was in the old days when you basically had 3 TV stations, but streaming options are a mixed bag...especially when it comes to sports. People thought cable would effectively kill off traditional OTA television. Here we are a few decades later and cable is dying while traditional OTA is still strong. I don't really see anything that suggests they won't be viable in the marketplace going forward even if linear cable is on the way out.

As long as Nexstar finds a way to monetize online content then they'll be in a pretty good spot. Actually, I've wondered for a long time why CBS(I've recently realized it was co-owned by Warner Bros) or some other company hadn't taken advantage of what The CW could be.

They were. It's just that "what the CW could be" was "an incubator for shows that can then be sold to Netflix and internationally for a profit." The Netflix deal is over, and CBS Paramount Global and Warner Bros Discovery HBO Max Turner want the shows for their own streaming services--or not.

Nexstar was able to buy the CW (75% ownership) for $0 and an agreement to fund the continuing losses. Which makes sense for them because they own a ton of the CW's stations, and those stations gotta have SOMETHING to put on the air.

Could that "something" be low-level college football on fall Saturdays? Why not? ESPN sells games to CBS-SN, why not to the CW?

I also wonder if local pro sports start moving back to OTA on the MyNetwork TV and CW affiliates. If the leagues buy the wreckage of Diamond Sports out of bankruptcy, split the games between local TV and league-owned streaming services.

Yes, if you're talking about low-level college football (e.g. G5 and FCS games), then sure. I would put that in the category of minor or inexpensive sports rights that I've noted before.

For local pro sports, MLB and NBA are already telegraphing what they want to do if/when they get those RSN rights back: they want their own league-wide streaming services for those local games. Now, unlike MLS, there would still be substantial national linear TV packages for MLB and NBA as there are now, but they'd still optimally want league control of what are now local TV rights so that they can use them for their respective streaming ambitions. It's going to be *worse* for us as fans - they're going to be even less inclined to put those games on OTA than they are today because the only way to even approach recouping what had been insanely lucrative RSN revenue is to wring out every penny of streaming revenue possible outside of the national TV deals. This isn't my conjecture: John Ourand from Sports Business Journal has said that this is what those leagues would want to do in the event of a Diamond Sports bankruptcy and what would eventually end up being a buyout of other RSNs.

Now, the issue with that plan is that the most valuable MLB and NBA franchises are still making an incredible amount of money from their respective RSNs and their own high franchise valuations are *directly* tied to having control of their local TV rights in their respective large markets (e.g. the pro teams in NYC, LA, Chicago and Boston). Even if RSNs were to go away, teams like the Yankees, Red Sox, Cubs, and Lakers would much rather just have their own individual streaming services or sell them on their own (like how Amazon has dipped its toes in with the Yankees) as opposed to providing their TV rights back to their respective leagues. So, maybe the smaller market teams pool their local rights together to create a broader streaming package, but who knows how effective that would be if the large market teams aren't included. It's a real dilemma for MLB, NBA and NHL teams because RSN revenue has been SOOOO lucrative to them that virtually every other option for them is inherently worse financially.

I've been saying for many years that sports fans were failing to see the forest for the trees about the cost of the cable bundle (e.g. not realizing that all of those Lifetime and HGTV viewers were subsidizing sports fans as opposed to the other way around) and that we'd eventually be paying more to get the same games on streaming.

That was a good call!