LIV Golf Nearing TV Rights Deal With CW—Mito Pereira to Join LIV

Team Captain Dustin Johnson of 4 Aces GC plays his shot from the third tee during the team championship stroke-play round of the LIV Golf Invitationa—Miami at Trump National Doral Miami in Doral, Fla., on Oct. 30, 2022. Eric Espada/Getty Images

LIV Golf is close to completing a television rights agreement with The CW, Golf.com reported on Tuesday, Jan. 17.

The Saudi-funded circuit was without a U.S. television deal in its initial season in 2022, streaming events on its website and on YouTube. As a result, the breakaway league struggled to reach mainstream audiences.

The deal with The CW would be unorthodox primarily because the network would be new to the sports world, a break from its typically teen-skewing lineup of dramas.

LIV CEO Greg Norman told Golf.com last week regarding the importance of a television deal, “It’s crucial. We have a great platform that really should be shown to the world. When we go internationally, we are applauded and accepted and everybody wants to see us. So here in the United States, it was obviously a very critical point to our business plan to make sure we do get on TV and we will get on TV.”

LIV broadcaster David Feherty hinted at the LIV-CW link on Thursday when he mentioned during an appearance in West Palm Beach, Fla., that the sides were in talks.

Norman, the front man of LIV Golf when it launched, helped the new circuit bring in such players as Phil Mickelson, Dustin Johnson, Bryson DeChambeau, Patrick Reed, Bubba Watson, Cameron Smith, Sergio Garcia and Lee Westwood.

After an eight-event opening season, LIV is looking to hold 14 tournaments this year, beginning with an event in Playa del Carmen, Mexico, from Feb. 24–26.

The CW has 220 affiliate stations in the United States. The network was recently purchased by Nexstar Media Group, with previous owners Paramount Global and Warner Bros. retaining minority stakes.

World No. 44 Mito Pereira to join LIV

Chile’s Mito Pereira is expected to join the LIV Golf League as part of the full 2023 player roster to be released next week, according to a report by The Telegraph.

Pereira, 27, would join good friend and countryman Joaquin Niemann on the breakaway tour. Currently No. 44 in the Official World Golf Rankings, Pereira is considered a rising star, although he is best known for failing to hold a one-shot lead on the final hole of last year’s PGA Championship.

Mito Pereira of Chile is seen on the 11th tee during the second round of the ZOZO Championship at Accordia Golf Narashino Country Club on October 14, 2022 in Inzai, Chiba, Japan. Photo by Chung Sung-Jun/Getty Images

He also held the lead entering the weekend at the Shriners Children’s Open in October before ultimately settling for a fourth-place tie. Pereira has teed it up only three times since, finishing runner-up in his most recent start at the Dunlop Phoenix Tournament on the Japan tour.

Pereira’s name was tied to LIV rumors around the Tour Championship last August, but he remained with the PGA Tour and competed for the International Team in the Presidents Cup. In the time since going 0–2–1 in the team competition, Pereira has been seen publicly with several LIV players, according to Golf Digest.

He would join the league’s strong Latin American contingent, which also includes Mexico’s Abraham Ancer and Carlos Ortiz.

“I would love to bring him, I’m doing everything possible, but in the end it’s his decision,” Niemann told Chilean newspaper La Tercera last month, per Golf Monthly.

“I imagine him playing the LIV. It would be ideal for him to be on the team, but that is not yet known. I hope it is. For me, at least, it would be ideal if he was on the team.”

The 2023 LIV Golf League season is slated to begin Feb. 24 at Mayakoba (Mexico), a former PGA Tour venue, with the full schedule expected to be released along with the player roster.