On Sunday, Jon Rahm and Brooks Koepka’s playoff at Greenbrier ended in the latter sealing his fifth LIV Golf victory. Now, Koepka has one more regular LIV trophy than he has the PGA Tour titles. On the other side, Hideki Matsuyama, days after getting robbed at London airport, netted a victory for the second time this season. However, when it came to delivering the numbers, none were very successful.

LIV generated 165K viewers on CW. Comparably, the Pro Pickleball Briston Open received 295K viewers on Fox Sports that same day. FedEx St. Jude Championship, on the other hand, generated 2.211 million eyeballs, down 30% from last year. What explains the sudden drop? Is it that viewers are fatigued?

Is there too much golf in men’s games?

This is not the first drop for the PGA Tour. The Open Championship recorded its worst TV rating in recent times. While for other regular events, the blame falls on the lack of strength in the field, that wasn’t the case at the Open. Rather logic says the ratings should’ve gone up because it was the last time all the top players in the world were coming together until next year’s Masters. 

However, the number of viewers (3.39 million), was the lowest since Zach Johnson’s 2015 Open victory. So, clearly, having the best players on the field doesn’t automatically guarantee more eyeballs. It doesn’t help that not all of them show up when the time comes. The U.S. Open was a two-way battle. And, despite what the Open leaderboard tells you, no one looked poised to overturn Xander Schauffele’s charge.

On top of it, with LIV’s home matches on US soil, arguing that a switch never happens is facile. That no one will switch from the PGA Tour to LIV Golf if the stakes are higher on the latter (and vice versa). Obviously, most would love the pros to be at the same venue, competing against each other. But that’s unlikely to happen till 2026.

In short, barring the Olympics, the door to victory was never wide open for more than two people. This is also why the high-octane drama at the Le Golf was rejuvenating. There is hardly any doubt that viewers care least about the fat paychecks on Sunday. In the Olympics there was none. The emotion was unmatched still.

Do we need to consider the streaming views now?

Yes, we do. The official numbers should include the streaming views that a particular tournament gets. Be it the PGA Tour, LPGA Tour, or even LIV Golf. the rationale is very simple: it’s the new normal. Like it or not, the push to move sports to steam will only gain further momentum.

At the risk of playing the devil’s advocate here, the countless ads that bombard regular TV broadcasting are a major way for NBC and other services to generate revenue. So for them, it’s a double whammy. Fewer ads mean lesser revenue, lesser growth, and the risk of being dubbed as a loss-making sport, or a loss-making broadcasting service. With more ads, people are bashing them front, right, and center? So NBC and other broadcasting giants have to choose between a rock and a hard place. They are currently sitting on the fence; it seems.

The streamings are quickly filling the void. There are a few benefits over the streaming services. Not to say they are the ideal 21st-century means of sports watching, but with a certain amount, you can get non-stop coverage. Moreover, subscriptions are not solely for golf in many cases. Meaning, that you can continue to enjoy other sports as well. 

But more importantly, you can stream while traveling, waiting, or even eating out; basically at your convenience. The point is the ubiquitous medium is getting more popular. And bundle subscription—where you can club together a handful of streaming services and get the pack at a cheaper price—is making things far easier.

This is also why it’s necessary to take streaming videos into account. Because there is a real possibility that some are choosing to watch via ESPN+, Peacock rather than Golf Channel on TV. That was the case at the Masters. Many pointed out they never felt the need to open Golf Channel, because the stream at the Masters’ own app filled their needs. 

So, the viewership drop is certainly a real threat. Not everyone who turns away from the TV can be expected to follow the match on their phone. But with the streaming numbers, it would be easier to guess what the net loss is. If something can be done differently. Currently, there are far too many variables.