Jay Monahan recently had a press meet where he explained the PGA Tour 2024-2025 season plan. This plan involved critical aspects such as broadcast modernization, the PGA Tour-PIF merger, and fans becoming engaging partners, etc, to tackle the loss in viewership. While planning the season, the one thing that was not on the cards was to be a witness to the Tour and the streaming giant Netflix drifting apart.

How PGA Tour’s sponsors are at risk?

Last year, Netflix partnered with the PGA Tour to enter the live sports arena with the Netflix Cup, which took place in November, coinciding with F1’s debut in Las Vegas. The event attracted large crowds, as it featured both PGA Tour players and F1 drivers. Notable participants included PGA Tour players Justin Thomas and Max Homa, who competed alongside F1 drivers Carlos Sainz and Pierre Gasly in the inaugural edition, which featured a mixed format.

The event was a huge success, to say the least as the 2 1/2-hour event drew 700,000 views. Despite the success, some latest reports from the Sports Business Journal revealed that the PGA Tour and Netflix won’t team up for the 2024 edition of the Netflix Cup. Although it wasn’t clear what was the reason behind this decision, it certainly raised concern among sponsors.

Speaking of uncertainty, RBC signed one-year contracts instead of long-term because the PGA Tour hasn’t decided on the merger yet. RBC’s chief marketing officer, Mary DePaoli also voiced the bank’s frustration a few months ago saying “I think we’re probably all feeling the same; we’re all experiencing this, whether it’s as a sponsor or a fan or the players.”

While expressing this, she further added that they are waiting to see how the new for-profit works out and said, “We are all watching the PGA Tour right now. try to sort through a business model that has been under some significant strain and has still not fully resolved itself. And that’s still TBD. So, it’s requiring a lot of patience.” Despite being aware of the full situation is Jay Monahan taking any steps toward the PGA Tour-PIF deal in the upcoming season? Unfortunately no.

Merger talks will “continue to take time”

In the 50-minute-long press conference, Jay Monahan talked about a lot of plans for the upcoming season. While the plans to modernize broadcast, and alignment with players might help the tour to make it better for both pros and fans, one disappointment remains. Yes, you guessed it right. There are still no deadlines for the PGA Tour-PIF merger and the discussion is expected to continue in the 2025 season as well.

While talking about it Jay Monahan said “These conversations are complex. They’re going to take time. They have taken time, and they will continue to take time.” However, Monahan is not opposed to the deal; he is also interested in seeing the pros compete together. Nevertheless, he wants to proceed cautiously with the merger and is committed to continuing the productive discussions about the deal.

Do you believe it will affect the PGA Tour and its sponsors in the upcoming season? Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments below!