LIV Golf's latest tournament in Tulsa produced about the most dramatic finish possible for the new tour, a playoff between arguably its two best players (and Branden Grace). But in some locations in the U.S., if you hoped to catch Dustin Johnson battling Cameron Smith (and Branden Grace) in extra holes, you were treated to a different dynamic duo: Penn & Teller.
Yep, the CW pulled a magic trick of its own, making the final few holes of the tournament disappear off TV screens around the country. Abracadabra!
But this wasn't just in New York. It happened all around the country due in part to LIV's TV deal with CW, which began this year. Unlike a traditional deal in which the network pays for the broadcast rights (and assumes production costs), LIV pays for all those costs and in return gets a split of ads. Remember all those "One Tree Hill" jokes?
LIV Golf events are then shown in windows of coverage on CW affiliates across the country, but the affiliates (apparently) are not obligated to show any golf outside of those times. So when a two-hour weather delay during the final round caused a late finish that dragged past the expected 6 p.m. EDT sign-off, many affiliates across the country made the decision to return to their already scheduled programming. Given LIV's meager TV ratings from its first few events in 2023, perhaps a Penn & Teller special made more sense for these affiliates to show. Ouch. And, yes, LIV fans could switch over to the CW app to watch the tournament's conclusion, but still, ouch.
