LIV Golf, the controversial golf tour backed by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), has unveiled a new two-year media rights deal in Spain with Movistar Plus, the pay-television operator owned by Telefonica.
Through a two-year tie-up, Movistar Plus will cover the 2024 and 2025 LIV Golf seasons live on its streaming platform. The 2024 campaign gets underway on February 2, with LIV Golf Mayakoba in Mexico.
This tie-up has been struck following the shock news that top Spanish golfer Jon Rahm will be joining LIV for the 2024 season. In 2023, LIV events were not covered in Spain by broadcast media.
In total, this year’s LIV Golf League will feature 14 events in eight countries, including a tournament in southern Spain’s Andalucia region in July.
The series, which launched in 2022 and has thus far managed to attract a selection of the world’s top golfers by paying them eye-watering sums, also includes Spaniards Sergio Garcia, David Puig, and Eugenio Lopez-Chacarra in its talent roster.
Will Staeger, LIV Golf’s chief media officer, said: “LIV Golf’s goal from the beginning has been to introduce golf to new audiences around the world. Our team has worked diligently to expand streaming and traditional viewing options, through partnerships with platforms like Movistar Plus.
“Over the next few weeks, we will be rolling out more than a dozen new or expanded distribution partnerships, as well as innovative plans for Friday coverage, to continue building off the momentum from our first two seasons.”
In November, LIV Golf revealed the calendar for its 2024 regular season, with the tour set to visit Las Vegas in the US for the first time.
Earlier this month, the tour unveiled a partnership with sports protection services firm US Integrity.
Movistar, meanwhile, adds coverage of LIV to a golf portfolio that already includes top-tier events such as the Ryder and Solheim Cups, all men’s and women’s majors, PGA Tour events, and DP World Tour events.
Outside of golf, the service holds premium sports rights across soccer, motor racing, and basketball.
