Up next for the CW? Professional golf, apparently
The beleaguered network has signed a multi-year deal with Saudi-backed LIV Golf, in what appears to be an attempt to appeal to older viewers
Aux News The CW
Ah, The CW. Everyone’s favorite one-stop shop for heart-eating dogs, 30-year-olds playing high schoolers that also happen to be immortal wizards (or whatever the hell else is going on over at Riverdale High), and, coming later this year… professional golf?
Yes, you read that correctly. New head honchos Nexstar Media Group seem to be making good on their promise to drag the famously unhinged network out of its rebellious teenage era and re-outfit it to appeal to their actual demographic: 58-year-olds. And what do 58-year-olds like more than anything else? Hilariously, The CW seems to think it’s men walking around hitting little balls (without even singing about it!).
The CW has signed an exclusive deal with LIV Golf, a professional tour that began last year with backing from the Saudi Arabian government, per Deadline. The network will air 14 matches on weekends in 2023, and they will also be available to stream live on the CW app.
“For The CW, our partnership with LIV Golf marks a significant milestone in our goal to re-engineer the network with quality, diversified programming for our viewers, advertisers and CW affiliates. This also marks the first time in The CW’s 17-year history that the network is the exclusive broadcast home for live mainstream sports,” said CW President Dennis Miller in a statement.
Of course, LIV Golf does not come without its share of controversy. Due to its connection to the Saudi government, the league has been accused of “sportswashing”—a term referring to sporting events employed by world leaders to repair (or distract from) human rights abuses and otherwise tarnished reputations—by activists and PGA veterans alike. While financial details of the agreement have not been disclosed, Deadline reports that this scandal, along with low viewership numbers, “kept the bidding from heating up.”
So, there you have it folks. The CW’s new direction (which is, perhaps, not so far from its old one). Now, all that’s left is to teach the new kids about the triumphs and defeats, the epic highs and lows of professional golf. Then they’ll really be part of the family.
20 Comments
“CW President Dennis Miller”I think we remember how well it went the other time he did sports, babe.
“This hole’s got a water hazard bigger than Dawson’s Creek, behb”
“Bryson DeChambeau has had more strokes on this hole than Ruth Buzzi.”What, too soon?
Gross
CW shows always seemed like a bunch of variations of Beverly Hills 90210 (some with costumes!) so rich golfers rationalizing away any possible ethical dilemmas doesn’t really seem like that much of a departure.
Except in every single one of the shows, the rich, white, straight male golfers are the villains? Now they’re the heroes.
“Hey, I’ve never oppressed anyone! I’m just getting paid a lot by people who do!”
It’s a dark, gritty reboot of the PGA.So it’s kind of on brand.
“
So, there you have it folks. The CW’s new direction (which is, perhaps, not so far from its old one)“Have you, you know, actually watched the CW, ever? This is a complete 180 programming-wise. You’re going from trans alien superheros and teen dramas to a golf league that couldn’t find any other broadcast networks because its owned by the Saudis.
The thing that truly puzzles me is not that their average viewer age is 58. I turned 58 in July, and in recent years, I’ve watched more from the CW than from every other broadcast network combined. What puzzles me is their current lineup is drawing those 58-year-olds. So, instead of giving them more/better of the thing they like, they’re cancelling most of it* and giving them things that they presume 58-year-olds want to watch. Like off-brand golf.* By this spring, I will bet that the rest of it—excluding “Walker”—will follow.
It’s like they’re daring us not to watch.
The LIV Tour used to stream the tournaments on YouTube, and nobody watched. Now they’re going to a network that most people forgot still existed.Good way to drive their viewership down. Not that they care…
Sure, but it’s a step the legitimization ladder. Ten years from now, one of the better networks will pony up billions for the rights.
Because they have no other options right now. The major networks have deals with the PGA Tour which is still much more popular than LIV is. If LIV gets traction, you’ll see it move to better networks in next 5-10 years.Personally hate this whole debacle as someone who enjoys watching the majors and other big events. It’s going to make the field of a lot of tournaments worse for the forseeable future.
Perfectly timed with Seth Rogen bashing the CW
That was weird to me. I had no idea people considered the CW evil.Are there really no Jews on the CW? Fewer than on other networks?
Rachel Bloom is Jewish.
From cancelling everything that made the network nominally successful in the first place to taking blood money from an enterprise that not even diehard golf fans are interested in, I’d like to congratulate Nexstar for demonstrating a downright Muskian commitment to torpedoing the value of their multi-million-dollar purchase.
That mustache made me think the header pic was a still from a new Caddyshack sequel.