The LIV Golf League reported Friday that 3.2 million people turned to linear and digital platforms the watch the upstart circuit's season-opening event in Mexico.
The league said data provided by The CW Network, which aired the tournament, and TV ad measurement and analytics company iSpot, along with its internal data, determined the viewership.
LIV Golf's report comes four days after Sports Business Journal said LIV's television debut garnered a meager 0.2 overnight rating across 26 metered markets.
"Our first weekend of live coverage for the 2023 LIV Golf season exceeded expectations," said Will Staeger, LIV Golf's chief media officer. "It represented the LIV Golf League's debut on The CW, The CW App, and the weekend's highest downloaded free sports app, LIV Golf Plus. LIV has diversified its consumption model, tailoring our distribution to the way viewers consume their content – and these numbers reflect the new ways that sports are watched.
"This is a long-term game of growing our viewership, but we are delighted with our start in the US and extremely encouraged by our global engagement. Our preliminary rollout with 12 international broadcast partners and counting signifies a far-reaching demand for LIV Golf, which will be delivered in over 160 territories to more than 380 million homes worldwide."
Per LIV Golf, its broadcast on Saturday saw more than 1.6 million total viewers on linear television and 1.3 more on Sunday. T
The next LIV Golf event will be 17-19 March with LIV Golf Tucson at The Gallery Golf Club in Arizona.