Speaker 1: Bloomberg Audio Studios, podcasts, radio news.
Speaker 2: So let's talk about the state of Live Golf. I
Speaker 2: know you've said before you need about three years to
Speaker 2: reach profitability at this moment. What is the amount of
Speaker 2: funding you're looking for and how's the journey to getting
Speaker 2: that funding.
Speaker 1: Sure, we're looking at raising three hundred million dollars and
Speaker 1: we're talking to a combination of traditional private equity investors
Speaker 1: that invest in sports, talking to family offices, and a
Speaker 1: group that I would characterize as sports team owner billionaires.
Speaker 1: And they take place mostly in North America, a good
Speaker 1: healthy dose in the UK and some in Europe, and
Speaker 1: then of course some in Asia, Australia and South Africa.
Speaker 3: What kind of rights are people demanding, what kind of
Speaker 3: stakes are they looking at? Just give me a sense
Speaker 3: of what the conversations look like and how they're shaping up.
Speaker 1: You know, it's a really interesting dynamic in that we
Speaker 1: have billions of dollars of nls net operating losses that
Speaker 1: we believe we can carry forward with the business, and
Speaker 1: so that has us structuring the company in a very
Speaker 1: unique way. So we're spending a lot of time with
Speaker 1: investors really understanding how to best preserve those nls, which
Speaker 1: is for me, you know, I love my way around
Speaker 1: a deal and being able to work with the advisors
Speaker 1: we have and do Sarah our Bank has been.
Speaker 4: Quite an experience.
Speaker 3: So it's not just a stake in the League that
Speaker 3: perhaps people are looking for. They might also have team
Speaker 3: level investments that they could be looking to achieve.
Speaker 1: Yes, absolutely, I'll just take you to tell you little stories.
Speaker 1: Is when I was at Madison Square Guarden. I was
Speaker 1: the psident of Madison Square Garden. I started in two
Speaker 1: thousand and eight. You very well know what was happening
Speaker 1: in two thousand and eight with the financial crisis, and
Speaker 1: the Knicks were valued around six hundred million.
Speaker 4: The New York Rangers were valued about four hundred million.
Speaker 1: And they look today and there isn't a person on
Speaker 1: the planet that would value in the New.
Speaker 4: York Nicks under ten billion dollars, especially on now, and.
Speaker 1: Not a person on the planet that would value the
Speaker 1: New York Rangers under four billion. And you think about
Speaker 1: this growth in team valuation, and that's what we think
Speaker 1: is the economic engine and to drive lives. So when
Speaker 1: you invest in the league, you also get stakes in
Speaker 1: all the teams.
Speaker 2: I mean Live also just had this really unique prospect
Speaker 2: coming in. But the PGA responded. It responded with mega purses,
Speaker 2: giving players some steaks and in certain tournaments. Now that
Speaker 2: the PJA has responded, what is Live's usp What is
Speaker 2: your unique selling point in which you exist in the
Speaker 2: golf world.
Speaker 1: As I think the PGA Tour does a wonderful job
Speaker 1: serving the three hundred and forty million US golf fans,
Speaker 1: it's the eight billion that I work at work with,
Speaker 1: and so we operate on five continents or in ten
Speaker 1: countries and incredible golf markets that are growing like a weed.
Speaker 1: And so the whole bet is is are you buying
Speaker 1: the eight billion or are you buying the three hundred
Speaker 1: and forty million? And I love the three hundred and
Speaker 1: forty million million bet for the PGA Tour. I just
Speaker 1: like the Live Golf bet for the eight billion a
Speaker 1: lot more.
Speaker 2: I mean a lot of people would look at Live
Speaker 2: and say, one of the unique selling points is the
Speaker 2: talent that you're able to bring over Sham, one of
Speaker 2: the faces of Live Golf. His contract comes up in October.
Speaker 2: Can you get him back?
Speaker 4: Oh? Absolutely?
Speaker 1: You know, we have stars like Bryson d Chambeau and
Speaker 1: John Rahm and Terrell Hatt and Dustin Johnson, camp Smith
Speaker 1: household names. The difference with this league more than any
Speaker 1: other business I've ever been a part of it.
Speaker 4: I've been a part of.
Speaker 1: A few, is that this league was built for by
Speaker 1: and through the players.
Speaker 2: Yeah, but isn't it just you paid them a lot
Speaker 2: so they came over?
Speaker 4: Can you still do that?
Speaker 1: But we're actually like building it for them, so they'll
Speaker 1: actually be the majority owners of this business going forward.
Speaker 1: And there hasn't been a time in history where players
Speaker 1: have owned a majority of a league, and that's a
Speaker 1: pretty special opportunity. I think also some players want something different.
Speaker 1: Some and none are the same. But some, you know,
Speaker 1: maybe grew up in Australia like camp Smith, or grew
Speaker 1: up in Korea like ben On, or grew up in
Speaker 1: the UK like Ian Poulter, or Sergio Garcia who grew
Speaker 1: up in Spain, and they think, you know, it'd be
Speaker 1: good to travel the world, it'd be good to grow
Speaker 1: the game around the world and give back. And maybe
Speaker 1: maybe they live in the US, or maybe they live
Speaker 1: in Dubai, or maybe they live in South Africa. So
Speaker 1: I don't think there's one shoe fits all. I think
Speaker 1: for someone who wants to change the game, wants to
Speaker 1: play for a big prize, persons who wants to be
Speaker 1: part of a team. That's the other kind of interesting
Speaker 1: part of Live Golf is where we operate in teams.
Speaker 1: And you don't have to look too much further than
Speaker 1: the World Cup to understand the nationalism going on. So
Speaker 1: we have Team Ripper is an Australian team, the Southern
Speaker 1: Guards is a South African team, the Korean Golf Club
Speaker 1: is a Korean team, and there's so much affinity when
Speaker 1: we go to these markets rooting for their home clubs.
Speaker 3: As part of your pitch to investors, the idea is
Speaker 3: that you're going to change Live Golf's business model absolutely
Speaker 3: pretty dramatically. What do you expect to be the main
Speaker 3: driver revenue in five years time that doesn't exist today?
Speaker 1: Well, I can tell you I've been here for eighteen months,
Speaker 1: so this is about a five year old league. And
Speaker 1: the one thing I noticed very quickly is that bringing
Speaker 1: in sponsors which we have like Rolex and HSBC and
Speaker 1: Salesforce and Qualcomm and Ping and Calaries, some of these
Speaker 1: glove Moble brands, that's an important component of any golf business.
Speaker 1: We also moved our television from the CW in the
Speaker 1: US to Fox Sports, and we moved to TNT in
Speaker 1: the UK and we actually got into almost a billion
Speaker 1: homes around the world, and so I think TV disution
Speaker 1: will be a key part. But maybe equally as important
Speaker 1: is the impact you mentioned Bryson d Chambau. The impact
Speaker 1: he has on YouTube and YouTube golf is unmatched anywhere
Speaker 1: in the world. This guy is a bona fide like
Speaker 1: mister Beast of sports, and I think that's the area
Speaker 1: when I go to whether we're heading out to the
Speaker 1: US Open, at the Majors or the Math the Masters,
Speaker 1: I'm sitting next to young kids their favorite golfer is
Speaker 1: Bryson DHMBO because he reaches them in a different place,
Speaker 1: and I think that part of growing the game matters
Speaker 1: as well.
Speaker 3: Twelve million followers across all the major social media platforms
Speaker 3: counts for a lot. I'm curious what is the role
Speaker 3: of Saudi Arabia in live golf now at the PIFF.
Speaker 3: Does it still own about ninety five percent? Is it
Speaker 3: helping to source investors in any way? Would it consider
Speaker 3: resuming funding if there's a certain level of him that.
Speaker 4: You do get. You know, PIF's been very clear with us.
Speaker 1: They've been really good, positive, solid investors with us, and
Speaker 1: they've been really clear they're going to fund through the season,
Speaker 1: and it's up to us to make sure that we
Speaker 1: spend all our waking hours finding the next investors and
Speaker 1: we're up to the task.
Speaker 2: By the way, the sports media was pretty excited when
Speaker 2: it saw you with the PGA CEO at the Masters
Speaker 2: in April. Can you clear up any of the little
Speaker 2: rumor mill Might there be some sort of arrangement between
Speaker 2: you and the PGA still in the works and sort
Speaker 2: of ecosystem that might exist.
Speaker 4: Just listen.
Speaker 1: I walked into a very rocky, rough environment with the
Speaker 1: ecosystem and lift golf, and that's been moved out pretty
Speaker 1: dramatically and pretty quickly, and we have very productive conversations
Speaker 1: throughout the ecosystem. We were granted world ranking points, which
Speaker 1: has been great. We've gotten direct pathways for our players
Speaker 1: to qualify for the US Open and the Open Championship, wonderful.
Speaker 1: When we go to the majors or talk to other
Speaker 1: bodies in the marketplace, we've been treated very well.
Speaker 2: So that is that a know, nothing else needs to
Speaker 2: kind of be worked out with the PGA at this moment,
Speaker 2: or might there still be some conversation.
Speaker 3: You know.
Speaker 1: I think over time the world of golf will open up,
Speaker 1: but our one hundred percent focus right now is making
Speaker 1: sure that we find the right investors to carry us forward.
Speaker 2: By the way US Open this weekend, I'm sure you're attending,
Speaker 2: who's your money on at this moment? Scotty looks good,
Speaker 2: Tommy Fleetwood, people love him.
Speaker 4: Those are not my choices.
Speaker 1: No, John Rahm is playing elite golf. I think he's
Speaker 1: one of the best golfers on the planet. He does
Speaker 1: it at an excellent level all the time. You can
Speaker 1: never count out a two time winner of the US
Speaker 1: Open like Bryson d. Chambeau, who again is the most
Speaker 1: dynamic player I've ever seen, athlete I've ever been around.
Speaker 1: And then Terrell Hattan just won our last event in Valderama.
Speaker 1: He's playing well, and Dustin Johnson seems to have found
Speaker 1: an electric putter, and Cam Smith cannot seem to miss
Speaker 1: the fairway off the drive and when he does that,
Speaker 1: there's nobody better one hundred and fifty yards. And then
Speaker 1: so those are my big five all right, mark it down.
Speaker 3: And on that one, you mentioned you worked at MSG,
Speaker 3: and of course you worked at the NBA as well.
Speaker 3: On top of that, you graduated from Villanova, So I'm
Speaker 3: guessing that you might have rooted for one team in
Speaker 3: that it was Musty.
Speaker 1: TELEVI in the O'Neil house, and I have a daughter
Speaker 1: who's a freshman and Eliza at Villanova now, so so
Speaker 1: very much connected. And when Jay Wright was the coach,
Speaker 1: I was very connected to that program. And I had
Speaker 1: a chance to be around Jalen and Michael and of
Speaker 1: course Josh Hart, who's my favorite NBA player, And I
Speaker 1: will tell you they represent everything that's right about sports,
Speaker 1: everything that's right about Villanova, and everything that's right about
Speaker 1: the NBA.
Speaker 4: They played team basketball better.
Speaker 1: Yet they're wonderful human beings and great examples for New York.
Speaker 1: And we needed it in the city. We needed a lift,
Speaker 1: and we got it.
Speaker 3: And the NBA needed it too. It's a great, long
Speaker 3: awaited championship for us.
Speaker 4: Do just fine. My good friend on Silver, he's done
Speaker 4: just okay.
Speaker 1: When he announced an expansion franchise somewhere between seven and
Speaker 1: nine billion dollars, I just kind of winked and said
Speaker 1: that's okay, and that's what we're heading. That's what we
Speaker 1: keep talking about is is that you can't look past
Speaker 1: franchise values. When I started at the Philadelphia Eagles in
Speaker 1: nineteen ninety five, jeff Looyd had bought that team for
Speaker 1: one hundred and eighty eight million dollars and everyone's.
Speaker 4: Like, well, they said, you are crazy. He just sold
Speaker 4: a piece of that for eight billion.
Speaker 1: So you look at where franchise values are going, and
Speaker 1: then you look at how many.
Speaker 4: Global options do you have in sports? There's Formula one,
Speaker 4: there's Moto GP, and.
Speaker 1: There's lift golf, and that's it, you know, And I
Speaker 1: think I think we'll distinguish ourselves.
Speaker 4: And the other thing I love about golf.
Speaker 1: Is the leaders of the free world play golf, leaders
Speaker 1: of countries play golf, and of fortune, five hundred CEOs
Speaker 1: play golf, and half of New York City and so
Speaker 1: I think we have a really good opportunity in a
Speaker 1: sport people love. I don't think there's a better business
Speaker 1: development opportunity in the world. And then playing in a
Speaker 1: pro am next to some of the best players in
Speaker 1: the world, or seeing the world class hospitality and actually
Speaker 1: driving business,