LIV Golf files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and enters into an RSA; Netflix reportedly “closing in on” a deal with Andrés Cantor for FIFA Women’s World Cup coverage; and the PWHL agrees to a full-season U.S. media rights partnership. Plus news on NFL Films, ESPN, Jacob Tobey and Drew Brees.
LIV Golf files for Ch. 11 bankruptcy, enters into RSA
LIV Golf on Tuesday filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in New Jersey and subsequently entered into a restructuring support agreement as the league works to enter a new era without backing from the Public Investment Fund (PIF) of Saudi Arabia. Under the new arrangement, LIV Golf players would be the majority owners of an eventual reorganized entity. LIV Golf is also receiving $49.6 million in debtor-in-possession (DIP) financing from the PIF, which concluded its funding of the league at the end of the 2026 season. LIV Golf is looking to emerge from Chapter 11 bankruptcy early next year.
“The next phase of LIV Golf will be built around a sustainable business model and deeper alignment between players and the League, with team golf at its core,” LIV Golf CEO Scott O’Neil wrote in a letter to fans obtained by Sports Media Watch. “Players will have the opportunity to share directly in the value they help create, while teams will be positioned to grow into enduring global sports businesses. And fans will remain at the center of everything we do.”
As LIV Golf attempts to move forward, the league has plans to widen its field to 75 players and introduce a cut line. The LIV field had previously expanded to 57 players last season, including four 13-person teams and five “wild card” competitors. O’Neil signaled confidence in the next phase for the league, saying that transitions are “rarely easy,” but are “powerful when you know where you are going. And we do.”
Earlier in the month, LIV Golf scaled down its operations with a round of layoffs. The organization is hoping to bring back some of the affected employees, but the size of its workforce moving forward has yet to be determined. LIV Golf ended this past season by canceling the scheduled season-ending Team Championship in Plymouth, Mich., and it made other adjustments throughout the season as well related to operations.
Netflix reportedly “closing in on” deal with Cantor for FIFA Women’s World Cup coverage
Netflix is “closing in on” a deal to add Andrés Cantor to its coverage of the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup with his Telemundo contract set to expire “in the coming weeks,” according to a report by Alex Weprin of The Hollywood Reporter. Cantor, who announced the first Women’s World Cup Final in 1991, has called several key moments in the history of both the men’s and women’s tournaments. Cantor would be part of the Spanish-language coverage for the event, per Weprin, who added that he is “expected to have a role in the draw” occurring in December.
Netflix will be televising the FIFA Women’s World Cup for the first time next year, marking the first time that the tournament will be available exclusively through a streaming platform in the United States. Gabe Spitzer, the VP/global live sports and entertainment for Netflix, recently said in an interview with Richard Deitsch on the “Sports Media Podcast” that the company is “deep into planning for talent hires.” Spitzer confirmed that Netflix has hired talent for the tournament that it has not yet announced and that fans of women’s soccer would recognize names on the roster, something that would align with Cantor.
“We’re now the equivalent of Fox and Telemundo in the U.S. because we’ve got English and Spanish rights, and then in Canada, obviously we have English and French rights, so that’s a lot of different productions to do simultaneously,” Spitzer said. “And we’re really excited, but we also know it’s under 300 days to go, so a lot of work to be done, but we have full confidence that we’re going to nail it and can’t wait for it to start.”
Cantor has been calling soccer for Telemundo over the last 26 years, including several FIFA World Cup tournaments. It remains unknown if the network will secure Spanish-language rights for the next two World Cup tournaments, which are likely to be bundled with the English-language rights in one package, per a report by Alex Sherman of CNBC.
PWHL agrees to full-season U.S. media rights partnership with Scripps Sports
The PWHL has signed its first full-season media rights deal in the United States, inking an agreement with Scripps Sports that includes three national windows per week. ION, which reaches over 128 million households across the U.S., will carry a Saturday “Game of the Week” package next season in addition to a playoff series and the Walter Cup Finals. Additional coverage airs on the Scripps Sports Network FAST channel, which will carry two regular season windows per week.
“A season-long national television presence in the U.S. is something we’ve been working toward and represents a significant step in our continued growth as a league,” Amy Scheer, EVP/business operations for the PWHL, said in a statement. “Scripps continues to be a committed partner in shining a spotlight on women’s sports, and for the first time, our American fans will have the opportunity to follow the league on national television throughout an entire season, making the PWHL more accessible than ever before.”
Since beginning play in the 2024 season, the PWHL has expanded its distribution and scope in the United States. Earlier in the year, Scripps Sports reached a deal with the PWHL to air the Walter Cup Finals nationally on linear television for the first time in the short history of the league. ION aired its first PWHL regular-season game this past March in a matchup between the New York Sirens and Montréal Victorie. PWHL games have had a national presence in Canada since the league’s inaugural season through agreements with TSN/RDS and CBC/Radio-Canada. Rogers Sportsnet and Prime Video have also broadcast a selection of PWHL games over the years.
Most PWHL games have aired on regional sports networks in the U.S. across portions of its first three seasons, including MSG Networks, NESN and SportsNet Pittsburgh. The matchups have also been available to stream for free on the league’s YouTube channel and official website. As the league expands to 12 teams this season, its franchises in Detroit and Las Vegas will utilize Scripps stations as local broadcast partners. PWHL Detroit games will air on WMYD-TV, The Spot – Detroit 20, while PWHL Las Vegas matchups are set to broadcast on KMCC-TV, The Spot – Vegas 34.
Plus: NFL Films, Andrés Cantor, Jacob Tobey, Drew Brees
- The NFL Films-produced “Inside the NFL” will not feature panelists this season, according to a report by Ryan Glasspiegel of Front Office Sports. The program, which is airing on the social media website “X” (“Twitter”) will instead feature highlights, clips and game edits on a daily basis beginning with the start of the regular season on Wednesday, Sept. 9. In related news, NFL Media has added former NFL WR Nelson Agholor and former NFL QB Cody Kessler, both of whom will be analysts for “NFL GameDay Preview” during the season on the NFL FAST Channel.
- ESPN is extending its “Women’s Sports Sundays” franchise into the fall, carrying a schedule of college volleyball, NWSL and yet-to-be-announced college basketball games starting this Sunday. The network had originally announced the franchise as a nine-week venture featuring the WNBA, NWSL and Athletes Unlimited softball. The series will take a break on October 11 when ESPN carries an NBA preseason doubleheader.
- San Antonio Spurs play-by-play announcer Jacob Tobey is returning to the team after previous reporting indicated that he had been fired for having a relationship with the sister of a player on the team. Tobey thanked the Spurs in a post on social media last week for giving him time “to sort out issues in my personal life” and said he understands that he will have to “regain trust within the organization and across our community.” Tobey joined the Spurs in the 2024-25 season following the retirement of Bill Land, and he has primarily worked alongside analyst Sean Elliott.
- Drew Brees is joining the cast of “Let’s Go!,” a weekly radio show broadcast on SiriusXM NFL Radio featuring Peter King, Jim Gray and Los Angeles Rams QB Matthew Stafford. Brees, who is also an NFL analyst for Fox Sports, said in a statement that he was excited to join the program and provide “fans tons of insight and entertainment.” Tom Brady previously co-hosted the show with Gray for three years beginning in 2021, but he has scaled back his presence on the platform since joining Fox Sports and acquiring part of the Las Vegas Raiders.
