For the previous two weeks, Rick Shiels had been teasing an necessary announcement.
Most followers of the YouTube content material creator weren’t precisely thrilled with the drawn-out course of. Essentially the most-liked touch upon the second teaser video posted to X was, “Think about considering you’re so massive you must drag an announcement for 3 weeks.”
Given current information of YouTube golfers heralding their new possession stakes in area of interest gear corporations, many assumed Shiels was constructing as much as one thing mundane.
It seems that isn’t the case.
Shiels grew to become the primary full-time YouTube golfer to signal with LIV. He shall be creating content material with LIV gamers including YouTube star Bryson DeChambeau.
“This isn’t me taking part in in LIV Golf occasions,” Shiels mentioned. “I’m going to be making some unbelievable content material at each single LIV Golf occasion.”
Shiels defined that we are able to count on a number of completely different types of YouTube content material, which can dwell on his personal channel. His “Breaking 75” sequence will happen at every LIV venue; there shall be a “10-Shot Problem” at every match; Shiels will take part in five-man scrambles with LIV groups; there shall be 2 vs. 2 matches between LIV gamers; he shall be part of instruction classes with LIV execs; and Shiels can also be internet hosting a podcast sequence with LIV gamers.
The primary video, which has already been filmed, will function Jon Rahm and Brooks Koepka.
It’s the primary main funding LIV is making within the YouTube golf area.
What does it imply?
This transfer is sensible for everybody concerned
Whereas it’s an attention-grabbing transfer for LIV to signal Shiels, there are not any actual surprises right here.
Shiels started on YouTube more than 12 years ago. He was among the many first to show a significant revenue and is about to eclipse three million subscribers, a mark that outpaces everybody else within the golf class. His movies have been considered practically a billion instances.
Nonetheless, Shiels doesn’t have anyplace close to the identical “market share” he used to, given the dramatic rise in competitors.
Of his 25 hottest movies within the channel’s historical past, none of them got here within the final 18 months. Viewership on his channel has been down slightly—at a time when extra persons are flocking to YouTube for his or her golf leisure.
Don’t get me fallacious, Shiels remains to be a related character on YouTube but I wouldn’t put him in the top 10-15 channels. His act has simply worn stale over the previous few years as newer, extra thrilling personalities have come alongside.
Signing with LIV is monetary safety and a rebrand for his channel, though some followers shall be turned off by the transfer.
Another excuse this isn’t shocking: Shiels has connections to the Saudis. Performance54—a advertising and PR agency owned by the Saudis and that works with LIV/Golf Saudi—is an proprietor in Shiels’ firm as properly. You possibly can dig lots deeper into that with John Barba’s investigative piece he published in September 2022.
Final month, Shiels launched a podcast saying there can be fewer episodes and fewer YouTube movies being revealed on his channel within the coming weeks. He had been producing much less content material during the last couple of months in 2024.
“That’s as a result of we now have obtained some outrageous, unimaginable, mind-blowing plans for 2025,” Shiels mentioned on the time. “And that isn’t an exaggeration.”
When photographs circulated of Shiels standing in entrance of the very same backdrop for promotional movies as different LIV golfers have, it grew to become apparent what that information can be.
As for LIV, going with the content material creation route is a straightforward resolution they need to have made years in the past.
LIV’s ratings are abysmal as conventional golf on TV has been declining. Each LIV and the PGA Tour are actually scrambling to take a position extra in YouTube golf.
On the Tour facet, we now have seen the Creator Classic evolving into a three-event series for 2025. Additionally they established a Creator Council to create extra official ties with YouTubers and different influencers within the recreation.
Perhaps LIV’s solely path ahead for gaining actual traction is to signal YouTubers and create movies with its gamers. Had it gone all-in on that idea from the start, we could be having a totally completely different dialog.
Shiels is a stable title to seize and I’m certain there shall be extra YouTuber signings sooner or later.
The professional golf world is altering dramatically
Golf as an leisure product on TV is continuing to suffer.
The Tour is getting shelled early in 2025. Ultimate-round viewership for The American Categorical final week was down 56 % which is consistent with a number of the decreases we noticed in Hawaii.
As the children would say, there’s “detrimental infinity” buzz for Tour golf proper now.
We’ve got Justin Thomas writing a letter to his fellow gamers begging them to contemplate extra on-course interviews.
That’s nice and all the things … however the Tour’s TV product is atrocious for different causes. One study done this weekend concluded that only one.2 golf photographs are proven per minute on a Tour telecast. Greater than 40 % of the photographs proven are putts. And followers get inundated with commercials alongside the best way.
Why would we watch that?
TGL, the Tour-backed simulator league, has some good issues going for it however appears to be extra of a “background noise” present. After two weeks of first rate scores, peaking at 1.05 million, viewership for the third match cratered to 682,000. The typical age of the viewer is just 51, lots youthful than the Tour’s conventional broadcast. I believe it’s tremendous for Tuesday nights within the winter but the novelty is wearing off—it doesn’t look to be something approaching a game-changer at this level.
LIV has a brand new TV cope with Fox Sports activities that might be helpful. The league has an extended uphill climb given how final yr’s championship couldn’t even crack 100,000 viewers.
There’s a variety of apathy throughout the board. I don’t watch nearly as much golf as I once did.
Golf leisure is turning into extra decentralized as followers can watch a greater product on demand. Take a look at this video of Tiger giving Grant Horvat a lesson and inform me that isn’t means extra entertaining than seeing Sepp Straka win The American Categorical. It’s not even shut.
What occurs subsequent?
In some type or style, you’re going to be seeing much more YouTubers displaying up on the Tour and LIV.
It’s a matter of survival. With out them, conventional golf protection might wilt into oblivion.
Prime Picture Caption: Rick Shiels embraces LIV participant Sergio Garcia. (GETTY IMAGES/David Cannon)
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