00:00So let's talk about the state of LiveGolf. I know you've said before you need about three years to
00:04reach profitability. At this moment, what is the amount of funding you're looking for and how is
00:09the journey to getting that funding? Sure, we're looking at raising $300 million and we're talking
00:14to a combination of traditional private equity investors that invest in sports, talking to family
00:20offices, and a group that I would characterize as sports team owner billionaires. And they take
00:26place mostly in North America, a good healthy dose in the UK and some in Europe, and then of course
00:32some in Asia, Australia, and South Africa. What kind of rights are people demanding? What kind of
00:38stakes are they looking at? Just give me a sense of what the conversations look like and how they're
00:42shaping up. You know, it's a really interesting dynamic in that we have billions of dollars of
00:47NOLs, net operating losses, that we believe we can carry forward with the business. And so that
00:53has us structuring the company in a very unique way. So we're spending a lot of time with investors,
01:01really understanding how to best preserve those NOLs, which is, for me, you know, I love my way
01:07around a deal. And being able to work with the advisors we have and do Sarah, our bank, has been
01:12quite an experience. So it's not just a stake in the league that perhaps people are looking for. They
01:17might also have team level investments that they could be looking to achieve. Yes, absolutely. I'll just
01:23take you to tell you a little stories is when I was at Madison Square Garden, I was the president
01:27of Madison Square Garden. I started in 2008. You very well know what was happening in 2008 with the
01:31financial crisis. And the Knicks were valued around 600 million. The New York Rangers were
01:37valued about 400 million. And you look today, and there isn't a person on the planet that would value
01:41the New York Knicks under $10 billion. Especially not now. And not a person on the planet that would
01:45value the New York Rangers under $4 billion. And you think about this growth in team valuation,
01:49and that's what we think is the economic engine to drive Liv. So when you invest in the league,
01:54you also get stakes in all the teams. I mean, Liv also just had this really unique prospect coming
02:00in. But the PGA responded. It responded with mega purses, giving players some stakes in certain
02:07tournaments. Now that the PGA has responded, what is Liv's USP? What is your unique selling
02:13point in which you exist in the golf world? Yes, I think the PGA Tour does a wonderful job
02:20serving the 340 million US golf fans. It's the 8 billion that I work with. And so we operate on
02:28five continents, we're in 10 countries, and incredible golf markets that are growing like a weed.
02:34And so the whole bet is, are you buying the 8 billion or are you buying the 340 million?
02:39And I love the 340 million bet for the PGA Tour. I just like the Liv Golf bet for the
02:458 billion a
02:45lot more. I mean, a lot of people would look at Liv and say, one of the unique selling points
02:49is the
02:49talent that you're able to bring over. DeChambeau, one of the faces of Liv Golf,
02:54his contract comes up in October. Can you get him back? Oh, absolutely. You know,
02:58we have stars like Bryson DeChambeau and John Rahm and Terrell Hatton, Dustin Johnson,
03:03Cam Smith, household names. The difference with this league, more than any other business I've ever
03:08been a part of, and I've been a part of a few, is that this league was built for, by
03:12and through
03:13the players. Yeah, but isn't it just you paid them a lot so they came over? Can you still do
03:17that?
03:17Well, we're actually like building it for them. So they'll actually be the majority owners of this
03:21business going forward. And there hasn't been a time in history where players have owned a majority
03:26of a league. And that's a pretty special opportunity. I think also some players want
03:30something different. And none are the same. But some, you know, maybe grew up in Australia,
03:36like Cam Smith, or grew up in Korea, like Ben Ahn, or grew up in the UK, like Ian Poulter,
03:43or Sergio Garcia, who grew up in Spain. And they think, you know, it'd be good to travel the world.
03:48It'd be good to grow the game around the world and give back. And maybe they live in the US,
03:53or maybe they live in Dubai, or maybe they live in South Africa. So I don't think there's one shoe
03:58fits all. I think for someone who wants to change the game, wants to play for big prize purses,
04:04who wants to be part of a team, that's the other kind of interesting part of Live Golf,
04:08is we operate on teams. And you don't have to look too much further than the World Cup to
04:12understand the nationalism going on. So we have Team Ripper is an Australian team. The Southern
04:17Guards is a South African team. The Korean Golf Club is a Korean team. And there's so much affinity
04:22when we go to these markets rooting for their home clubs. As part of your pitch to investors,
04:26the idea is that you're going to change Live Golf's business model pretty dramatically.
04:31Yes. What do you expect to be the main driver revenue in five years' time that doesn't exist
04:35today? Well, I can tell you, I've been here for 18 months. So this is about a five-year-old
04:40league.
04:40And the one thing I noticed very quickly is that bringing in sponsors, which we have like Rolex,
04:47and HSBC, and Salesforce, and Qualcomm, and Ping, and Callaway, some of these global brands,
04:53that's an important component of any golf business. We also moved our television from the CW in the U.S.
04:59to Fox Sports. And we moved to TNT in the U.K. And we actually got into almost a billion
05:04homes around
05:04the world. And so I think TV distribution will be a key part. But maybe equally as important is the
05:10impact. You mentioned Bryson DeChambeau. The impact he has on YouTube and YouTube Golf is unmatched anywhere
05:16in the world. This guy is a bona fide, like Mr. Beast of sports. And I think that's the area,
05:22when I go to, whether we're heading out to the U.S. Open at the majors, or at the Masters,
05:27and I'm sitting next to young kids, their favorite golfer is Bryson DeChambeau, because he reaches
05:31them in a different place. And I think that part of growing the game matters as well.
05:3412 million followers across all the major social media platforms counts for a lot. I'm curious,
05:39what is the role of Saudi Arabia in Live Golf Now, the PIF? Does it still own about 95 percent?
05:45Is it helping to source investors in any way? Would it consider resuming funding if there's a
05:51certain level of investment that you do get? You know, PIF has been very clear with us. They've
05:55been really good, positive, solid investors with us. And they've been really clear. They're going to
06:00fund through the season. And it's up to us to make sure that we spend all our waking hours finding
06:07the next investors. And we're up to the task. By the way, the sports media was pretty excited when it
06:13saw you with the PGA CEO at the Masters in April. Can you clear up any of the little rumor
06:18mill?
06:19Might there be some sort of arrangement between you and the PGA still in the works? Any sort of
06:23ecosystem that might exist? Listen, I walked into a very rocky, rough
06:29environment with the ecosystem and Live Golf. And that's been smoothed out pretty dramatically and
06:34pretty quickly. And we have very productive conversations throughout the ecosystem. We were
06:39granted world ranking points, which has been great. We've gotten direct pathways for our players to
06:43qualify for the U.S. Open and the Open Championship. Wonderful. When we go to the majors or talk to
06:48other bodies in the marketplace, we've been treated very well. So is that a no, nothing else needs to
06:53kind of be worked out with the PGA at this moment? Or might there still be some conversations?
06:56You know, I think over time, the world of golf will open up. But our 100% focus right now
07:02is making
07:03sure that we find the right investors to carry us forward. By the way, U.S. Open this weekend,
07:07I'm sure you're attending. Who's your money on at this moment? Scotty looks good. Tommy Fleetwood,
07:12people love him. Those are not my choices. No? No. John Rahm is playing elite golf. I think he's one
07:18of the best golfers on the planet. He does it at an excellent level all the time. You can never
07:22count
07:23out a two-time winner of the U.S. Open like Bryson DeChambeau, who again is the most dynamic player
07:28I've
07:29ever seen, athlete I've ever been around. And then Terrell Hatton just won our last event in Valderrama. He's
07:34playing well. And Dustin Johnson seems to have found an electric putter. And Cam Smith cannot
07:39seem to miss the fairway off the drive. And when he does that, there's nobody better 150 yards and
07:43in. So those are my big five. All right. Mark it down. You mentioned you worked at MSG. And of
07:50course,
07:50you worked at the NBA as well. And on top of that, you graduated from Villanova. So I'm guessing that
07:55you might have rooted for one team over another in the finals. It was must-see television in the
08:01O'Neal House. And I have a daughter who's a freshman, Eliza at Villanova now. So very much connected.
08:06And when Jay Wright was the coach, I was very connected to that program. And I had a chance to
08:10be around Jalen and Mikael and of course, Josh Hart, who's my favorite NBA player. And I will tell you,
08:17they represent everything that's right about sports, everything that's right about Villanova,
08:21and everything that's right about the NBA. They play team basketball, but better yet,
08:24they're wonderful human beings and great examples for New York. And we needed it in the city. We
08:29needed a lift and we got it. And the NBA needed it too. It's a great long awaited championship for
08:34a much harder team. The NBA is doing just fine. My good friend Adam Silver, he's done just okay. When
08:38he announced an expansion franchise somewhere between seven and nine billion dollars, I just kind of
08:42winked and said, that's okay. And that's what we're heading. That's what we keep talking about is
08:47that you can't look past franchise values. When I started at the Philadelphia Eagles in 1995,
08:52Jeff Lurie had bought that team for $188 million. And everyone's like, they said,
08:56you're crazy. And he just sold a piece of that for eight billion. So you look at where franchise
09:01values are going. And then you look at how many global options do you have in sports?
09:04There's Formula One, there's MotoGP, and there's Live Golf. And that's it. You know,
09:09and I think we'll distinguish ourselves. And the other thing I love about golf is the leaders of the
09:14free world play golf. Okay. Leaders of countries play golf. And 90 percent of Fortune 500 CEOs play
09:19golf. And half of New York City. And so I think we have a really good opportunity in a sport
09:24people
09:24love. I don't think there's a better business development opportunity in the world and then
09:28playing in a pro-am next to some of the best players in the world or seeing the world-class
09:32hospitality and actually driving business.
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