The problems of the LPGA with its South Korean partner in media rights did not end with a lost event. In addition to the unpaid invoices that have canceled the next FIR Hills Seri Pak championship, JTBC has also not paid for the dissemination of all LPGA events in 2024 and 2025. Golfer obtained a memo sent to LPGA players by the acting commissioner, Liz Moore, who described other details, in particular that JTBC had not “committed significantly or payment insurance”.
“To protect our interests, we file a complaint to enforce a warranty agreement with a JTBC affiliate to recover the unpaid amounts,” Moore wrote in a note sent to players on February 18.
“For the moment, we do not finish our agreements and will continue to honor our obligations to avoid disturbances in the coverage of the tournament in Korea. However, if JTBC does not respect its dissemination commitments, we are ready to implement alternative solutions. “
With the LPGA contract with JTBC expiring at the end of the year, the tour has already gone to the market to explore new options.
In January, the tour canceled the FIR Hills Seri Pak championship, scheduled from March 20 to 23, in Palos Verdes Estates, California, after declaring that an unnamed subscriber had not paid his bills for 2024 events and 2025. Golfer Later confirmed JTBC as an subscriber.
The rights of the media of JTBC with the LPGA date back to the Carolyn Bivens era as a commissioner, which officially entered into force in 2010, when Mike Whan was in charge. The original agreement, described in an LPGA press release in 2009, included JTBC subscription to an event on the LPGA in Southern California as well as the title sponsoring the 2009 Phoenix LPGA.
The JTBC media rights agreement is unusual insofar as the LPGA obtains a sum of money and a certain number of events, then in turn, JTBC can recover part of this money by selling the advantages of the ‘event to a third party at its discretion.
The JTBC name has been attached to a number of tournaments over the years, such as the Hugel-JTBC the Open, which later became the Hugel-Air La Open. From 2014 to 2016, the tour held the JTBC Founders Cup in Phoenix. Sometimes JTBC appeared in the title, and sometimes, as in the case of Fir Hills, this was not the case.
The LPGA would then use JTBC media rights funds for its general operating budget.
This year’s Fir Hills event, won by N ° 1 Nelly Korda in 2024, was to be held at the Palos Verdes Golf Club and with a 2 million dollars handbag. However, the total cost of the title sponsorship would have exceeded the value of the handbag, probably about $ 3 million.
The rights of the South Korean media has long been essential to the health of the tour, although with the best players from a certain number of different countries, the portfolio of the rights of the tour of the tour is now more diverse.
At the end of last year, Golfer said the LPGA had to lose around $ 2 million in 2024. This could increase considerably in 2025.
This article originally appeared on Golfweek: the South Korean Radio-Radio partner of LPGA did not pay 2024, 2025
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