Saudis to pull out of LIV Golf
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Why is Saudi Arabia withdrawing funding from LIV Golf?
This BBC podcast is supported by ads outside the UK. Korti myöntää OP Vähittäisasiakkaat Oyj. Tuoteturva myöntää Pohjola Vakuutus Oy. Pitää taas ostaa uusi puhelin. Tai sitten tuot sen Fonumiin. Isompikin puhelinremontti hoituu keskimäärin sadalla neljälläkympillä ja huoltoarvio on ilmainen. This is the Global News Podcast from the BBC World Service. Hello, I'm Ankur Desai, and at 15 Hours GMT on Thursday, the 30th of April, these are our main stories. Saudi Arabia is to stop funding the LIV golf tour at the end of the season. LIV was formed as a breakaway from the longstanding PGA Tour, with billions of dollars offered to lure top players.
What impact did LIV Golf have on the PGA Tour and its players?
President Trump has said his administration is considering reducing troops from Germany, appearing to be in retaliation for some critical comments by the German Chancellor Friedrich Merz. Pro-Palestinian activists say a flotilla of boats carrying aid to Gaza has been intercepted by the Israeli military in international waters near Greece. Also in this podcast, we hear about workers in Kenya who allege they had to view distressing images captured by meta smart glasses. Sometimes people employed in doing this work encounter extremely graphic content. One person said he felt doing this work, he'd lost his humanity.
How are US-Germany relations affected by the Iran conflict?
Any idea that the Roman Empire creates a really impermeable frontier that holds its own and then all of a sudden breaks down and gives way to a wave of barbarians isn't credible.
A study reveals the collapse of the Roman Empire may not have been as swift and dramatic as once thought. It was supposed to be a game changer for the game of golf as we knew it. But five years since its launch, is the Saudi investment bubble in the sport set to burst? Saudi Arabia is to stop funding the Live Golf Tour at the end of the season. Live was formed as a breakaway from the longstanding PGA Tour, offering billions to tempt away some leading players in the sport. The tour features some of the biggest names, including John Rahm, Phil Mickelson and Bryson DeChambeau. And with millions invested across other sports, could this be the start of a snowball effect? Our golf correspondent Ian Carter is following the story.
The big problem as far as Liv is concerned is that it has failed to really cut through in a broadcast sense in terms of attracting a wider audience.
What are the recent developments regarding aid flotillas to Gaza?
It has had successful tournaments, particularly in South Africa and Australia, in terms of people turning up to watch and creating a great atmosphere, but it hasn't delivered really on its stated aim of revolutionising the game of golf and the way that it is consumed by people at home. As for the players, we're hearing reports of a number of agents trying to contact the established tours, the PGA Tour and the DP World Tour, to try to find a pathway back for those players to compete there. Now, how that works out is going to be really fascinating. So why have the Saudis lost interest? Sebastian Usher is our Middle East analyst.
I think partly what we were just hearing there, that this hasn't been the big hit that the Saudis wanted it to be. And that's what the Saudis are after. I mean, we've seen it with boxing, we've seen it with wrestling, we've seen it with motor racing, gaming. All of these events now taking place in Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia, huge global events, attracting big audiences, recalibrating not just the sports, but the image of Saudi Arabia. That's been the big thing.
What are the implications of Meta's AI content moderation issues?
And that's been achieved to some extent. Critics call it sports washing because of Saudi Arabia's human rights record. But from a Saudi perspective, it was trying to reorient the image of a country, its future, a thing called Vision 2030 under the Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. But I think there has been a recalibration there. an assessment and an admission by the Saudi authorities. But some of these projects aren't really working out. They've become too expensive. They're too pie in the sky. That's going beyond sport. That's looking at these extraordinary sort of sci-fi architectural ventures like The Line, The Cube.
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
Why is Saudi Arabia withdrawing funding from LIV Golf?
0:00–1:06
2
What impact did LIV Golf have on the PGA Tour and its players?
1:06–1:46
3
How are US-Germany relations affected by the Iran conflict?
1:46–2:53
4
What are the recent developments regarding aid flotillas to Gaza?
2:53–3:56
5
What are the implications of Meta's AI content moderation issues?
3:56–5:13
6
How does the new DNA study change our understanding of the fall of Rome?
5:13–6:32
7
What innovative formats are sports adopting to engage younger audiences?
6:32–7:43
8
Can traditional sports survive the rise of new, shorter formats?
7:43–32:55
Speakers
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