Golfweek is reporting that Saudi-funded LIV Golf, without a US television deal during its inaugural season, is close to an agreement to buy time on Fox’s FS1.

Golfweek cited multiple sources it did not identify in saying the agreement is still being finalised.

If so, it would be at odds with what Greg Norman, the CEO and commissioner of LIV Golf, told a Chicago radio station two weeks ago.

“We’re talking to four different networks, and live conversations where offers are being put on the table. They can see what we’re delivering,” he said.

Fox Sports to declined comment.

Networks typically pay a rights fee to broadcast a sport. The PGA Tour, for example, this year began an expanded media rights deal for its tournaments to be shown on CBS, NBC, Golf Channel and ESPN+. The nine-year deal is worth an estimated $7 billion ($10.7 billion).

In this case, LIV Golf would pay for the time slot and be responsible for the cost of production and any advertising to be sold.

In some time-buy cases, the deal includes a few promotional spots to let viewers know when it will be aired.

But any deal, even a time buy, would give LIV Golf what it desperately needs – TV viewership on an American channel.

The league has paid enormous signing fees to attract players, and each tournament offers $25 million (A$38 million) in prize money. It does not have any visible corporate support.

Getting the major networks seemed to be a long shot because of their existing agreements with the PGA Tour and the animosity between the rival circuits.

The source of LIV Golf’s deep pockets – Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund – also prompted protests at some tournaments staged in the US over the northern summer.

LIV Golf has been shown only on its YouTube channel, Facebook and its website, and viewership numbers have been modest.

The series moves to Thailand and Saudi Arabia in October before ending its inaugural season near Miami for a team championship. The 54-hole event has been moved to a Sunday conclusion.

It was not clear if any television deal would start in Miami or wait until 2023, when LIV Golf has said it would have a full schedule. The 2023 schedule is not likely to be released until November.

If the time buy is with FS1, there could be problems in September and October when the cable network has a steady diet of college football on Saturdays.

Golfweek reported that LIV wanted a rights fee for the second year of any deal and a guaranteed time slot, but Fox wasn’t interested.

LIV Golf launched in early June and now has 12 of the top 50 players in the world ranking, most notably Dustin Johnson, Bryson DeChambeau, Brooks Koepka, Phil Mickelson and Australia’s Cameron Smith, who officially joined LIV Golf a month after winning the British Open.