As the Masters plays its 90th edition next week, golf’s most famous—and traditional—tournament is belatedly embracing streaming of its main coverage, bringing on Amazon Prime Video as a new media rights partner.
“I think you’ll continue to see more and more on streaming,” CBS Sports president David Berson said this week on the network’s Masters preview call.
CBS has broadcast weekend action of every Masters since it was first shown on television in 1956, and produces all Masters coverage in the U.S. that’s shown on other platforms, like newcomer Prime Video or longtime partner ESPN during the first two rounds.
Last year, the network’s streaming service, Paramount+, added two hours of exclusive Masters coverage in the early afternoons (noon to 2 p.m. ET) of each of the third and final rounds—which will once again be the case next weekend.
But despite the added emphasis on streaming coverage at Augusta National, don’t expect the most important hours of the Masters to leave CBS airwaves any time soon. “While everything gets coverage nowadays across all kinds of platforms, the big stuff pops even more on broadcast TV,” Berson said.
CBS averaged 12.71 million viewers for last year’s final round of the Masters, marking the largest golf TV audience in seven years.
Augusta’s ‘Less Is More’ Attitude
For the tradition-bound tournament, though, any change—on or off the course—is still significant.
“For so long, part of the mystery and magic of Augusta was the idea that less is more,” longtime Golf Channel host Rich Lerner said. “They sort of wrestled with that. And we always asked the question: When are they going to open it up a little more? When are they going to expand their coverage?”
The debut of Amazon means two additional hours of Masters coverage during the first and second rounds from 1-3 p.m. ET, before ESPN comes on the air with its traditional late afternoon telecast.
But the Masters still doesn’t offer traditional broadcast coverage for the first half of the day during the opening rounds, instead providing featured group and hole feeds on their website, app, and ESPN+ and Paramount+.
“If you look at the other majors—U.S. Opens, PGA Championships—those Thursday-Fridays are just grind them out, sun-up-to-sundown, long days,” Lerner said, referencing the production efforts. “So, Augusta now has opened it up a bit more. It’s somewhat expanded. It’s not 7 a.m., but you can jump online.”
‘It’s a fraternity’
Amazon joining the Masters contingent also means more chances for golf announcers to call the action from the world most famous club. Smylie Kaufman, Geoff Ogilvy, and Terry Gannon are among the notable TV personalities making their Masters debuts with Amazon next week.
“I feel like it’s a very small group that’s incredibly collegial,” said ESPN anchor Scott Van Pelt, who hosts early round coverage on the network. “We’ve all worked together in some form or fashion, it feels like. It’s a fraternity/sorority—the men and women that cover the game. There’s no animosity of any kind.”
ESPN analyst Curtis Strange said, “Every day, I’ll go over to the CBS green room, and see them and have a couple laughs. Same thing with our guys in our green room. It’s a lot of moving parts, and if everybody doesn’t do their job, there is a hiccup.”
The Masters begins April 9, with Amazon and ESPN airing the action during the first two rounds, and Paramount+ and CBS handling third- and final-round coverage next weekend.
