The Masters Is Expanding TV Coverage Again—Is That A Bad Thing?

It’s hard to nitpick issues with the Masters—the only legitimate complaint we’ve had is the lack of TV coverage compared to other majors.

Well, the green jackets are addressing those concerns once again.

On Tuesday, Augusta National announced that Amazon Prime Video will debut as a domestic broadcaster of the Masters next April.

Prime Video will stream two additional hours of coverage on Thursday and Friday from 1-3 p.m. ET.

That blind spot of not having early round coverage of the Masters? It’s being lessened significantly.

However, there are some people out there who think this might actually be a bad thing.

Let’s dig into it.

The Masters continues to add coverage

Historically, the Masters has taken a minimalistic approach to TV coverage.

Front nine holes had never been shown on TV until Tiger’s historic win in 1997. And 18-hole coverage didn’t come around until 2002, which is hard to believe.

In more recent years, the Masters has developed one of the best apps in sports and beyond. You can follow replays of every single shot and watch featured groups all in one place.

However, traditional broadcast coverage has remained relatively scarce compared to other majors.

Until last year, Saturday TV coverage only started at 3 p.m. ET and Sunday coverage began at 2 p.m. ET. There was no other way to watch a main feed of the broadcast prior to that.

Then the Masters added an hour to the main Saturday CBS broadcast, so that starts at 2 p.m. ET. They also gave us two additional hours of the Saturday and Sunday broadcasts on Paramount+ from noon until 2 p.m.

That was solid progress in the right direction but early round coverage still felt light. We had to watch on the app until 3 p.m. ET when ESPN’s main coverage arrived.

A first-world problem to the extreme—but, hey, it was a little annoying given how progressive the Masters has become in so many other areas.

Bringing on Prime Video for that 1-3 p.m. ET window on Thursday and Friday mitigates this frustration.

Before this, there would be some prominent players you couldn’t watch unless they were on a featured holes feed. By the time ESPN came on-air, some of those players were already finished their rounds.

That was ridiculous. The move to Prime Video has ensured this won’t happen.

But could this be a bad move for golf fans in the long run?

Some golf fans are upset the Masters is moving to a pay-to-play approach for additional coverage.

With Paramount+ and Prime Video, the additional coverage is behind a paywall.

Free trials exist for both platforms so you could always sign on before the tournament and then cancel after the Masters ends.

Still, it does seem a little slimy the Masters is going this route. And it runs counter to most of the other patron-minded initiatives the tournament has been implementing.

It doesn’t surprise me when events like the U.S. Open throw some of their coverage behind a paywall on Peacock (which still has commercials anyway) as we get sucked into the Russian nesting doll vortex of NBC properties. That kind of profit seeking is expected by them.

I guess I hoped for more from the Masters. Couldn’t they just extend the ESPN and CBS windows another couple of hours? Add a robust main feed to the app?

There are two other concerns fans have with this move.

• Is the much-ballyhooed Masters app going behind a paywall? Or will featured coverage be reduced? This seems unlikely, in my opinion. I think we’ll get the same offerings we typically get.

• This is Prime Video’s first foray into golf. Will the coverage be good? I think the answer to this is “yes” just because it has to be good. The Masters won’t accept anything less.

Ultimately, the main concern is about having to pay for multiple services to get additional coverage.

What if the Masters signs another streaming service for 2027? Are we all going to be subscribed to three different services just to watch a few more hours of golf (yes, yes, we will).

Final thoughts

I already have Prime Video so this is a big win for me personally. Yes, I will humbly accept four more hours of main-feed Masters coverage!

It’s hard to complain about more coverage. We’re making progress. I, for one, welcome our Augusta National overlords. I’ll take whatever they offer.

But I’ll admit it’s disappointing that the additional coverage is behind a paywall.

The Masters is still very accessible. It’s inevitable that coverage will continue expanding in traditional and unconventional ways.

Until then, you can find me waiting in front of my TV for the next six months.

Top Photo Caption: Prime Video will be showing early-round coverage of the Masters next year. (GETTY IMAGES/Augusta National)