CBS
has
televised
the
Masters
in the United States every year since 1956,
[1]
[2]
[3]
when it used six cameras and covered only the final four holes. Tournament coverage of the first eight holes did not begin until 1995 because of resistance from the tournament organizers, but by 2007, more than 50 cameras were used. Chairman Jack Stephens felt that the back nine was always more "compelling", increased coverage would increase the need for sponsorship spending, and that broadcasting the front nine of the course on television would cut down on attendance and television viewership for the tournament.
[2]
[4]
[5]
USA Network
added first- and second-round coverage in 1982.
[6]
The Masters has been broadcast every year in
high-definition television
since 2005, one of the first golf tournaments to hold that distinction.
[
citation needed
]
In
2008
,
ESPN
replaced USA as broadcaster of early-round coverage. These broadcasts use the CBS Sports production staff and commentators, although then-ESPN personality
Mike Tirico
previously served as a studio host (replacing
Bill Macatee
's role under USA Network).
[7]
[6]
Coverage overview
[
edit
]
CBS (1956?present)
[
edit
]
As previously mentioned,
CBS
has televised the
Masters Tournament
in the United States every year since
1956
,
[8]
[9]
when it used six cameras and covered only the final four holes. Because of resistance from the tournament organizers, 18 hole coverage did not begin until
2002
(coverage generally joining with the final group on the fifth or sixth hole all four days), but by
2006
, over 50 cameras were used.
USA Network
added first- and second-round coverage in
1982
, which was also produced by the CBS production team.
The previously independent USA Sports became part of
NBC Sports
through
NBCUniversal
in 2005, meaning the cable and network coverage of the Masters was split between rival companies. However, USA continued to use its own graphics for sports, and CBS continued to produce their coverage of the Masters, an arrangement that lasted through
2007
.
ESPN
, another rival of CBS Sports, took over in
2008
. However, ESPN uses CBS graphics and production with the CBS logo.
In
2007
, CBS broadcast the tournament with
high-definition
fixed and handheld wired cameras, as well as
standard-definition
wireless handheld cameras. that same year, CBS also added "Masters Extra," an hour's extra full-field bonus coverage daily on the internet, preceding the television broadcasts. In
2008
, CBS added full coverage of holes 15 and 16 live on the web.
While
Augusta National Golf Club
has consistently chosen CBS as its U.S. broadcast partner, it has done so on successive one-year contracts.
[10]
Due to the lack of long-term contractual security, as well as the club's limited dependence on broadcast rights fees (owing to its affluent membership), it is widely held that CBS allows Augusta National greater control over the content of the broadcast, or at least perform some form of
self-censorship
, in order to maintain future rights. The club, however, has insisted it does not make any demands with respect to the content of the broadcast.
[11]
[12]
There are some controversial aspects to this relationship. Announcers refer to the gallery as "patrons" rather than spectators or fans ("gallery" itself is also used), and use the term "second cut" instead of "
rough
" (however, the second cut is normally substantially shorter than comparable "primary rough" at other courses).
[11]
Announcers who have been deemed not to have acted with the decorum expected by the club have been removed, notably
Jack Whitaker
[13]
and analyst
Gary McCord
.
[11]
Whitaker referred to the gallery at the end of the 18-hole Monday playoff in
1966
as a "mob" and missed five years (
1967
?
1971
);
[13]
McCord last worked on the Masters telecast in
1994
, being banned that summer after using the terms
bikini wax
and
body bags
in his descriptions.
[14]
There also tends to be a lack of discussion of any controversy involving Augusta National, such as the
2003
Martha Burk
protests.
[12]
However, there have not been many other major issues in recent years.
The final round of the
1994 Masters
was the final on-air assignment for
Pat Summerall
on CBS Sports. CBS had lost the rights to the
National Football Conference
to
Fox
(where Summerall and his broadcasting colleague,
John Madden
would soon move over to) prior to the
1994 NFL season
. But much like
Vin Scully
did in
1982
after calling his final NFL game (the
NFC Championship Game
between the
San Francisco 49ers
and
Dallas Cowboys
), Pat Summerall stayed at CBS a couple more months so he could make the 1994 Masters his final broadcast for CBS, where he was a mainstay for over 30 years.
Summerall signed off the broadcast thus, surrounded by the other CBS commentators that were working the tournament:
So, on behalf of our entire broadcast group, for the last time, I'm Pat Summerall saying
[to the others]
"So long"?
[the other commentators speak all at once, wishing Pat well]
Thanks, guys.
[to the audience]
I'll miss you.
The
2020 Masters Tournament
was delayed until November due to the ongoing
COVID-19 pandemic
. Schedule changes were made because of sunset around 5:24 p.m. and legal end of civil twilight at 5:51 p.m. each day. To accommodate CBS's coverage of the
NFL Week 10 games
(and, additionally, ensure that play will conclude before sunset), the final round will be scheduled so that coverage can begin at 10:00 a.m. ET (similar to the 2019 Masters final round, which was moved up due to the threat of storms) and conclude around 2:30 p.m. ET. CBS was only assigned late-afternoon NFL games (4:05 p.m. ET starts) for that week. Furthermore, CBS's
SEC football
game, normally a 3:30 p.m. ET game, was assigned for a 6:00 p.m. ET kickoff so that it could air after the conclusion of third round coverage, which will end before sunset.
[15]
[16]
[17]
However, the SEC game was postponed due to COVID-19 cases among one of the participating teams, leading to CBS scheduling only
College Football Today
after the conclusion of coverage, and giving the rest of the game's broadcast window back to affiliates and network programming.
[18]
On November 12, 2020,
Sports Business Journal
reported that the conclusion of the final round of the Masters on Sunday, November 15 could be broadcast on
ABC
,
[19]
if weather or a playoff extended the action beyond 4 p.m., when CBS would transition to
NFL coverage
.
USA Network (1982?2007)
[
edit
]
The USA Network began first and second round Masters coverage in
1982
,
[20]
[21]
which was also produced by the
CBS
production team. This was the first cable coverage for one of the golf majors. Initially, the USA Network provided Thursday and Friday coverage for 2 hours live each day along with a
prime time
replay. In
1995
, USA expanded the Thursday/Friday coverage to 2.5 hours each day. In
2003
and
2004
, both CBS and USA televised the Masters commercial-free. In
2005
, USA increased the Thursday/Friday coverage to 3 hours.
In early 2006, it was announced that USA was outbid by Golf Channel for its early-round PGA Tour rights, with USA's final season being
2006
. NBC/Universal, parent company of USA Network, traded away the network's Ryder Cup coverage through
2012
to ESPN for the rights to sign
Al Michaels
. However, USA did renew its Masters contract for one final year. USA would televise the
2007 Masters
before being outbid by ESPN. The
2007 Masters
was also the final event for USA Sports, which was dissolved into parent
NBC Sports
after the tournament. All future sports telecasts on USA would use NBC's graphics and personalities.
ESPN (2008?present)
[
edit
]
ESPN replaced USA in 2008 as the broadcaster for the early rounds. ESPN originally used
Mike Tirico
and
Curtis Strange
as their commentary team inside Butler Cabin. However, Mike Tirico left for
NBC Sports
in 2016 and was replaced by
Scott Van Pelt
. ESPN also used
Tom Rinaldi
for interviews until he left for
Fox Sports
in 2021.
Early round coverage of
The Masters
continues to be aired by ESPN, however, coverage is produced by CBS and uses CBS announcers and graphics (excluding Van Pelt, Strange, and Rinaldi).
International coverage
[
edit
]
The
BBC
has
broadcast
the Masters in the UK since
1963
, and it also provides live radio commentary on the closing stages on
BBC Radio 5 Live
. Coverage was also provided by
ITV
between 1979-1982 and
Channel 4
between 1983 and 1985.
BBC Sport
held the exclusive TV and radio rights through to 2010.
[22]
The BBC's coverage airs without commercials because it is financed by a
licence fee
.
From the 2011 Masters,
Sky Sports
began broadcasting all four days, as well as the par 3 contest in HD and, for the first time, in 3D. The BBC will only have highlights of the first two days' play but will go head to head with Sky Sports, with full live coverage on the final two days of play.
[23]
From 2020, live coverage moved to Sky on an exclusive basis, with the BBC showing highlights of each days play.
In Ireland,
Setanta Ireland
previously showed all four rounds, and from 2017 until closure in 2021,
Eir Sport
broadcast all four rounds live having previously broadcast the opening two rounds with
RTE
broadcasting the weekend coverage.
[24]
Sky Sports now shows the whole event exclusively live in Ireland, like in the UK.
[25]
In
Canada
,
broadcast rights
to the Masters are held by
Bell Media
, with coverage divided between
TSN
(cable), which carries live simulcasts and primetime encores of CBS and ESPN coverage for all four rounds,
CTV
(broadcast), which simulcasts CBS's coverage of the weekend rounds, and
RDS
, which carries French-language coverage.
In
Japan
,
Tokyo Broadcasting System Television
is an only broadcaster since 1976.
Prior to 2013, Canadian broadcast rights were held by a marketing company, Graham Sanborn Media,
[26]
which in turn bought time on the
Global Television Network
, TSN, and RDS (except for 2012 when French-language coverage aired on
TVA
and
TVA Sports
) to air the broadcasts, also selling all of the advertising for the Canadian broadcasts. This was an unusual arrangement in Canadian sports broadcasting, as in most cases broadcasters acquire their rights directly from the event organizers or through partnerships with international rightsholders, such as
ESPN International
(ESPN owns a 20% minority stake in TSN).
In 2013, Global and TSN began selling advertising directly, and jointly produced their own preview and highlights shows for Canadian audiences (while still carrying ESPN/CBS coverage for the tournament itself).
[27]
[28]
In Australia, the tournament has been broadcast live on the
Nine Network
since 2018.
[
citation needed
]
In Spain,
Canal+
held the Masters rights since the 1990s up until July 2015, when they were transferred to
Telefonica
after the Spanish telecommunications company bought Canal+.
Movistar+
' premium golf channel
Movistar Golf
airs the par 3 contest on Wednesday and live tournament coverage for all four rounds.
#Vamos
offers partial live coverage in
simulcast
with Movistar Golf as well as encore coverage shortly after the end of each round. In 2020 and for the first time, Movistar+ will have two separate live broadcasts of the Masters with
Movistar Deportes
airing live coverage of the Featured Groups, the Amen Corner and the 15th and 16th holes.
[29]
In
France
, the Masters is broadcast live on
Canal+
and
Canal+ Sport
.
Play-by-play/anchors
[
edit
]
Analysts
[
edit
]
On-course reporters
[
edit
]
See also
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
"A 65-YEAR BROADCAST HISTORY OF THE MASTERS ON CBS"
.
ViacomCBSPressExpress.com
(Press release)
. Retrieved
April 11,
2021
.
- ^
a
b
Sandomir, Richard (April 7, 1998).
"CBS and the Masters Keep Business Simple"
.
The New York Times
. Retrieved
April 8,
2017
.
- ^
Haggar, Jeff (April 9, 2013).
"History of the Masters golf tournament on TV (1956-present)"
.
Classic TV Sports
. Archived from
the original
on 2021-10-27.
- ^
Freeman, Denne H. (April 10, 1997).
"Augusta's front nine cloaked in secrecy"
.
Ocala Star-Banner
. Associated Press
. Retrieved
April 6,
2013
.
- ^
Chase, Chris (April 10, 2014).
"Why isn't the Masters on TV all day?"
.
USA Today
. Retrieved
April 10,
2014
.
- ^
a
b
Sandomir, Richard (October 11, 2007).
"ESPN Replaces USA as Early-Round Home of the Masters"
.
The New York Times
. Retrieved
April 8,
2017
.
- ^
"ESPN will show first two rounds of 2008 Masters tournament"
.
ESPN
. October 10, 2007
. Retrieved
March 23,
2008
.
- ^
"History of the Masters golf tournament on TV (1956-present)"
.
Classic Sports TV and Media
. April 9, 2013
. Retrieved
April 13,
2013
.
- ^
"CBS issues error-filled press release on historic Masters TV announcers"
.
Classic Sports TV and Media
. April 18, 2013
. Retrieved
April 18,
2013
.
- ^
Tim McDonald.
"Is the Masters really the most prestigious sporting event in America?"
. WorldGolf.com
. Retrieved
December 23,
2008
.
- ^
a
b
c
Richard Hinds (April 5, 2007).
"Why coverage of US Masters is so polite"
.
The Age
. Retrieved
January 21,
2008
.
- ^
a
b
Rudy Martzke (April 13, 2003).
"CBS managed to get Masters right despite silence on protests"
.
USA Today
.
Gannett Company
. Retrieved
January 21,
2008
.
- ^
a
b
Fred Rothenberg (April 12, 1979).
"Jack Whitaker's welcome now"
.
Boca Raton News
.
Associated Press
. p. 2B.
- ^
"McCord wants Masters return"
.
Rome News-Tribune
.
Rome, Georgia
. Associated Press. September 9, 1994. p. 5B.
- ^
Rigdon, Jay (September 9, 2020).
"The Masters in November will air earlier on the weekend due to CBS football commitments"
.
Awful Announcing
. Retrieved
September 9,
2020
.
- ^
Lavner, Ryan (September 9, 2020).
"2020 Masters Set For Another Earlier-Than-Usual Finish"
.
Golf Channel
. Retrieved
2020-09-09
.
- ^
"Sunlight will be a precious commodity at Augusta National for this year's Masters"
.
Golfweek
. 2020-10-16
. Retrieved
2020-10-27
.
- ^
"The Alabama-LSU and Texas A&M-Tennessee games have been postponed"
.
Awful Announcing
. 2020-11-10
. Retrieved
2020-11-11
.
- ^
Bucholtz, Andrew (November 12, 2020).
"If The Masters runs into NFL on CBS coverage Sunday, it could finish on ABC as well as CBS Sports Network and online"
.
Awful Announcing
.
- ^
Ratings For Each Round of The Masters Since '82 (First/Second Rounds Since '99)
- ^
"History of the Masters golf tournament on TV (1956-present)"
.
Classic Sports TV and Media
. 9 April 2013
. Retrieved
13 April
2013
.
- ^
"BBC Sport keeps Masters contract"
.
BBC Sport
. October 12, 2007
. Retrieved
January 31,
2008
.
- ^
Corrigan, James (September 22, 2010).
"Sky seizes share of the Masters from BBC"
.
The Independent
. London.
- ^
"We are fully committed to providing a public service ? without public funding"
.
Irish Independent
. August 12, 2007
. Retrieved
December 23,
2008
.
- ^
"The Masters: Sky Sports announces multi-year extension of broadcast agreement with Augusta National"
.
Sky Sports
. Retrieved
2022-04-08
.
- ^
Houston, William (April 10, 2008).
"As usual, Woods is the star of Masters coverage"
.
The Globe and Mail
. Toronto. Archived from
the original
on April 14, 2009
. Retrieved
April 10,
2009
.
- ^
Maloney, Val (April 10, 2013).
"TSN and Global partner to sell The Masters"
.
Media in Canada
. Retrieved
April 10,
2013
.
- ^
The Sports Network
and
Global Television Network
(April 5, 2013).
"TSN and Global Partner to Give Canadians Complete Coverage of The Masters"
. Retrieved
April 10,
2013
.
- ^
"La lucha por la chaqueta verde llega a Movistar+"
.
movistarplus.es
(in Spanish).
Movistar+
. 11 November 2020
. Retrieved
11 November
2020
.
External links
[
edit
]