Masters draws big TV audience
The final round of the Masters posted its best TV rating in 13 years, even while the event produced the first back‑to‑back champion at Augusta since 2002. (Yahoo Sports reported the 13‑year TV‑rating high.) (Coverage tied the ratings surge to a star‑driven leaderboard and late pressure moments that boosted mainstream interest.) (sports.yahoo.com)
CBS drew its biggest Masters final-round audience in more than a decade on April 12, with Rory McIlroy’s repeat win averaging 13.995 million viewers. (paramount.com) Paramount said the Sunday broadcast peaked at 20.049 million viewers, the tournament’s largest peak audience since 2013. Sports Media Watch reported the telecast averaged a 7.0 household rating. (paramount.com) (sportsmediawatch.com) McIlroy, 36, shot a final-round 71 and finished at 12-under 276, beating Scottie Scheffler by one stroke at Augusta National. Justin Rose, Cameron Young, Tyrrell Hatton and Russell Henley tied for third at 10-under after a Sunday in which four players held at least a share of the lead. (masters.com) The finish gave Augusta its first back-to-back champion since Tiger Woods in 2002 and made McIlroy the fourth player to defend a Masters title. NBC Sports said it was McIlroy’s sixth major championship. (nbcsports.com) (masters.com) The audience jump came after two very different recent Masters Sundays. Sports Media Watch said McIlroy’s 2025 playoff win over Rose averaged 12.99 million viewers, while Scottie Scheffler’s four-shot 2024 win fell to 9.59 million. (sportsmediawatch.com 1) (sportsmediawatch.com 2) CBS said 2026 was up 8% from last year, and the leaderboard helps explain why. McIlroy started the weekend with a record six-shot lead, then faced pressure from Young on Saturday and Scheffler, Rose and others on Sunday before closing it out on the back nine. (paramount.com) (sports.yahoo.com) (masters.com) That combination — a star defending champion, a one-shot margin and multiple lead changes late — produced a broader audience than a runaway usually does. Front Office Sports noted the 2026 final round was the most-watched since Jordan Spieth’s 2015 win drew 14.0 million viewers. (frontofficesports.com) (sportsmediawatch.com) For CBS and Augusta National, the result extends a rebound that began with McIlroy’s first green jacket in 2025 and strengthened with an even tighter finish in 2026. For golf on television, Masters Sunday again showed that the biggest numbers still come when the leaderboard stays crowded into the final holes. (sportsmediawatch.com) (paramount.com)
