McIlroy drives big ratings
Rory McIlroy defended his Masters title and his win produced the largest final‑round TV audience in a decade, according to ratings tallies released after the tournament. (sports.yahoo.com) CBS posted its best Masters final‑round ratings in 11 years and overall viewership was reported up 8% from 2025 as McIlroy captured his sixth career major by one stroke. (barrettmedia.com) (yardbarker.com)
Rory McIlroy’s second straight Masters win drew the tournament’s biggest Sunday television audience since 2015. (paramount.com) CBS said the April 12 final round averaged 13.995 million viewers, up 8 percent from 2025. The audience peaked at more than 20 million viewers during the closing stretch at Augusta National. (paramount.com) McIlroy won the 90th Masters at 12-under par, one stroke ahead of Scottie Scheffler. It was McIlroy’s sixth major title and his second green jacket in a row. (pgatour.com) (espn.com) The ratings spike followed a final round with multiple lead changes after McIlroy lost a six-shot lead on Saturday and briefly trailed early Sunday. CBS carried the final-round window from 2 p.m. to 7 p.m. Eastern on broadcast television, with additional streaming on Paramount Plus. (sports.yahoo.com) (paramountplus.com) For CBS, the number extended a long run of Masters coverage into a new high-water mark. The company said the 2026 peak audience was the tournament’s largest since 2013. (paramount.com) Industry tracking split the result into two milestones: the most-watched Masters final round since Jordan Spieth’s 2015 win, and the highest household rating since Patrick Reed’s 2018 victory. Sports Media Watch reported a 7.0 rating for Sunday’s telecast. (sportsmediawatch.com) The audience gain also came one year after McIlroy’s first Masters title. Front Office Sports reported the 2025 final round drew 12.71 million viewers on CBS, making this year’s increase roughly 1.3 million viewers. (frontofficesports.com) CBS said Paramount Plus posted its biggest golf day ever during the tournament, adding a streaming bump to the broadcast number. The Masters remains split across ESPN early in the week and CBS on the weekend, with extra digital feeds through Masters Live. (publicnow.com) (paramountpressexpress.com) McIlroy gave CBS the ending it wanted: a star golfer, a one-shot finish, and a Sunday audience that matched the event’s biggest television numbers of the past decade. (paramount.com)
