The Masters has slowly and steadily added more coverage windows throughout the years. And that will extend even further in 2026 with Amazon Prime Video being added as a broadcast partner.
When The Masters first aired on television generations ago on CBS, it was just the last few holes on Sunday afternoon. But even in modern times, the world’s greatest golf tournament was famously stingy with how much of Augusta National was shown. It wasn’t until 2002 that all 18 holes on Sunday afternoon were finally shown to fans at home.
Compare the broadcast windows for The Masters to other golf majors and the amount of televised hours for The Masters still pales in comparison. However, that will change somewhat in 2026 when the venerable tournament adds a new streaming partner.
The Masters is partnering with Amazon Prime Video to add additional hours to their Thursday and Friday coverage. Amazon will air full television coverage from 1-3 p.m. ET during the first two days of the tournament before handing coverage over to ESPN for their usual 3-7 p.m. ET window.
It’s a great day for golf fans as the extra two hours of coverage will expand what viewers are able to see during pivotal times of the tournament. Given the current ESPN broadcast windows, viewers are limited to only seeing half of the field play on Thursday and Friday depending on who has the late tee times. These additional two hours of coverage will at least allow viewers to see the early tee times finish their rounds on both days.
Last year, The Masters made a similar move by expanding their weekend coverage with exclusive streaming windows on Paramount+ before CBS’s live coverage. But those hours were filled with players far down the leaderboard with early weekend tee times. These Amazon windows should allow fans to see top golfers with morning tee times that they might have otherwise missed before the weekend times are set based on the leaderboard.
The irony of all of this is that The Masters is one of the most progressive entitites in sports when it comes to their own streaming. Hardcore golf fans can watch every golf shot from every golfer through the Masters website, in addition to feature group coverage and collections of holes including 4-6, Amen Corner, and 15-16. But having more live hours of traditional coverage is a big win as well. Maybe someday, in the not-so-distant future, we might be able to see every hour of The Masters given the full television treatment.
About Matt Yoder