Augusta National Golf Club has announced a new broadcast partnership, adding Amazon Prime Video to its roster for coverage of the Masters Tournament starting in April 2026.

This new deal will see the streaming service complement the existing live coverage provided by CBS Sports and ESPN.

Key Details of the New Coverage:

• What: Two additional hours of live coverage for the first and second rounds.

• Who: Available exclusively to Amazon Prime subscribers in the United States.

• When: Thursday, April 9, and Friday, April 10, 2026, from 1:00 PM to 3:00 PM ET.

• Lead-Out: This coverage will lead directly into ESPN's traditional broadcast, which runs from 3:00 PM to 7:30 PM ET on those days.

The weekend coverage remains unchanged. CBS will air the third and final rounds live on Saturday and Sunday from 2:00 PM to 7:00 PM ET. Paramount+ will provide exclusive streaming coverage on the weekend days from 12:00 PM to 2:00 PM ET, a deal that was first implemented at the 2025 Masters.

Augusta National Golf Club chairman Fred Ridley expressed enthusiasm for the new partnership, stating, “Working alongside Amazon in this capacity is an exciting opportunity for the Masters Tournament and its fans. We are proud of our longstanding partnerships with CBS Sports and ESPN, who have set the highest standard for broadcast coverage of the Masters. The addition of Amazon will only further our abilities to expand and enhance how the Tournament is presented and enjoyed.”

With an estimated reach of 130 million homes in the U.S., Amazon Prime Video represents a significant expansion in the tournament's distribution. An annual Amazon Prime subscription, which includes access to Prime Video, currently costs $139.

The Broader Trend: Are Sporting Events Moving to Over-Priced TV?

 "Is this where all our great sporting events are going? OVER-PRICED TV?" touches on a major trend in sports broadcasting.

The move towards streaming services like Prime Video is indeed becoming the new norm. Major sports leagues and events are increasingly splitting rights between traditional broadcast networks (which are free with an antenna) and paid streaming platforms to maximize revenue.

This creates a dilemma for fans:

• More Choice & Innovation: Streaming can offer more coverage, additional camera angles, and on-demand access.

• Higher Cost: To watch everything, fans may need multiple subscriptions (e.g., Cable, ESPN+, Paramount+, Prime Video), leading to a higher total cost. This phenomenon is often called "subscription fatigue" or the "à la carte" cable model many once wanted, which now comes with its own high price tag.

So, while not every event is exclusively behind a paywall yet, the trend is clearly moving towards a fragmented, subscription-based model for comprehensive sports coverage. The Masters, by adding Amazon while keeping ESPN and CBS, is a prime example of this balancing act between tradition and the streaming future.

GBN_AWGolf