The final round of the Masters fell back under the ten million mark, topping only the two COVID-era years of 2020 and 2021 as the least-watched in more than three decades.
Sunday’s final round of the Masters averaged a 5.2 rating and 9.59 million viewers on CBS, down 5% in ratings and 20% in viewership from last year (5.5, 12.06M). The disproportionately large drop in viewership is due to the fact that last year’s final round aired on Easter Sunday and benefited from larger out-of-home viewership. Out-of-home viewing boosted last year’s audience by 21%, compared to only 9% this year.
Scottie Scheffler’s win, which peaked with 12.56 million viewers, also declined 10% and 6% respectively from his previous win at the tournament two years ago (5.8, 10.17M).
Going back further, this year’s final round only tops the two COVID-affected years of 2020 (3.4, 5.64M) and 2021 (5.5, 9.54M) as the lowest rated since 1957 and the least-watched since 1993.
As one would expect, the final round of the Masters still ranks as the most-watched golf telecast and one of the most-watched sporting events of the past year — placing ahead of four of five World Series games and every Daytona 500 since 2017. It also goes without saying that the Masters dominated all other weekend sporting events.
Third round action on Saturday averaged a 3.7 and 6.60 million, up sharply from rainout coverage last year (2.2, 3.80M), but down 13% and 11% respectively from the last time the third round was played as scheduled in 2022 (4.3, 7.43M).
Overall, CBS averaged 8.21 million for its two-day coverage of the Masters, down 9% from last year (8.99M), down 7% from 2022 (8.86M) and the lowest since 2021 (7.41M).
