With a partnership that stretches all the way to 1956, CBS leaves fans with no alternative television window when Sunday’s drama unfolds at Augusta National Golf Club. Consequently, this year, the network delivered its most-watched final round since 2015, averaging nearly 14 million viewers. That’s the kind of number that should reflect a broadcast hitting all the right notes, but no. Viewers found themselves watching key shots minutes after they had already played out. Before long, the criticism reached beyond fans in living rooms, as a PGA Tour winner stepped forward to question how such issues could surface on golf’s biggest stage.

Kevin Kisner went on the Fore Play Podcast to call out CBS directly. “So your entire Masters coverage is a fantasy world. It’s bullshit,” Kisner said, “I was so f—ing confused the entire time by trying to keep up with the behind-the-scenes CBS feed. They’re literally showing s—t that I knew happened ten minutes ago all day long.” He compared it to watching a Super Bowl touchdown seven minutes after it happened while broadcasters acted like it was live. “Everybody in the stadium is taking a piss.”

That made the timing of the mistakes especially significant. Sunday coverage is where history can happen at any second, and when production mistakes happen during that window, it changes how the tournament itself is remembered. Several of the most widely discussed misses came during the decisive closing stretch on the 18th hole:

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• CBS failed to properly track Rory McIlroy’s approach shot into the green
• Cameron Young’s approach shot on the same hole was also missed
• McIlroy’s ball flight through the trees into the front-left bunker was not followed clearly
• His winning tap-in putt was shown from a partially blocked angle that briefly left viewers unsure whether it had dropped

Coverage gaps extended beyond the final hole as well. Portions of McIlroy’s closing four shots were not shown live, including his dramatic recovery through the trees. Earlier in the round, viewers also missed Sam Burns’ double-bogey while tied for the lead, key birdie looks from Scottie Scheffler and Justin Rose, and even Haotong Li’s stunning 10 on the 13th hole, the type of moment that could become central to major-championship storytelling.

At one point, the broadcast even cut away from live play to show fans reacting from McIlroy’s home club in Ireland while action was still unfolding at Augusta National. Even the closing moment of this year’s tournament drew scrutiny. CBS’s primary camera angle on McIlroy’s winning tap-in briefly left the hole obscured from view, prompting questions about how the defining shot of the championship was framed. Kisner found himself so frustrated with it all that he fired off a message to CBS anchor Colt Knost during the broadcast itself.

“Do y’all ever show a live shot? I’m better off following the f—ing app than following your feed,” he texted.

Knost replied that they “show it in order,” confirming the delay was a structural production issue rather than a one-off glitch. That response led Kisner to publicly credit his NBC production team, who operate under a clear standard: if a shot cannot be shown live, broadcasters must say “a moment ago” rather than present it as happening in real time.

Veteran play-by-play voice Jim Nantz later acknowledged the mistake publicly, calling it part of the reality of making split-second production decisions across roughly 30 hours of live Masters coverage while also defending the work of the hundreds of crew members involved. “It’s live television. We all make mistakes,” Nantz said, adding that the network remained proud of how it captured the broader arc of McIlroy’s victory celebrations around Augusta National afterward. But, access problems added another layer to the frustration surrounding this year’s Masters coverage.

During Saturday’s third round, thousands of viewers in the Nashville area suddenly lost access to their local CBS station after a carriage dispute between Comcast and E.W. Scripps, which owns the market’s CBS affiliate. Because CBS controls the weekend Masters broadcast window, the disagreement effectively removed the tournament from normal cable lineups at one of the most important points of the week.

Viewers risked missing Scottie Scheffler’s 7-under third-round surge, Cameron Young’s matching 65, and the leaderboard swings that ultimately shaped Sunday’s final pairing. While CBS itself did not directly pull the coverage, the blackout stemmed from affiliate carriage negotiations; the timing amplified criticism this weekend, especially since many fans expected a free over-the-air broadcast network to remain universally accessible. And notably, CBS’s Masters production troubles are not new.

In 2023, the network pulled its Saturday broadcast off the air just 15 minutes after it began at 3 p.m. ET, citing a weather delay, even though a full morning of play had already been completed at Augusta National. It was a rare and widely criticized decision that left fans without coverage of one of the year’s most anticipated rounds.

For a broadcast with no commercial interruptions and 70 years of production experience behind it, fans expected better. Instead, many found the Masters app more reliable than their television set.

Amazon Prime Video’s 2026 Masters debut changes the broadcasting game

For the first time in 2026, Amazon Prime Video joined the Masters broadcast. And to make it a great viewing experience, they made a few changes. The first one is by adding two extra hours of live coverage on Thursday and Friday, hosted by Terry Gannon from Butler Cabin, featuring live play, pro interviews, and a special appearance from Jack Nicklaus.

The contrast with CBS Masters coverage could not have been sharper. Amazon introduced “Inside Amen Corner,” a data-driven alternate feed running 20-plus hours across all four days, featuring real-time shot tracing, swing analysis, advanced analytics, and camera angles viewers had never seen before at Augusta National.

Amazon also debuted two on-demand highlight tools. “Rapid Recap” offered curated highlights, while “Key Moments” let viewers select and rewatch specific shots updated in real time. For fans frustrated by CBS Masters delays, this felt like watching two completely different eras of sports broadcasting side by side.

Amazon’s Head of Global Live Sports Production, Jared Stacy, said the goal was to use data analytics to tell deeper stories, particularly around Amen Corner’s strategy and shot-making. While CBS Masters production was running seven minutes behind reality, Amazon was delivering real-time insights down to fairway slope measurements.