The announcement that Amazon’s Prime Video platform would provide four hours of exclusive coverage of the Masters led to some consternation.
The question was how the Augusta National brass could entrust a new carveout to a digital interloper.
Tradition dictates that things are done a certain way because they’ve always been done a certain way.
Amazon’s Masters Coverage: A First Look
Amazon’s Thursday 1-3 p.m. ET coverage is reportedly fine. The presentation isn’t immediately distinguishable from what you might see on ESPN or CBS, and there’s been zero in the way of e-commerce/branding gimmickry.
The absence of overlays and delivery drones trailing logoed banners is hardly a staggering revelation, given that the Masters is the least commercialized major sporting event on the calendar.
Augusta National doesn’t allow the surreptitious use of a cellphone without risking immediate banishment. Nobody associated with the club was ever going to allow Jeff Bezos to turn their signature event into a raree show.
What to Expect from Amazon Going Forward
There will be another two hours of this sort of thing on Friday afternoon. Amazon’s non-exclusive “Inside Amen Corner” coverage will give weekend viewers the full next-gen stats treatment across the fabled three-hole stretch.
CBS is set to embark on its 71st consecutive year of broadcasting the Masters.
It has not been suggested that Amazon’s coverage should be interpreted as a harbinger of doom for CBS.
Looking ahead 71 years, it is expected that CBS will keep on airing azalea-garlanded golf every April.