As golfers tee off from Augusta National for the 88th playing of The Masters, ESPN averaged 3.17 million viewers for its coverage of the opening round on Thursday. This is the most-watched first round since the 2015 edition of The Masters drew 3.22 million viewers, a final national number that does not include out-of-home viewing. ESPN began broadcasting coverage of The Masters in 2008 after USA Network had covered the first two rounds since 1982. The average of 3.17 million is the fourth-highest on record, only being surpassed by the iterations of the tournament held in 2015, 2009 and 2010. Ratings for the tournament were first reported by Jon Lewis of Sports Media Watch.
The opening round of the tournament last year averaged 2.51 million viewers, making this year’s broadcast a 26% year-over-year increase. Furthermore, the 2024 Masters opening round was up 12% from 2022 when it attained an average of 2.82 million viewers. ESPN was able to achieve this total despite initial play being delayed by rain; however, it was able to present several top golfers on the course including Tiger Woods, who had to complete his first round on Friday morning before playing a full second round of golf.
Coming into Friday, LIV golf pro and 2020 U.S. Open champion Bryson DeChambeau was at the top of The Masters leaderboard with a 65 at seven under par. PGA Tour pro Scottie Scheffler sat in second with a 66 and six under par. Consumers are able to watch The Masters throughout Friday utilizing ESPN+, Masters.com or The Masters App in addition to the linear telecast at 3 p.m. EST.
Scott Van Pelt, Curtis Strange, Michael Eaves and Geoff Ogilvy are broadcasting live from Augusta National throughout the tournament, bringing fans key moments, interviews and analysis. The network also aired coverage of the Par 3 Contest on Wednesday afternoon, which drew an average of 650,000 viewers on the network and featured Sean McDonough, Curtis Strange and Marty Smith on the call.
ESPN is broadcasting The Masters for the 17th consecutive year, coverage of which is preceded by Welcome to the Masters hosted by Laura Rutledge with features, interviews and tournament highlights. ESPN Deportes is also broadcasting from Augusta National with announcers John Stucliffe, Hernán Rey and Matias Anselmo. The third and final rounds will be aired in Spanish on ESPN Deportes from 5 to 6 p.m. EST on Saturday and 5 to 7 p.m. EST on Sunday.
