The CBS Sports broadcast of the final round within the 2025 Masters Tournament from Augusta National Golf Course averaged 13 million viewers on Sunday, according to fast national and out-of-home market data from Nielsen Media Research. This marks the most-watched final round of the tournament since 2018 as several golfers were competing to win the major tournament. On top of that, the presentation was the most-watched golf telecast on any network in the last seven years and represents a 35% year-over-year proliferation in average viewership.
Coverage of the Masters Tournament peaked with 19.54 million viewers during the 7 to 7:15 p.m. EST quarter-hour, which coincides with when Rory McIlroy and Justin Rose battled in a sudden-death playoff to determine the champion. McIlroy became the sixth golfer in history to achieve a career Grand Slam, securing the coveted green jacket in his 11th attempt of completing the feat. Jim Nantz and Trevor Immelman delivered the commentary as McIlroy garnered this seminal victory and further cemented his golfing legacy.
With coverage of the Masters Tournament leading the way, Paramount+ attained its largest non-National Football League sports day in history. On top of that, the Masters was also the most-streamed golf event in the history of Paramount+ and had triple-digit viewership growth compared to the previous year. In addition to its main coverage of the tournament, the company also offered Masters Live coverage on Paramount+, the CBS Sports website and on the CBS Sports app for mobile devices.
This iteration of the Masters Tournament marked the 70th consecutive year in which CBS has broadcast the event, and it comes shortly after the company averaged 18.1 million viewers for the National Championship Game between Florida and Houston within the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Tournament, a 22% year-over-year rise in this regard. David Berson, the president and chief executive officer of CBS Sports, led coverage of both tournaments for CBS Sports in his first year occupying the new role.
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