Ratings For Final Round Of The 2024 Masters Take A Beating And There Are Two Obvious Explanations Why

The final round of the 2024 Masters was by no means the most-thrilling Sunday golf fans have witnessed at Augusta National with Scottie Scheffler cruising to a four-shot victory. The lack of drama was reflected in the final round TV ratings, but the drop in viewership was more significant than most would have predicted. 

The question now is, why?

According to Sports TV Ratings, the final round of the 2024 Masters on CBS averaged 9.589 million viewers, which is a 20% dip compared to last year's final round broadcast that averaged 12.058 million viewers. 

Before diving into what seem to be the two-biggest factors that contributed to the significant drop in numbers, some important context is needed.

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The final round of the 2023 Masters, which Jon Rahm won by four shots just like Scheffler did, fell on Easter Sunday. 

Sports broadcast ratings receiving a holiday boost is a very real thing. There is a reason the NFL is stepping on the NBA's toes and started to play games on Christmas Day.

While that is a valid explanation for the difference in numbers year over year, the situation becomes more unique when you look back at the ratings for the final round of 2022 Masters, also won by Scheffler.

CBS' final round broadcast in 2022 averaged 10.17 million viewers, meaning that roughly 580,000 more people tuned in to watch Scheffler win his first green jacket two years ago compared to how many folks watched him win his second in 2024.

The knee-jerk reaction to seeing the broadcast figures over the last three final rounds of The Masters is that Scheffler simply doesn't move the needle, which is fair, especially when looking at the situation through the lens of the thousands of casual fans who make The Masters the only golf tournament they watch in a calendar year.

Scheffler being a ‘boring’ player, however, has to fall well down the list of reasons why the final round broadcast in 2024 took a 20% hit compared to the 2023 broadcast. 

There are two key factors at play that can explain why golf fans appear to be tuning out.

TV Ratings For The Masters Have Taken A Hit, Here's Why

First and foremost, sports TV ratings are seemingly down across the board. 

The 2022 NBA Finals averaged 12.40 million viewers, yet that number dropped to 11.64 million in 2023. The World Series ratings paint a similar picture with the 2022 Series averaging 11.762 million viewers compared to just 9.082 million viewers in 2023. Same thing for the past two Stanley Cup broadcasts. In 2022, 4.6 million viewers on average watched the Colorado Avalanche knock off the Tampa Bay Lightning; the following year that number dropped by 2 million.

The Super Bowl and men's World Cup, two of the biggest sporting events on the planet, are the outliers.

Professional golf and its niche audience, even when discussing The Masters, isn't prone to the wave of sports broadcast ratings taking a hit while people also continue to cord-cut.

The second piece to the puzzle here isn't something that can exactly be measured, but has undoubtedly played a role in golf ratings taking a blow, and that is the effects of LIV Golf.

No, LIV Golf hasn't stolen 20% of golf fans who tuned into the 2023 Masters and elected not to in 2024, but it has put a sour taste in the mouths of plenty.

 (Photo by Ben Jared/PGA TOUR via Getty Images)

Interest in professional golf has never been lower. Whether it be among diehard golf fans or those who don't pay any attention at all unless it's a major championship, talk to people in either group, people are fed up with professional golf. 

For two years, every discussion involving the game begins with LIV vs. the PGA Tour, the Saudi PIF, or a note about the merger between all that are involved. People are tired of talking and thinking about money and equity stakes when they simply want to watch the best players in the world compete.

Well, the best players in the world just finished competing for a green jacket on the most-iconic golf course on the planet, and the audience dropped by 20%. LIV Golf and the divide in the sport isn't responsible for that entire number, but certainly a portion of it. 

Looking back, the ratings for last month's Players Championship served as a preview for what was to come at Augusta National. An average of 4.1 million viewers watched Scheffler find the winner's circle at TPC Sawgrass in 2023 while only 3.5 million viewers watched him win for a second-straight year in 2024.