Media Rights Dispute Leaves Fans Without the Masters

The Masters is arguably the best sporting event on the planet with millions of fans tuning in to see who will win the green jacket.

Rory McIlroy's playoff victory over Justin Rose last year to complete his career grand slam brought the most viewers the Masters had seen since 2018. With McIlroy in the lead once again – hunted by some of the game's best like Scottie Scheffler and Cameron Young – the Masters likely thought another record would be in store.

However, a media rights dispute might impact the overall numbers.

Scripps Announces Blackout Amid Comcast Fallout

On March 31, Scripps, which owns and operates 40 broadcast stations nationwide in the Comcast footprint, announced the broadcast giant pulled Scripps local stations from its Xfinity service.

"We remain ready and willing to negotiate a fair agreement that returns critical local programming to Comcast subscribers," Scripps said after blaming Comcast for not responding to its most recent offer.

"Scripps takes our public service responsibility to serve our communities seriously. Our stations provide on-the-ground reporting, real-time severe weather updates and live sports coverage that connects them to their communities – all content that serves the public interest and that Scripps continues to invest in every single day."

Comcast Fires Back at Scripps

While Scripps points the finger at Comcast, the latter is doing the opposite.

"Comcast works to negotiate fair terms in order to ensure the greatest value for customers, given all the ways content can be accessed today," Comcast said in a statement. "A number of reasonable offers have been made that E. W. Scripps hasn’t accepted. Comcast continues to work towards making this programming available again with fair pricing and terms for our customers."

How Comcast/Scripps Customers Can Watch the Masters

Customers of Scripps and Comcast can stream full Masters coverage on either CBS' website or that of Masters.com.

More streaming options:

• Featured Groups
  Masters.com/Masters App, CBS Sports Digital, DirecTV, ESPN App, Paramount+, Prime Video: 10:15 a.m.-7 p.m.
• Amen Corner
  Masters.com/Masters App, CBS Sports Digital, DirecTV, ESPN App, Paramount+, Prime Video: 11:45 a.m.-6 p.m.
• Holes 15 & 16
  Masters.com/Masters App, CBS Sports Digital, DirecTV, ESPN App, Paramount+, Prime Video: 11:45 a.m.-7 p.m.

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