CBS' coverage of yesterday's final round of The Masters
earned a 10.1/21 preliminary overnight Nielsen rating, down
6% from last year's 10.7/21 overnight rating. Saturday's
coverage of The Masters earned a 6.6/15 overnight, which was
up 12% from last year's 5.9/15 (THE DAILY).
PUTTING THE DRAMA ON PAUSE? USA TODAY's Rudy Martzke
offers his pluses and minuses to CBS' coverage and writes,
"With candid words in the ilk of NBC's Johnny Miller, [Ken]
Venturi showed it's probably not time for him to [retire].
Now if CBS can just speed up the dreaded green jacket
ceremony." Martzke writes that host Jim Nantz "clearly has
become golf's top anchor. He was at his best Sunday" (USA
TODAY, 4/10). In N.Y., Phil Mushnick writes that "a
welcomed change in CBS/USA's Masters coverage was that the
telecasts began with a look at the leaderboard. In the
past, they began with long and flowery tributes to The
Masters" (N.Y. POST, 4/10). In Toronto, Chris Zelkovich
writes that CBS "decided to start playing this event like a
golf tournament instead of a solemn religious ceremony. ...
Most notable, in a major departure, negative words were
actually heard." Zelkovich: "The less flowery, and less
floral, Masters was much more enjoyable than the sanitized,
symphonic broadcasts of past years" (TORONTO STAR, 4/10).
Also in Toronto, Rob Longley writes, "Overall, this year's
event didn't yield the usual share of Masters' moments ...
But at least CBS redeemed itself from past years by easing
back on some of the sweet stuff" (TORONTO SUN, 4/10). But
the NATIONAL POST's Chris Cobb writes that Nantz, "who
effects the manner of a Sunday morning televangelist, uses
such flowery, over-the-top phrases to extol the virtues of
the tournament, it's a wonder he doesn't choke on them"
(NATIONAL POST, 4/10). In Richmond, Jerry Lindquist: "CBS
had to be dying. There was virtually no drama yesterday.
... Wake us when it's over" (RICHMOND TIMES-DISPATCH, 4/10).
In Chicago, Ron Rapoport: "If you listened carefully, you
could almost hear CBS executives crying as Tiger Woods'
failure to fire drained much of the excitement out of the
finish of the Masters on Sunday" (CHICAGO SUN-TIMES, 4/10).
