Jordan Spieth was prominently featured in Thursday's coverage, which was up 40% from a 1.6 last yearGetty Images
Tiger Woods' presence helped ESPN earn a 2.2 overnight rating for its opening round coverage of The Masters on Thursday, its best first-day performance since '15, when Woods last competed. Thursday's rating is up 40% from a 1.6 last year and 16% from a 1.9 in '16. ESPN drew a 2.4 overnight in '15, when Woods was featured in the net's afternoon window. Woods' round Thursday was mostly complete when ESPN came on the air at 3:00pm ET (Josh Carpenter, Assistant Editor).
IT'S A DIGITAL WORLD: The MORNING READ's Steve Elling writes streaming coverage on Masters.com was a "solid, steady effort on Thursday." Host Andrew Catalon and analysts Davis Love III and Bill Kratzert were a "little light on helpful embellishments, such as individual stats and event context, but that’s a minor nit to pick." The "understated tone was refreshing" in some ways, as microphones "picked up plenty of conversation between players and caddies." Online offerings at the majors are "nothing new, nor is the selection of feature groups for Internet coverage, but too often the designated groups have been the subject of ridicule and anger." When the club announced Tuesday that Woods would play in one of the feature groups during the opening round, "excitement was evident." The online feed was "even better than a traditional TV feed, because there were no commercials and each of Woods’ 73 strokes was piped into computers, tablets and phones across America" (MORNINGREAD.com, 4/6).
GOING OVER THE TOP: ESPN got some pushback on Twitter for its emphasis on Woods' renaissance, including a segment that aired prior to the start of his round Thursday. USA Today's Christian Schneider: "The hagiographic intro to Tiger’s first round on ESPN just now was a bit much. He didn’t just 'lose' his family, like he just misplaced them. He was 100% responsible for everything that happened to him." Creighton radio broadcaster John Bishop: "Is somebody who doesn't pull for Tiger this weekend 'broken inside?'" UConn broadcaster Joe D'Ambrosio: "If Tiger doesn’t make the cut, will ESPN cancel its coverage of The Masters? #askingforafriend."
