{"id":52841,"date":"2026-04-16T00:22:55","date_gmt":"2026-04-16T04:22:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/mcilroys-back-to-back-masters-win-delivers-cbs-highest-ratings-in-over-a-decade\/"},"modified":"2026-04-16T00:22:55","modified_gmt":"2026-04-16T04:22:55","slug":"mcilroys-back-to-back-masters-win-delivers-cbs-highest-ratings-in-over-a-decade","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/mcilroys-back-to-back-masters-win-delivers-cbs-highest-ratings-in-over-a-decade\/","title":{"rendered":"McIlroy’s Back-to-Back Masters Win Delivers CBS Highest Ratings in Over a Decade"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n

CBS scored its biggest television audience in more than a decade Sunday as golf fans tuned in to watch Rory McIlroy defend his Masters title at Augusta National Golf Club.<\/p>

The final round drew an average of 13,995,000 viewers, representing the largest CBS audience for Masters Sunday coverage since 2015 when Jordan Spieth claimed his first major championship, according to Front Office Sports.<\/p>

Sunday’s viewership marked an 8% jump compared to last April’s final round, which attracted 12.71 million viewers when McIlroy achieved golf’s career grand slam in a dramatic playoff victory over England’s Justin Rose.<\/p>

This year’s tournament delivered plenty of drama as well. McIlroy started strong, sharing the first-round lead before building a commanding six-stroke advantage at the halfway point. However, that margin disappeared by Saturday, leaving McIlroy tied with Cameron Young heading into the final round.<\/p>

Saturday’s third round also benefited from the excitement, drawing 8.1 million CBS viewers – a 14% boost from the previous year’s 7.6 million and the highest third-round audience since Tiger Woods’ 2019 Masters triumph.<\/p>

The final day’s tension peaked as Scottie Scheffler, currently ranked number one in the world, mounted a charge from four shots behind. Despite Scheffler’s pressure, McIlroy managed to secure the victory by a single stroke, joining an elite group that includes Jack Nicklaus, Nick Faldo and Tiger Woods as the only golfers to win consecutive Masters tournaments.<\/p>

Viewership reached its highest point at just over 20 million viewers during Sunday’s broadcast – the tournament’s largest peak audience since Adam Scott’s 2013 victory when Woods finished tied for fourth. Last year’s peak reached 19.54 million viewers.<\/p>

The 2026 Masters marked the first tournament measured using Nielsen’s new Big Data+ Panel system. This updated methodology aims to provide more comprehensive and precise audience measurement, typically resulting in higher ratings for live sporting events compared to previous tracking methods, Front Office Sports noted.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Rory McIlroy’s second straight Masters victory drew nearly 14 million viewers to CBS on Sunday, marking the network’s best final round ratings since 2015. The dramatic tournament saw McIlroy lose and regain his lead before holding off world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler by one stroke.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":52840,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[836],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-52841","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sports"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/news-1776313375101.jpg?fit=450%2C298&ssl=1","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pbtNqq-dKh","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":51017,"url":"https:\/\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/mcilroy-claims-second-straight-masters-title-joins-golfs-elite-champions\/","url_meta":{"origin":52841,"position":0},"title":"McIlroy Claims Second Straight Masters Title, Joins Golf’s Elite Champions","author":"Admin","date":"April 12, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"Northern Ireland's Rory McIlroy successfully defended his Masters championship at Augusta National, winning by one stroke after a dramatic final round. His consecutive victories place him alongside Tiger Woods, Nick Faldo, and Jack Nicklaus as the only golfers to win back-to-back Masters tournaments.","rel":"","context":"In "Sports"","block_context":{"text":"Sports","link":"https:\/\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/category\/sports\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/news-1776036156179.jpg?fit=1024%2C682&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/news-1776036156179.jpg?fit=1024%2C682&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/news-1776036156179.jpg?fit=1024%2C682&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/news-1776036156179.jpg?fit=1024%2C682&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":50742,"url":"https:\/\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/defending-masters-champion-mcilroy-sees-commanding-lead-disappear-at-augusta\/","url_meta":{"origin":52841,"position":1},"title":"Defending Masters Champion McIlroy Sees Commanding Lead Disappear at Augusta","author":"Admin","date":"April 11, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"Rory McIlroy entered Saturday's round at Augusta National with the largest 36-hole lead in Masters history, but watched his six-shot advantage vanish during a difficult stretch at Amen Corner. The defending champion now finds himself tied for the lead heading into Sunday's final round as he seeks to become the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Sports"","block_context":{"text":"Sports","link":"https:\/\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/category\/sports\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/news-1775956983121.jpg?fit=450%2C309&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":50430,"url":"https:\/\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/mcilroy-dominates-masters-second-round-builds-historic-six-shot-lead\/","url_meta":{"origin":52841,"position":2},"title":"McIlroy Dominates Masters Second Round, Builds Historic Six-Shot Lead","author":"Admin","date":"April 10, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"Defending Masters champion Rory McIlroy shot a tournament-low 65 on Friday at Augusta National, establishing the largest 36-hole lead in Masters history. The Northern Irishman sits at 12-under par, six strokes ahead of Sam Burns and Patrick Reed heading into the weekend.","rel":"","context":"In "Sports"","block_context":{"text":"Sports","link":"https:\/\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/category\/sports\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/news-1775870555738.jpg?fit=450%2C290&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":65801,"url":"https:\/\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/golf-star-mcilroy-cuts-practice-short-at-pga-championship-due-to-toe-injury\/","url_meta":{"origin":52841,"position":3},"title":"Golf Star McIlroy Cuts Practice Short at PGA Championship Due to Toe Injury","author":"Admin","date":"May 13, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"Professional golfer Rory McIlroy abbreviated his Tuesday practice session at the PGA Championship after playing only three holes due to a painful blister on his toe. 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