Amazon Prime Video became just the fourth television rights partner in the history of the Masters on Thursday with expanded early round coverage.
But golf fans around the world were asking one question – where are Bert Kreischer and Jason Kelce?
Given this was the first time that a streaming giant was taking on Masters coverage, golf fans were yearning for comedians, celebrities, and product placement galore. Because after all, who wants to tune in to the Masters just to watch golf played behind a Publix in Georgia. If you want to see some trees and flowers, go touch grass.
No, what golf fans really want and expect out of a Masters telecast is all the surprises and easter eggs that come when platforms use the event to promote themselves. What are the new series? Which movies are coming to the platform? What former athlete from a more popular sport can be here to validate this event’s existence?
Amazon dared to have Terry Gannon interview Jack Nicklaus in Butler Cabin on Thursday. Yes, the same Jack Nicklaus that almost took out a beloved patron with his “ceremonial” first tee shot earlier in the day. But who wants to hear from a golfer past his prime when we could have heard from Jeff Bezos himself? What the world really wants to know is how his investments are doing, the cutting-edge journalism of the Washington Post, and his next space flight.
6-time Masters champion Jack Nicklaus joins Terry Gannon to discuss Rory’s Masters victory and insights on how to play at Augusta National.
The Masters LIVE on @PrimeVideo | 1-3 PM ET️ pic.twitter.com/SyEQeLrMLw
— Sports on Prime (@SportsonPrime) April 9, 2026
Honestly, the Amazon Prime Video coverage of the Masters looked and sounded exactly like it does on CBS. Don’t they know that the entire reason to watch sports on live streaming is to be hooked into whatever else the streamer has to offer? That’s what made Netflix’s opening night baseball broadcast so popular. The Yankees and Giants are going to play 161 more games this season. Who cares. That night was about Stranger Things, Bert Kreischer, and the Netflix Sharknado movie that definitely isn’t Sharknado.
At least ESPN got it right this week at the Masters Par 3 contest. They turned a hit and giggle into something that fans really want to see by attracting megastars like Jason Kelce and Kevin Hart. All golf fans really want to see is one of the Kelce brothers eating a pimento cheese sandwich. See, he’s just like one of us!
Can Chairman Ridley please step in? pic.twitter.com/YyTt1pqDb6
— Golf Bet Caddie (@GolfBetCaddie) April 8, 2026
The only new thing that Amazon offered was an analytical channel that made you fall asleep as soon as you turned up the volume. How could Prime Video offer that feed but not something from the famous Augusta National merch store? Have you seen how much those little gnomes are re-selling for? Those people are the real winners this week.
Why aren’t golf balls traveling through the air on delivery drones? Why doesn’t the Hogan Bridge have a giant QR code on it so viewers at home could get 20% off their next Prime order? It’s not actually the Masters until Kreischer and Kelce are seen with their shirts off on the 16th green.
But most importantly, Amazon did a woeful job explaining what else you could watch on Amazon Prime Video. Because you’re obviously there for them and not the Masters.
There was no mention of the final season of The Boys that is streaming now. No NBA crossover with Blake Griffin. No Eli Manning recruiting anyone to go undercover. We couldn’t even get a CGI-inspired Fallout version of what Augusta National would look like during a nuclear holocaust with Walton Goggins.
You can now pre-order the Super Mario Galaxy movie for the low cost of $29.99 without even having to bother to go see it in theaters on Prime Video. It’s sad that Augusta National chairman Fred Ridley must think he’s above doing a skit with Mario, Luigi, and Princess Peach to help promote it.
It’s been a complete missed opportunity for Amazon Prime Video at Augusta this week. Because they failed in doing the one thing that you are supposed to do when it comes to broadcasting live sports – go in there and make it about yourself.
