Imagine, if you will: It’s Sunday afternoon. Tiger Woods is tied for the lead at the Masters. There are two holes left. It’s closing in on 3 p.m. ET, the end of the scheduled broadcast window for longtime TV partner CBS, which has some NFL games to get to.
What happens next?
According to a report by Sports Business Journal, should such a scenario arise due to weather delays or a playoff, CBS may hand the Masters broadcast over to ABC.
Sounds wild but discussions like this among the TV broadcast partners must be had, because you just never know.
ESPN is the Masters other TV partner and has the rights to the first two rounds. ESPN and ABC are part of the Disney family. ABC does not have any conflicts Sunday afternoon because it’s not part of the NFL’s TV contracts.
MASTERS: Second-round tee times | Leaderboard | How to watch
But as SBJ assistant editor David Rumsey tweeted, such a CBS-to-ABC switch could happen.
SBJ scoop this afternoon: the conclusion of the final round of #themasters on Sunday *could* be broadcast on ABC, if weather or a playoff extended the acton beyond 4pm, when CBS will transition to NFL coverage. Unlikely, but an interesting possibility.https://t.co/idcbA12q3x
— David Rumsey (@_DavidRumsey) November 12, 2020
SBJ’s report also says 4 p.m. is the real deadline to flip over to the NFL games. The final round is set to go till 3 and CBS and the Masters built in a one-hour cushion before the late-game kickoffs.
