Augusta National was purpose-built to host a major golf championship. However, when the USGA rejected the course as a candidate for the US Open due to the summer heat in Georgia, they decided to make their own major instead. They were successful in this because they invited a small field of only the world's most elite golfers, put together one of the largest prize pools in golf, and made the event extremely welcoming to fans. The inexpensive food sold on the grounds is one of the most well-known examples of this last point, but the limited advertising during television/radio broadcasts is another key component of the fan experience that vaulted the Masters to worldwide prestige.
Given that Augusta National is one of the most tradition-oriented places in the world, I doubt they will ever allow their broadcasting partners to significantly increase the volume of commercials. The leadership of Augusta National are firm believers in the adage "don't fix what isn't broken."
And to be frank, if you watched this week's broadcast and thought they showed a lot of commercials, then you haven't watched golf on television this year. I'd estimate the volume of commercials was probably a quarter of that shown for a regular PGA tour event.
I love that Bobby Jones got some of the money to build Augusta National by betting on himself to win all 4 majors in a single year (though at the time the majors were the British Am, the Open, US Open and US Am). Jones remains the only person to ever do that, though Tiger came close when he held all 4 majors at the same time but not in the same calendar year.
I also love that while CBS has broadcast the Masters every year since the mid 50s, it's always on a one year agreement that they re-up each and every year.
I don't love that Augusta has such a history of racism and sexism, but they are at least trying to address it (though they will likely never acknowledge the many, many mistakes of the past). Honouring Lee Elder and making sure new generations of golf fans know about him was a nice guesture this year. It was special to see a Japanese champion don the green jacket 10 years after coming to prominence in world golf due to winning the Asia-Pacific Am, getting a spot in the Masters and being low Am, all Augusta sponsored events to grow the game's inclusivity (though a little rich from one of the most exclusive clubs in the world). The Am event for women is another step in the right direction, but I really want to see the top women in the world tee it up for 4 days with the same kind of coverage the man receive. Augusta has made a lot of positive changes, but they shouldn't get a free pass to ignore some very despicable behaviour, some of it far too recent.
Oh for sure, I know they show way fewer commercials than any other golf broadcast, I was mostly surprised at the increase, because I also got the impression of them being super tradition oriented and I assumed as long as the tournament broke even, they wouldn't do anything else to monetize it.
Given that Augusta National is one of the most tradition-oriented places in the world, I doubt they will ever allow their broadcasting partners to significantly increase the volume of commercials. The leadership of Augusta National are firm believers in the adage "don't fix what isn't broken."
And to be frank, if you watched this week's broadcast and thought they showed a lot of commercials, then you haven't watched golf on television this year. I'd estimate the volume of commercials was probably a quarter of that shown for a regular PGA tour event.