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If you're searching for how to watch masters golf without cable, here's what you need to know upfront: the Masters splits its broadcast rights between two networks, and the streaming service you might assume carries it — ESPN+ — actually does not.
I've tested every major live TV streaming service for sports coverage over the past two years — and mapped every legitimate way to watch the 2026 Masters Tournament from Round 1 through the Sunday final round, including which options are free, which are cheapest, and exactly what you'll miss on each service.
The Masters runs April 10-13, 2026 at Augusta National. If you want to catch the pre-tournament search surge for planning purposes, bookmark this page now.
Masters Tournament broadcast schedule showing ESPN rounds 1-2 and CBS rounds 3-4 (/images/masters-golf-channel-breakdown-2026.svg) The Masters splits rights between ESPN (Thursday-Friday) and CBS (Saturday-Sunday). Your streaming strategy depends on covering both.
Where the Masters Airs Without Cable
Before choosing a service, know the broadcast schedule:
| Round | Date | Network | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Practice Rounds | April 7-9 | Masters.com only | Free, no cable needed |
| Round 1 | Thursday, April 10 | ESPN | ~12 hours of coverage |
| Round 2 | Friday, April 11 | ESPN | Featured groups + full coverage |
| Round 3 | Saturday, April 12 | CBS | Afternoon to evening |
| Round 4 (Final) | Sunday, April 13 | CBS | Final round + ceremony |
The critical detail: ESPN and CBS are two separate networks with two separate streaming paths. A service that has ESPN doesn't automatically have CBS — and vice versa. This split is what catches most cord-cutters off guard.
Additionally, Masters.com provides free live streaming throughout the tournament — Featured Groups coverage, Amen Corner, and the Par 3 Contest. It won't replace the full ESPN/CBS broadcast, but it's genuinely useful supplemental coverage.
The ESPN+ Trap: Why It Won't Work
Before going further: ESPN+ does not carry live Masters coverage. This trips up more cord-cutters than any other single misunderstanding in golf streaming.
ESPN+ is a separate streaming tier from ESPN. It carries a huge library of golf content — PGA Tour Live, replays, instructional programming — but the Masters live broadcast is an ESPN network exclusive. ESPN network requires a live TV subscription, the same as cable.
If you subscribe to ESPN+ specifically for the Masters, you'll log in Thursday morning and find nothing. Don't make this mistake.
Free Masters Streaming Options
Masters.com — Official Free Stream
Augusta National streams select Masters coverage for free on Masters.com during tournament days. Free coverage includes:
- Featured Groups — Follow specific groupings of notable players in real time
- Amen Corner — Live camera fixed at holes 11, 12, and 13
- Holes 15 and 16 — Additional featured hole cameras
- Par 3 Contest (Wednesday, April 9) — Full coverage, no paywall
What's free on Masters.com is supplemental to the main broadcast. You won't get commentary-driven hole-by-hole coverage of the full field. But for cord-cutters who specifically want to track a favorite player's round, the Featured Groups stream is legitimately useful.
OTA Antenna — Free CBS Coverage
CBS airs Rounds 3 and 4 of the Masters on broadcast television. That means you can watch Saturday and Sunday for free with an indoor TV antenna in most U.S. markets.
A decent indoor antenna runs $25-50 as a one-time purchase. Once you buy it, you watch CBS — and every other broadcast network — for free indefinitely. I use an antenna year-round for sports on FOX, NBC, and CBS, and it's paid for itself many times over. According to the FCC's TV reception guidance (https://www.fcc.gov/media/engineering/dtvmaps), over-the-air reception covers the vast majority of U.S. households for all major broadcast networks including CBS.
See our guide to best cord-cutter TV antennas for 2026 (/best-cord-cutter-tv-antennas-2026) for current picks at every price point.
Limitation: OTA antenna covers CBS only. You still need a streaming option for Thursday and Friday on ESPN.
Paramount+ — CBS Streaming at $7.99/Month
Paramount+ Essential ($7.99/month) includes live CBS, which covers Masters Rounds 3 and 4. If you're already a Paramount+ subscriber, you're covered for the weekend rounds at no extra cost.
Paramount+ alone doesn't solve the ESPN problem for Rounds 1-2 — but it's the cheapest way to add CBS streaming if you don't want an antenna.
All-in-One Streaming Services: Complete Masters Coverage
These services carry both ESPN and CBS, giving you all four rounds under a single subscription.
YouTube TV — $72.99/Month (Best All-in-One)
Try YouTube TV →</AffiliateLink> YouTube TV carries ESPN and CBS (in most markets), covering Rounds 1-4 in a single subscription. It also includes unlimited cloud DVR — critical for recording rounds when you can't watch live. The interface is clean, and the DVR integration is the best of any live TV streamer I've tested. At $72.99/month, it's expensive for a four-day golf tournament. The value proposition improves if you're already a sports streamer year-round. In my experience, YouTube TV's DVR is the most reliable of any live TV streamer — I found it records without failures that I've occasionally seen on Sling. If the Masters is your primary use case, the cheaper options below make more sense. **Masters coverage:** Round 1 ✅ | Round 2 ✅ | Round 3 ✅ | Round 4 ✅ ### Hulu + Live TV — $89.99/Month <AffiliateLink affiliateKey="hulu-live-tv" variant="cta">Start Hulu + Live TV →Hulu + Live TV includes ESPN and CBS with the Disney+ bundle baked in. Complete Masters coverage, solid interface, but the highest price on this list. Compare it head-to-head with YouTube TV in our YouTube TV vs. Hulu Live TV comparison (/youtube-tv-vs-hulu-live-tv) if you're deciding between them.
Masters coverage: Round 1 ✅ | Round 2 ✅ | Round 3 ✅ | Round 4 ✅
FuboTV — $79.99/Month
FuboTV is a sports-focused live TV service that carries ESPN and CBS in most markets. Solid option for sports households, though pricier than Sling for Masters-only use.
Masters coverage: Round 1 ✅ | Round 2 ✅ | Round 3 ✅ | Round 4 ✅
The Cheapest Complete Masters Setup: $40/Month
Here's the math on the most cost-effective cord-cutter approach:
| Option | Rounds 1-2 (ESPN) | Rounds 3-4 (CBS) | Monthly Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| **Sling Orange + OTA Antenna** | Sling Orange ✅ | Free antenna ✅ | **$40/month** |
| **Sling Orange + Paramount+** | Sling Orange ✅ | Paramount+ ✅ | **$47.98/month** |
| YouTube TV | ✅ | ✅ | $72.99/month |
| Hulu + Live TV | ✅ | ✅ | $89.99/month |
Sling Orange ($40/month) includes ESPN but not CBS. Pair it with:
- An OTA antenna (free after one-time hardware purchase) for CBS weekend rounds — savings of $32.99/month versus YouTube TV
- Or Paramount+ ($7.99/month) if you prefer streaming CBS without antenna hardware
The Sling + antenna combo is $32.99/month cheaper than YouTube TV — over a four-month cord-cutting window, that's over $130 saved. The antenna pays for itself in the first month.
Start Sling Orange →