Augusta National chairman Hootie Johnson, who dropped his television sponsors this year to keep them out of the controversy over the club's all-male membership, has stated that the 2004 Masters again would have no sponsors or commercial interruptions.
Said Johnson: "There were many aspects of last year's broadcast that were favorable. The response from our TV viewers about the ability to watch strictly golf was very positive."
Final-round coverage on host broadcaster CBS Sports attracted 34.5 million viewers, the third-highest for Sunday at the Masters.
The furore surrounding the club's all-male membership undoubtedly aided the profile of the tournament and also led to Johnson dropping the Masters' three television sponsors — Coca-Cola, Citigroup and IBM — to shield them from controversy.
The move however caused the club to lose an undisclosed amount of money because there was no advertising revenue. It was believed Augusta National also helped CBS Sports pay for the production costs.
Club spokesman Glenn Greenspan said the decision to go commercial-free next year was no indication the membership debate remained a problem for corporate sponsors.
Said Greenspan: "We had no discussions with our past sponsors or any potential sponsors. We received a great deal of positive feedback about the broadcast of this year's tournament, and based on that, the club decided the Masters would continue the commercial-free format for another year."
The Augusta National golf club has indicated that the commercial-free TV broadcasts of the US Masters this year were so well received that the format will be retained next year.
