NBC analyst Kevin Kisner went public with a sharp critique of CBS’s 2026 Masters coverage, then walked it back days later.
CBS’s broadcast lost both Rory McIlroy’s and Cameron Young’s approach shots on Sunday, and the final camera angle missed McIlroy’s tournament-sealing tap-in putt as he sealed a repeat.
Kisner, who was on the ground at Augusta National doing radio work for SiriusXM, unloaded on the CBS broadcast during an appearance on Barstool Sports’ Fore Play podcast. “They’re literally showing stuff that I knew happened ten minutes ago all day long,” Kisner said. “It was so bad that I in fact texted Colt Knost during the show and said, ‘Do y’all ever show a live shot? I’m better off following the app than your feed.'”
Knost responded by saying CBS shows all the shots in order, an explanation that didn’t satisfy Kisner. “I have no idea what they are doing. They are showing every shot on tape. It’s incredible. I don’t even know how the announcers call it.”
Kisner also compared the two networks’ approaches. “Our production team at NBC prides themselves on showing every shot that they possibly can live. And when we don’t, we have to say, ‘a moment ago,’ because we are trying to make the whole movie make sense.”
This was CBS’s 71st consecutive year handling Masters TV coverage.
The comments caused a stir. Former CBS Sports PR boss LeslieAnne Wade responded on social media: “He might soon find out that this golf television thing is a tight syndicate and this is not how this game is traditionally played and won.”
Days later, Kisner returned to Fore Play and issued a formal apology. “It’s been an interesting few days, but it is what it is, and I just have to apologize to the golf team at CBS,” he said. “I crossed the line, probably, too much by talking about that whole content.”
Kisner joined NBC Sports in January 2024 and became the network’s lead golf analyst in December 2024. He leads NBC’s coverage of The Players Championship, U.S. Open, and The Open Championship.
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