ESPN adds more 3-D, lengthens broadcasts

A portion of the Masters Tournament's television coverage has included ESPN the past three years. This year, the network will offer an extra hour of live play today and Friday and more 3-D coverage.

"What's been enjoyable is every year we've worked with the folks at the Masters to bring something new and do something that's additive," said John Wildhack, ESPN's executive vice president of programming acquisitions and strategy, in a teleconference call last week

"This is a multiplatform, multiterritory partnership that we have with the Masters, and we very much look forward to a great week," Wildhack said. "We're pleased that we can bring these incremental advances to this year's tournament."

Though the final two rounds of the tournament will remain on CBS as they have since 1956, ESPN has coverage during the week, which included Wednesday's Par-3 Contest with host Mike Tirico and golf analysts Curtis Strange and Andy North.

Paul Azinger, with 12 years of Masters experience, will lead ESPN's 3-D coverage, which began last year. Azinger said the technology, which will be improved upon this year, will allow fans to see the course as he did as a player.

"Television's fantastic as it is with high definition. But in this case with all the movement, this is where a 3-D picture will really tell a story," he said. "I think the 3-D owners and users are going to be able to see what all of us have experienced and look at Augusta in a different light. 3-D TV may be the future, I don't know, but it really accentuates the undulation (of the greens)."

ESPN will offer 41/2 hours of live tournament coverage today and Friday with Tirico at the helm.

"When you wake up and you know that the place of work for the day is Butler Cabin, that's a heck of a day if you love golf like all of us do," Tirico said. "It's a day that we savor every year and cherish."

The broadcast on ESPN 3-D will feature two hours a day today through Sunday. Azinger said Tirico and Strange will join him on the weekend for the final two rounds.

"When ESPN does something, they're all in. In my view, they have been completely thorough," Azinger said. "They have hired some really good people that know and understand golf. They want to put out a superior product."

Reach Billy Byler at (706) 823-3216 or billy.byler@augustachronicle.com.