NCAA March Madness is the title of the coverage of the NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament jointly produced by
CBS SportsCBS Sports is a division of CBS Broadcasting which airs sporting events on the American television network. Its headquarters are in the CBS Building on West 52nd Street in midtown Manhattan, New York City, with programs produced out of Studio 43 at the CBS Broadcast Center on West 57th Street.CBS...
and
Turner SportsTurner Sports is the division of Turner Broadcasting System responsible for sports broadcasts on Turner channels including TBS, TNT, and TruTV, and for operating the interactive properties , , , and...
, with coverage airing on
CBSCBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
,
TBSTBS , stylized in the logo as tbs, is an American cable television channel owned by Time Warner that shows a variety of programming, with a focus on comedy. TBS was originally known as WTCG, a UHF terrestrial television station that broadcast from Atlanta, Georgia, during the late 1970s...
, TNT and truTV, beginning with the
2011 tournamentThe following sites were selected to host each round of the 2011 tournament:First Four*March 15 and 16**University of Dayton Arena, Dayton, OhioSecond and third rounds*March 17 and 19**Verizon Center, Washington, D.C....
.
Initially, CBS will continue to have coverage during most rounds, with Turner channels covering much of the early rounds to the Sweet Sixteen. In 2016, the regional finals, Final Four and national championship game will begin to alternate between CBS and TBS. TBS will get the final two rounds in even numbered years, with CBS getting the games in odd numbered years.
This joint tournament coverage should be distinguished from CBS's
regular-season and conference tournament coverageCollege Basketball on CBS presented by State Farm is a presentation of men's NCAA Division I basketball games on CBS...
, which it produces on its own. Turner does not currently cover regular-season or conference tournament college basketball games. However, games on all four networks use a variation of the longtime
CBS College Basketball theme music.
Background and coverage breakdown
On April 22, 2010, a monumental 14 year 10.8 billion
dollarThe United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
agreement was reached with Turner to receive joint broadcast rights along with CBS for the NCAA 'March Madness' college basketball tournament. This came after there was speculation that
ESPNCollege Basketball on ESPN is a presentation of the college basketball television package on the ESPN family of networks. The television network broadcasts games of all the major conferences and many mid-major conferences of Division I NCAA basketball....
would snag the rights to future tournament games. The NCAA took advantage of an opt-out clause in its 1999 deal with CBS (which ran through 2013 even though the NCAA had the option of ending the agreement after the
2010 championshipThe first and second round games were played at the following sites:*March 18 / 20*March 25 / 27*March 26 / 28Each regional winner advanced to the Final Four, held on April 3 and 5 in Indianapolis, Indiana at Lucas Oil Stadium, hosted by the Horizon League and Butler University, as per the NCAA's...
) to announce its intention to sign a new contract with CBS and
Turner SportsTurner Sports is the division of Turner Broadcasting System responsible for sports broadcasts on Turner channels including TBS, TNT, and TruTV, and for operating the interactive properties , , , and...
, a division of
Time WarnerTime Warner is one of the world's largest media companies, headquartered in the Time Warner Center in New York City. Formerly two separate companies, Warner Communications, Inc...
(which co-owns
the CW Television NetworkThe CW Television Network is a television network in the United States launched at the beginning of the 2006–2007 television season. It is a joint venture between CBS Corporation, the former owners of United Paramount Network , and Time Warner's Warner Bros., former majority owner of The WB...
with CBS). The new contract came amid serious consideration by the NCAA of expanding the tournament to 68 teams.
It runs through 2024 and provides for the broadcast of all games of the tournament on national television for the first time in history. All first four games will air on truTV. A featured second or third round game in each time "window" will be broadcast terrestrially on CBS, while all other games will be shown either on
TBSTBS , stylized in the logo as tbs, is an American cable television channel owned by Time Warner that shows a variety of programming, with a focus on comedy. TBS was originally known as WTCG, a UHF terrestrial television station that broadcast from Atlanta, Georgia, during the late 1970s...
, TNT or truTV. Sweet 16 (regional semifinal) games would be broadcast on CBS and TBS, while all games from the Elite Eight (regional final) onwards would be shown on CBS exclusively.
March Madness On Demand would remain unchanged, with Turner Interactive taking over management of both that service and NCAA.com as of the start on 2011. The contract was expected to be signed after a review by the NCAA Board of Directors.
As a result with the tournament deal with CBS and Turner Sports,
Mega March MadnessMega March Madness was a pay-per-view out-of-market sports package covering games in the NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship which was exclusive to DirecTV since 2002 and supplemented the coverage from CBS Sports. The charge for the package was a one-time $69 charge per year...
, a
pay-per-viewPay-per-view provides a service by which a television audience can purchase events to view via private telecast. The broadcaster shows the event at the same time to everyone ordering it...
out-of-market sports packageIn the North America, an Out-of-Market Sports Package is a form of subscription television that broadcasts sporting events to areas who are unavailable to see them because the games are not broadcast in their local market....
covering games in the
NCAA Men's Division I Basketball ChampionshipThe NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship is a single-elimination tournament held each spring in the United States, featuring 68 college basketball teams, to determine the national championship in the top tier of college basketball...
(which was exclusive to
DirecTVDirecTV is an American direct broadcast satellite service provider and broadcaster based in El Segundo, California. Its satellite service, launched on June 17, 1994, transmits digital satellite television and audio to households in the United States, Latin America, and the Anglophone Caribbean. ...
since
2002The year 2002 in television involved some significant events.Below is a list of television-related events in 2002.For the American TV schedule, see: 2002–03 United States network television schedule.-Events:-Debuts:-1940s:...
and supplemented the coverage from
CBS SportsCBS Sports is a division of CBS Broadcasting which airs sporting events on the American television network. Its headquarters are in the CBS Building on West 52nd Street in midtown Manhattan, New York City, with programs produced out of Studio 43 at the CBS Broadcast Center on West 57th Street.CBS...
) was discontinued. Since the new deal would facilitate national coverage of every game on a cable or broadcast channel without cut-aways or staggered scheduling, this made the Mega March Madness package superfluous.
Turner Sports airs full-length studio shows before and after each session of play. The pregame show is called
Infinitiis the luxury division of automaker Nissan. Infiniti officially started selling vehicles on November 8, 1989 in North America. Marketing operations have since grown to include the Middle East, South Korea, Russia, Taiwan, China, Ukraine and the United Kingdom. Infiniti began sales in additional...
NCAA Tip-Off and all shows air on truTV. The postgame show, called
Inside March Madness presented by BuickBuick is a premium brand of General Motors . Buick models are sold in the United States, Canada, Mexico, China, Taiwan, and Israel, with China being its largest market. Buick holds the distinction as the oldest active American make...
, alternates between truTV and TBS.
truTV has also added coverage of the Reese's College All-Star Game. The game had been shown on CBS College Sports Network, which also will no longer show live NCAA tournament contests. (It had two per year from
2007The 2007 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament involved 65 NCAA schools playing in a single-elimination tournament to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball as a culmination of the 2006–07 basketball season...
to
2010The first and second round games were played at the following sites:*March 18 / 20*March 25 / 27*March 26 / 28Each regional winner advanced to the Final Four, held on April 3 and 5 in Indianapolis, Indiana at Lucas Oil Stadium, hosted by the Horizon League and Butler University, as per the NCAA's...
.)
Number of games per network:
- CBS: 26
- TBS: 16
- truTV: 13
- TNT: 12
Due to TNT's part in coverage of the
NCAA Men's Division I Basketball ChampionshipThe NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship is a single-elimination tournament held each spring in the United States, featuring 68 college basketball teams, to determine the national championship in the top tier of college basketball...
, the NBA shifted over what would have been the Thursday night games in the third week of that month to Monday nights and they aired as part of ESPN's coverage instead.
Other college basketball coverage from Turner Sports
Before 2011, Turner Sports' best known association with college basketball perhaps occurred on December 11, 1982, when TBS (with the aid of more than 100 independent network affiliates and
stationAn independent station is in the category of television terminology used to describe a television station broadcasting in the United States or Canada that is not affiliated with any television network....
s) broadcast a contest between
VirginiaThe Virginia Cavaliers men's basketball program represents the University of Virginia in the Atlantic Coast Conference in the NCAA's Division I. The team is coached by Tony Bennett.-Statistics:-Retired numbers:-Retired jerseys:...
and Georgetown (led by
Ralph SampsonRalph Lee Sampson, Jr. is a retired American college and professional basketball player.A 7-foot-4 phenom, three-time College Player of the Year, and No...
and
Patrick EwingPatrick Aloysius Ewing Sr. is a Jamaican-American retired Hall of Fame basketball player and current assistant coach for the National Basketball Association's Orlando Magic. He played most of his career with the NBA's New York Knicks as their starting center and played briefly with the Seattle...
respectively). The game in question (in which TBS paid approximately $600,000 for the broadcasting rights) was called by
Skip CarayHarry Christopher "Skip" Caray, Jr. was an American sportscaster, best known for his long career as a radio and television play-by-play announcer for the Atlanta Braves of Major League Baseball...
and
Abe LemonsAbe Lemons was one of the most successful head basketball coaches in Oklahoma history.Lemons grew up in the town of Walters, Oklahoma. He served in World War II in the Pacific and often referred to the pressures of his war experience to put sports pressures into perspective...
.
Beginning in 2012, truTV will air the
Coaches vs. Cancer ClassicThe Coaches Vs. Cancer Classic is an annual college basketball tournament played in November at the beginning of the season...
.
Announcers
CBS and Turner pool their resources for the tournament, with members of the
NBA on TNT crew joining CBS' established March Madness broadcasters. Coverage originates from the
CBS Broadcast CenterThe CBS Broadcast Center is a television and radio production facility located in New York City, New York. It is CBS's main East Coast production center, much as Television City in Los Angeles is the West Coast hub.-Overview:...
in
New York CityNew York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
and Turner's Atlanta studios.
External links