Welcome to media madness.
This week we'll see how well the 14-year, $10.8 billion deal CBS and Turner Sports signed with the NCAA works out. The media giants will combine to cover the NCAA tournament, and there are going to be some changes for fans. All in all, it should be a great deal once we get used to it.
| Broadcast teams |
| » Jim Nantz/Clark Kellogg |
| » Marv Albert/Steve Kerr |
| » Verne Lundquist/Bill Raftery |
| » Gus Johnson/Len Elmore |
| » Kevin Harlan/Reggie Miller/Dan Bonner |
| » Ian Eagle/Jim Spanarkel |
| » Tim Brando/Mike Gminski |
| » Spero Dedes/Bob Wenzel |
| Tracy Wolfson, Craig Sager, Lesley Visser, David Aldridge, Sam Ryan and Marty Snider will serve as reporters throughout the tournament. |
"There will be more exposure and all the games in their entirety," CBS Sports chairman Sean McManus said. "What that means is less cutting away to action of other games. Instead we will direct viewers to other channels where they can watch and, if they wish, return to their original game of interest. What fans get with this new partnership is programming freedom watching as little or as much as they wish of all the games being played at one time."
So what do you need to know about this new format? There will be four networks that carry the games: CBS, TNT, TBS and truTV. The good news is that in the D.C. area all four networks are carried on both cable and satellite, so you will have no problem checking out any of the games. All four networks are offered in both standard and high definition.
The 68-team tournament tips off in prime time Tuesday on truTV with a doubleheader beginning at 6:30 p.m. We have a repeat of that same format on truTV for the Wednesday night games.
The Thursday/Friday schedule -- the meat of the opening week -- starts at noon on CBS, 12:30 p.m. on TruTV, 1:30 p.m. on TBS and 2 p.m. on TNT. The second set of games begins approximately 2 1/2 hours later.
TBS opens coverage of the prime-time games at 6:45, followed by games at 7 p.m. on CBS and 7:15 p.m. on TNT and truTV. The final games of the night begin approximately 2 1/2 hours later.
The studio shows will come from both New York and Atlanta, with Greg Gumbel and Ernie Johnson sharing hosting duties each day. Charles Barkley, Greg Anthony and Kenny Smith will provide analysis throughout the tournament from the CBS Broadcast Center in New York. Reggie Miller and Seth Davis will join the New York studio rotation for the second week of the tournament. Matt Winer will host the studio coverage from Turner's Atlanta studio with analysts Davis and Steve Smith.
Examiner columnist Jim Williams is a seven-time Emmy Award-winning TV producer, director and writer. Check out his blog, Watch this!
