The NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament, also known and branded as NCAA March Madness, is a single-elimination tournament played each spring in the United States, currently featuring 64 college basketball teams from the Division I level of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), to determine the national championship. The tournament was created in 1939 by the National Association of Basketball Coaches, and was the idea of Ohio State coach Harold Olsen. Played mostly during March, it has become one of the most famous annual sporting events in the United States.
CBS Sports is the sports division of the American television network CBS. 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.
Turner Sports (TS) is the division of AT&T's WarnerMedia responsible for sports broadcasts on channels including TBS, TNT, AT&T SportsNet, TruTV, and for operating the digital media outlets NCAA.com, NBA.com, PGATour.com and PGA.com. Turner Sports also operates NBA TV on behalf of the NBA.
Initially, CBS continued to provide coverage during most rounds, with the three Turner channels covering much of the early rounds up to the Sweet Sixteen. Starting in 2016, the regional finals, Final Four and national championship game began to alternate between CBS and TBS.[1][2] TBS holds the rights to the final two rounds in even numbered years, with CBS getting the games in odd numbered years.[1][3]
This joint tournament coverage should be distinguished from CBS's regular-season coverage, which it produces independently through its sports division. Turner does not currently cover regular-season college basketball games. Games broadcast on all four networks use a variation of the longtime CBS College Basketball theme music.
College Basketball on CBS is the branding used for broadcasts of men's NCAA Division I basketball games that are produced by CBS Sports, the sports division of the CBS television network in the United States.
Background and coverage breakdown
Logo used until 2018.
On April 22, 2010, the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) reached a 14-year agreement,[4] worth US$10.8 billion, with CBS and the Turner Broadcasting System to receive joint broadcast rights to the Division I men's college basketball tournament.[1] This came after speculation that ESPN would try to obtain the rights to future tournament games.[5] 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 championship) to announce its intention to sign a new contract with CBS and Turner Sports, a division of Time Warner (which, incidentally, jointly owns The CW with the CBS television network's corporate parent CBS Corporation). The new contract came amid serious consideration by the NCAA of expanding the tournament to 68 teams.
The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a non-profit organization which regulates athletes of 1,268 North American institutions and conferences. It also organizes the athletic programs of many colleges and universities in the United States and Canada, and helps more than 480,000 college student-athletes who compete annually in college sports. The organization is headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana.
The United States dollar is the official currency of the United States and its territories per the United States Constitution since 1792. In practice, the dollar is divided into 100 smaller cent (¢) units, but is occasionally divided into 1000 mills (₥) for accounting. The circulating paper money consists of Federal Reserve Notes that are denominated in United States dollars.
ESPN is a U.S.-based pay television sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., a joint venture owned by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The company was founded in 1979 by Bill Rasmussen along with his son Scott Rasmussen and Ed Egan.
The agreement, which runs through 2032 (extended from 2024 in 2016),[6] stipulates that all games are available nationally. All First Four games air on truTV. During the first and second rounds, a featured game in each time "window" is broadcast terrestrially on CBS, while all other games are shown on TBS, TNT or TruTV. Sweet 16 (regional semifinal) and Elite 8 (regional finals) games are split among CBS and TBS. In 2014 and 2015, Turner channels had exclusive rights to the Final Four (with standard coverage airing on TBS), and CBS broadcast the championship game. Since 2016, rights to the Final Four and championship game alternate between Turner and CBS; the 2016 tournament marked the first time that the national championship game was not broadcast on over-the-air television.[7]
TruTV is an American multichannel television network that is owned by WarnerMedia Entertainment, a unit of AT&T's WarnerMedia. The network was originally launched in 1991 as Court TV, a network that focused on crime-themed programs such as true crime documentary series, legal dramas, and coverage of prominent criminal cases. With its relaunch as TruTV in 2008, the network revamped its lineup with a focus on reality shows and "caught on camera" programs, which the network marketed as "actuality" television. In October 2014, TruTV was relaunched with a focus on comedy-based reality series.
TBS is an American subscription television network that is owned by the Turner Broadcasting System unit of AT&T-controlled WarnerMedia. It carries a variety of programming, with a focus on comedy, along with some sports events, including Major League Baseball and the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament. As of September 2018, TBS was received by approximately 90.391 million households that subscribe to a pay television service throughout the United States.
TNT is an American pay television network that is owned by WarnerMedia Entertainment, a subsidiary of AT&T's WarnerMedia. When TNT launched in October 1988, the channel's original purpose was to air classic films and television series to which Turner Broadcasting maintained spillover rights through its sister channel SuperStation TBS ; however, since June 2001, its programming consists of television series and feature films with a focus on drama, along with some sports.
The same number of "windows" are provided to CBS as before, although unlike with the previous schedule where all games in a window started within 10 minutes of each other, resulting in the possibility of multiple close games ending at once, the start times of games are staggered,[8] with action lasting later in the night and fewer simultaneous games than in the previous format.[9] As a result of the new deal, Mega March Madness, a pay-per-viewout-of-market sports package covering games in the tournament, was discontinued.[10]
Mega 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 from 2002 until 2010 and supplemented the coverage from CBS Sports. The charge for the package was a one-time $69 charge per year.
Pay-per-view (PPV) is a type of pay television service by which a viewer can purchase events to view via private telecast. The broadcaster shows the event at the same time to everyone ordering it.
In North America, an out-of-market sports package is a form of subscription television that broadcasts sporting events to areas where the events are unable to be seen by viewers on other broadcast and cable television networks due to the games not being broadcast in their local market.
March Madness On Demand (now called March Madness Live) remained unchanged, with Turner Interactive taking over management of both that service and NCAA.com at the start of 2011. The contract was expected to be signed after a review by the NCAA Board of Directors.[11] In 2012, the service was changed; only games televised by CBS are available for free. All other games are available to authenticated subscribers to the channels on participating television providers. The 2018 tournament, with TBS televising the national semifinals and final, is the first in which those particular games are subject to authentication restrictions.[12][13]
The CBS-Turner coverage formally begins with The Selection Show—in which the teams participating in the tournament are announced, which follows CBS's coverage of the final game on Selection Sunday. During the tournament itself, truTV broadcasts pre-game coverage, Infiniti NCAA Tip-Off, while TBS and TruTV also air the post-game show Inside March Madness. CBS also produces coverage of the Reese's College All-Star Game (held on the afternoon of the Final Four at its venue), and the Division II championship game, which are both aired as part of the March Madness package.
In 2016, CBS extended the selection show to a two-hour format; however, the new special was criticized by viewers for being too padded, while the full bracket was leaked shortly into the broadcast.[14][15] In 2017, the selection show was shortened to a 90-minute format. Beginning with 2018, the selection show will return to a two-hour format, but the special aired on TBS instead, marking the first time since 1982 that the official bracket unveiling has not aired on CBS.[16][17] The Selection Show will now alternate between TBS and CBS with TBS airing the Selection Show in even numbered years, with CBS airing the Selection Show in odd numbered years.[18]
On April 16, 2016, the contract was extended to 2032 in an $8.8 billion deal. The current broadcasting arrangements, including alternating broadcasts of the semi-finals and final, will remain in force.[6]
Team Streams
Additionally, for 2014, truTV and TNT aired special "Teamcast" coverage of the Final Four alongside TBS's conventional coverage, which featured commentators and other guests representing the schools in each game.[19][20] While the consortium planned to tap local radio announcers from each team for the teamcasts, the majority refused due to commitments in calling the games for their local radio networks. However, Turner Sports' senior vice president of production, Craig Barry, did expect such difficulties, and planned accordingly with the possibility of using talent from outlets associated with the team, general region, or their conference (such as regional networks).[21][22] The Teamcast feeds returned for the 2015 tournament, now branded as Team Stream powered by Bleacher Report.[23][24] For 2016, they were also used on the National Championship game.[25]
As CBS prefers having a singular broadcast feed, the Team Stream feature will not be used during any year that CBS holds the rights for the Final Four.[26]
Other college basketball coverage from Turner Sports
The same year that the CBS-Turner consortium took over, ESPN International acquired rights to the tournament for broadcast outside of the United States for networks such as TSN in Canada.[36][37]
While most of the coverage is simulcast from the main U.S. feeds, coverage of the Final Four and national championship game uses a separate world feed produced by the ESPN College Basketball staff; in 2013, the Final Four broadcasts on ESPN International were called by ESPN's lead commentators Dan Shulman and Dick Vitale (alternatively joined by Brad Nessler for the second semi-final game).[38]
CBS and Turner pool their resources for the tournament. While CBS's Jim Nantz remains the lead voice for the tournament, CBS's analysts are joined by analysts from NBA TV and TNT. Turner also provides play-by-play man Brian Anderson, who calls baseball for TBS and formerly did the same with lead NBA voice Marv Albert until he ended his association with CBS. (TNT's #2 NBA voice, Kevin Harlan, is already employed by CBS and thus does not require special arrangement to appear.)
As previously mentioned, all four networks use a variation of the CBS College Basketball Theme during the tournament. Although CBS uses this arrangement for the tournament, they still use the arrangement that has been in use since 2004 during its regular season coverage.
Ernest Thorwald Johnson Jr. is a sportscaster for Turner Sports and CBS Sports. Johnson is currently the lead television voice for Major League Baseball on TBS, hosts Inside the NBA for TNT, and contributes to the joint coverage of the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament for Turner and CBS. His father was Ernie Johnson Sr., a Major League Baseball pitcher and Atlanta Braves play-by-play announcer.
NBA on TNT is a branding used for broadcasts of the National Basketball Association (NBA) games, produced by Turner Sports, the sports division of the Turner Broadcasting System subsidiary of WarnerMedia and televised on TNT since 1989. TNT's NBA coverage includes the Inside the NBA studio show, weekly doubleheaders throughout the regular season on Thursdays, as well as Tuesdays in the second half of the season, a majority of games during the first two rounds of the playoffs, and one conference finals series.
The National Basketball Association is shown on national television on broadcast channel ABC, cable networks ESPN and TNT, as well as the NBA TV network. The NBA is also shown on multiple regional sports networks. Currently, ESPN shows doubleheaders on Wednesday and Friday nights, while TNT shows doubleheaders on Thursday and Tuesday nights. In the second half of the season, ABC shows a single game on Saturday nights and Sunday afternoons. Games are shown almost every night on NBA TV. There are some exceptions to this schedule, including Tip-off Week, Christmas Day, and Martin Luther King Jr. Day. More games may be shown as the end of the regular season approaches, particularly games with playoff significance. During the playoffs, the first and second rounds are split between TNT, ESPN, NBA TV, and ABC on the weekends. The conference finals are split between ESPN and TNT; the two networks alternate which complete series they will carry from year to year. The entire NBA Finals is shown nationally on ABC. The NBA Finals is one of the few sporting events to be shown on a national broadcast network on a weeknight.
The 2011 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament was a single-elimination tournament involving 68 teams to determine the national champion of the 2010–11 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The 73rd edition of the NCAA Tournament began on March 15, 2011, and concluded with the championship game on April 4 at Reliant Stadium in Houston, Texas. This tournament marked the introduction of the "First Four" round and an expansion of the field of participants from 65 teams to 68. The "South" and "Midwest" regional games were replaced by the monikers "Southeast" and "Southwest" for this tournament, due to the geographical location of New Orleans and San Antonio, respectively.
Men's college basketball on television includes the broadcasting of college basketball games, as well as pre- and post-game reports, analysis, and human-interest stories. Within the United States, the college version of basketball annually garners high television ratings.
ESPN College Basketball is a blanket title used for presentations of college basketball on ESPN and its family of networks. Its coverage focuses primarily on competition in NCAA Division I, holding broadcast rights to games from each major conference, and a number of mid-major conferences.
College Football on TBS was the presentation of the Turner Broadcasting System (TBS) cable channel's regular season college football television package.
The 32nd Sports Emmy Awards were presented on May 2, 2011 at the Frederick P. Rose Hall at the Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York City.
The 2014 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament involved 68 teams playing in a single-elimination tournament to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball. It began on March 18, 2014, and concluded with the UConn Huskies winning the championship game on April 7 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
The 2015 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament involved 68 teams playing in a single-elimination tournament to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball. The 77th edition of the tournament began on March 17, 2015, and concluded with the championship game on April 6 at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. Duke defeated Wisconsin in the championship game, 68–63. Tyus Jones of Duke was the tournament's Most Outstanding Player.
The 2016 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament involved 68 teams playing in a single-elimination tournament to determine the men's National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I college basketball national champion for the 2015–16 season. The 78th edition of the Tournament began on March 15, 2016, and concluded with the championship game on April 4 at NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas.
The 2017 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament involved 68 teams playing in a single-elimination tournament to determine the men's National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I college basketball national champion for the 2016–17 season. The 79th edition of the tournament began on March 14, 2017, and concluded with the championship game on April 3 at University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Arizona. The championship game was the first to be contested in a Western state since 1995 when Seattle was the host of the Final Four for that year.
The 2018 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament was a single-elimination tournament of 68 teams to determine the men's National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I college basketball national champion for the 2017–18 season. The 80th annual edition of the tournament began on March 13, 2018, and concluded with the championship game on April 2 at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas.
The 2019 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament was a single-elimination tournament of 68 teams to determine the men's National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I college basketball national champion for the 2018–19 season. The 81st annual edition of the tournament began on March 19, 2019 and concluded with the championship game on April 8 at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, Minnesota between the Texas Tech Red Raiders and the Virginia Cavaliers, with Virginia winning 85–77 in overtime.
The 2021 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament is a planned single-elimination tournament of 68 teams to determine the men's National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I college basketball national champion for the 2020–21 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The 82nd annual edition of the Tournament is scheduled to begin on March 16, 2021 and will conclude with the championship game on April 5 at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Indiana.
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