Signature Sound Helps Broadcasters Stand Out Among March Madness Tournaments With fans, bands, and cheerleaders, managing ambiance is key By Dan Daley, Audio Editor
Thursday, March 23, 2023 - 7:00 am
Print This Story | Subscribe
Story Highlights
One thing that makes March Madness unique is that the array of tournaments spans multiple broadcasters. This year, CBS Sports is airing 24 games, including the Final Four Semifinals and the National Championship, as well as multiple First Round, Second Round, Sweet 16, and Elite 8 games. Meanwhile, Warner Brothers Discovery Sports is televising 18 games across the First and Second Rounds, Sweet 16, and Elite 8; WBD Sports-owned truTV will air 13 First Four and First and Second Round games.
With many of the same technology platforms and even the same gear deployed for this annual D-Day-level enterprise, one way broadcasters differentiate themselves while maintaining continuity among broadcast channels is to develop a signature sound.
Emphasis on Ambience WBD Sports Senior Audio Supervisor, Remote Operations, Dave Grundtvig says he focuses on the games themselves but also on the arenas and their crowds and entertainment.
WBD Sports' Dave Grundtvig aboard Game Creek Celtic during First and Second Round games of March Madness 2023 in Des Moines
Each game, he points out, has the same x number of cameras and x number of tape machines, and you'll get a pretty consistent experience network to network. The individuality and flavor of the broadcast comes through the director and others managing the broadcast: how they cut the game and how and when they choose to show replays. The audio people play the same kind of role in that, in what we choose to focus on and emphasize that can capture the essence of the arena and the action on the court.
Grundtvig's palette comprises the ambience of the arena itself - the Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines, IA, where he oversaw WBD Sports' audio for as many as four games a day, implemented a 94-element Electro-Voice XLD291 system in 2020 at a reported $1.7 million - as well as the 16,000-plus fans in the stands, the school bands, and the cheerleaders. NCAA basketball games can roar as loud as 109 dB, so there's a lot of acoustical clutter to cut through.
Like most A1s, Grundtvig started out engineering music recordings, and those skills come into play for sports. To capture the bands, he sets up a pair of Shure VP88 stereo condenser microphones in a mid-side configuration, combined with a Neumann KM194 small-diaphragm condenser microphone.
The M-S mics provide the stereo spread and let me vary that width as necessary during the course of the game, he explains. The 184 is the spot' mic, which creates the center focus for the music. It all brings the music across nicely and lets it sound distinct while sitting in the crowd noise and part of the overall sound of the game.
Grundtvig, who is working with audio-assist Dave Bjornson and Victor Victoria managing the production's RF, notes that director Andrew Greathouse gives him wide latitude in how he captures and mixes March Madness.
He wants me to be aggressive and capture everything, he says, but he also lets me do my thing. It's all about great storytelling, following the announcers calling the game and then having the audio and video match that. Let what happens in front of you dictate what's going on but take in the entire space. There are narratives taking place [on the court], and that's what the show is all about. But the action around that, in the stands - the fans, the bands - is also part of the narrative. How you get that across organically is a big part of making each network's signature.
North America Stories
27/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
26/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
26/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
25/12/2025
Holiday lights are twinkling, hot cocoa's on the stove and gamers are settling in for a well-earned break.
Whether staying in or heading on a winter getawa...
24/12/2025
What is AI good for? Posted by MTI Film on December 24, 2025
What is AI good for?
What is AI good for?
It's been three years since ChatGPT first cap...
24/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
24/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
24/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
24/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
24/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
24/12/2025
Back to All News
The Boyfriend' Season 2 Unveils Heartwarming Trailer, Key...
24/12/2025
Back to All News
Love, Fights, and Everything in Between: Badly in Love' Returns for Season 2
Entertainment
24 December 2025
GlobalJapan
Link copied t...
24/12/2025
Scripps Research study links sleep variability with sleep apnea and hypertension How consumers' digital activity trackers could enable personalized health s...
23/12/2025
How guilas Cibae as Dominican Winter League Games Are Locally Produced for Glob...
23/12/2025
BitFire's Jim Akimchuk on Supplying Scalability and Customization in the Clo...
23/12/2025
CAMB.AI Enables European Athletics to Offer Multi-Language SupportPlan is to eventually offer translation into all languages spoken in EuropeBy Ken Kerschbaumer...
23/12/2025
Analysis: As sports media values trend negative, scarcity and quality are king By Callum McCarthy, Editor-at-Large
Monday, December 22, 2025 - 14:08
Print ...
23/12/2025
ESPN, Disney, and NBA Return to the Animated Altcast Fray With Second Edition of...
23/12/2025
End the Year on a High Note and Donate to the Sports Broadcasting Fund Today! By Ken Kerschbaumer, Editorial Director
Tuesday, December 23, 2025 - 12:25 pm
...
23/12/2025
A Zeus motor is hot fire tested at L3Harris' Camden, Arkansas, solid rocket ...
23/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
23/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
23/12/2025
Lightware will exhibit several major product innovations at ISE 2026, including the new USB-C BOOSTER-V1, Google Meet. integration for various Taurus UCX models...
23/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
23/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
23/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
23/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
23/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
23/12/2025
Taking the Stage at Carnegie Hall-On a Global Scale Boston Conservatory Orchestra students reflect on their epic concert marking the 80th session of the UN Gene...
23/12/2025
Back to All News
Netflix's The Great Flood and Culinary Class Wars 2 Top Gl...
23/12/2025
Back to All News
Stranger Things By the Numbers: How the Global Phenomenon Shap...
23/12/2025
Experience the power of WO Automation for Radio's newest service, the System Effectiveness Review. Designed to help you achieve more, a System Effectiveness...
23/12/2025
Back to All News
How Steamy Can It Get? Single's Inferno' Season 5 Pre...
23/12/2025
Back to All News
33 Million Global Viewers on Netflix Watched Jake Paul vs. Ant...
23/12/2025
New technique lights up where drugs go in the body, cell by cell Scripps Research scientists developed a technique that maps drug binding in individual cells th...
22/12/2025
SVG New Sponsor Spotlight: Presidio's Neerav Shah on the Role of Its Captiva...
22/12/2025
Hitting the bullseye: Sky Sports readies itself for the biggest PDC World Darts ...
22/12/2025
Unique skillset: Bringing new directors to the world of darts at The Worlds with...
22/12/2025
Gravity Media prepares for a flight of fancy with the PDC World Darts Championsh...
22/12/2025
One hundred and eighty: Gravity Media on hitting the production bullseye at the ...
22/12/2025
The Famous Group's Jon Slusser on Fascinating Fans Through Immersive Content...
22/12/2025
ESPN's Meg Aronowitz on Continuing High-Quality Broadcasts of Collegiate Spo...
22/12/2025
ESPN Takes Data-Driven Storytelling to New Heights with MNF Playbook with Next ...
22/12/2025
Paramount Scores Largest Share Increase Among Distributors as Paramount and CBS...
22/12/2025
New multi-year deal integrates Roku's data to fuel Nielsen's measurement suite
Roku gains access to Nielsen's streaming ratings, showing The Roku C...
22/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
22/12/2025
Berklee Wrapped 2025: Our Top News and Stories A look back at a year highlighted by faculty milestones, major film and television projects, Bob Dylan's ho...
22/12/2025
The works of Plato state that when humans have an experience, some level of change occurs in their brain, which is powered by memory - specifically long-term me...
Signature Sound Helps Broadcasters Stand Out Among March Madness Tournaments With fans, bands, and cheerleaders, managing ambiance is key By Dan Daley, Audio Editor 
