The Final Four tips off in Houston this Saturday, and, although this year's edition continues the long-standing partnership between CBS and Turner, it also marks a noticeable departure from the tournament's tried-and-true broadcast roadmap.
Saturday's matchups - starting at 3:00 p.m. ET with Villanova vs. Oklahoma, followed by North Carolina vs. Syracuse - will again be aired on TBS; for the first time in the history of the event, so will the National Championship.
However, fans should not expect a radically different presentation of the National Championship. In fact, according to the networks, beyond locating the game in a channel guide, viewers shouldn't notice any changes at all.
We've always looked at the tournament and the Final Four as a partnership, says Harold Bryant, executive producer/SVP, production, CBS Sports. There aren't many changes on the production side [from past years]. It's still the same production team, announcers, producers, and directors, so, for us, it's not a big change. We are going at this as if we're producing it for CBS - the same level of production, if not higher. Every year, we try to improve our broadcast on CBS, and we're going to do the same thing on TBS.
Throughout the tournament, both CBS and Turner have taken what Turner Sports EVP/Chief Content Officer Craig Barry terms a network-agnostic approach.
Harold and I decided at the beginning of this that we would be in lockstep as we went forward, and, whether it's during the regular part of March Madness, the Final Four, or the Championship Game, the best crews and the best studio-show talent would be in place regardless of network, says Barry. That philosophy has held true through the six years we've been in this, and, now that the Championship is on TBS, it's no different.
Philosophically, he continues, I think we both agree that the fan comes first and you're only as good as your last show. So we're constantly pushing the production execution to be better than the year before, regardless of network.
The big question is, will fans know where to find the game? Although both Bryant and Barry recognize that some fans will automatically turn to CBS on Monday night (and a major marketing campaign is under way to ensure that doesn't happen), most will find the game through their chosen method of media consumption, including March Madness Live and Bleacher Report's Team Stream telecasts on TNT and truTV. And all platforms - not just the linear telecast on TBS - will be taken into account in judging the success of the game.
As the media landscape changes and people are watching where they want, when they want, on whatever device they want, we have to be there to make sure that we're distributing correctly to those platforms regardless of the primary broadcast network, says Barry. Consistently, this tournament has delivered high ratings regardless of network - at least, in our experience over the last six years. It's very matchup-driven, and I see no reason that that trend will change going forward.
Although a number of production enhancements have been announced - most notably, a live virtual-reality experience within March Madness Live - both CBS and Turner are keeping others, including the artist performing the iconic One Shining Moment, close to the chest until this weekend. However, both Bryant and Barry note that flashy tech tools aren't what keeps fans tuned to the broadcast; getting them invested in player personalities, school history and culture, and tournament storylines is.
As much as we love new technology and innovation and things that potentially bring a different angle to the broadcast, says Barry, the deepest, most emotional narrative that we can produce is ultimately going to be the most rewarding for the fans.
Check www.sportsvideo.org throughout the weekend for live reports from the NCAA Men's Basketball Semifinals and National Championship from NRG Stadium in Houston!
Most recent headlines
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
The year is winding down, the weather outside is frightful, and it's the perfect time to escape into a story that warms the heart. For listeners looking for...
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
23 Dec 2025
VEON's Beeline Kazakhstan and Rakuten Symphony Collaborate to A...
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
For a decade, popular German podcast Fest & Flauschig has hosted an annual Chris...
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...
The Final Four tips off in Houston this Saturday, and, although this year's edition continues the long-standing partnership between CBS and Turner, it also marks a noticeable departure from the tournament's tried-and-true broadcast roadmap.
