
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
11/12/2025
Dalet, a leading provider of cloud-native, end-to-end media workflow solutions, ...
09/12/2025
2025 Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame: Pam Oliver, Sideline Icon Who Redefined t...
09/12/2025
SVG Summit 2025 Technology Exhibits Preview, Part 2By Jason Dachman, Editorial Director, U.S.
Tuesday, December 9, 2025 - 7:17 am
Print This Story | Subscr...
09/12/2025
SVG Summit 2025 Preview: Cloud Production Workshop Spotlights Live and Non-Live ...
09/12/2025
Next-generation content protection: Multi-technology security is integral to com...
09/12/2025
CBS Sports Provides One-of-a-Kind Production' for UEFA Champions League Cro...
09/12/2025
Spanish Professional Basketball League Relies on NETGEAR AV, MAM Tech for Seamle...
09/12/2025
SVG Sit-Down: St. Thomas's Mike Gallagher and Casey Eakins on the Tommies...
09/12/2025
Free Registration for the 2025 SVG Summit Closes Today at 5 p.m. ET!After the deadline, tickets will cost $150 to attend the eventBy SVG Staff
Tuesday, Decemb...
09/12/2025
University of St. Thomas Ushers in Division I Era With New Arena and a Broadcast...
09/12/2025
For decades, music videos have done more than just accompany a song; they've shaped style, started conversations, and helped us fall in love with our favori...
09/12/2025
For decades, customers have turned to L3Harris capabilities in electronic warfar...
09/12/2025
L3Harris propulsion systems enable agile maneuvering and resilience for U.S. spacecraft, supporting national security and mission success in the evolving space ...
09/12/2025
L3Harris Technologies' imaging and sounding instruments will play a critical...
09/12/2025
LOS ANGELES James Shears has joined ThinkAnalytics as senior vice president, advertising, tasked with leading global strategy and commercial expansion of the co...
09/12/2025
VIENNA, Va. The Media Institute, a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization specializing in communications policy and the First Amendment, has named Kathleen Kirby o...
09/12/2025
Throughout its century-plus existence, the motion picture industry has had to fight battles on multiple fronts to protect its content from piracy. From protecti...
09/12/2025
NEW YORK Fueled by football season, ad supported TV viewing in Q3 peaked in September, representing 74.7% of overall TV viewership in that month, per Nielsen...
09/12/2025
LYNDONVILLE, N.Y. Digital Alert Systems has introduced the DAS3-DC-PS, a new DC power supply option for its DASDEC-III emergency alert system. Designed to meet ...
09/12/2025
Advanced Systems Group, LLC (ASG), a technology and services provider for media creatives and content owners, announced the appointment of Macky Beheshti as Dir...
09/12/2025
Triveni Digital and Device Solutions Inc today announced that the United States Patent and Trademark Office granted them a new patent for their novel ATSC 3.0 r...
09/12/2025
ThinkAnalytics, the global leader in AI-powered data analytics for TV and streaming, today announced the appointment of James Shears as Senior Vice President of...
09/12/2025
European data management specialists appointed as SingleStore champion partner, bringing unified real-time transaction, vector and analytics capabilities to org...
09/12/2025
Broadcast Solutions, the leading systems integration group, has launched a new business, aimed at providing consultancy and design services across the media ind...
09/12/2025
WASHINGTON The Federal Communications Commission's Media Bureau has once again delayed implementation of sponsorship identification requirements for foreign...
09/12/2025
WASHINGTON #GALSNGEAR has announced two major leadership retreats in early 2026 that the group said are designed to equip women in media, entertainment, and tec...
09/12/2025
WASHINGTON With a Dec. 15 deadline looming for a new retransmission consent and carriage deal between Cox and Verizon, the two parties have started trading barb...
09/12/2025
SAN FRANCISCO Samba TV has announced that it has secured new financing from Horizon Technology Finance Corporation, an affiliate of Monroe Capital, with an init...
09/12/2025
Many cord-cutters looking to reduce their monthly cable or satellite bills are also cutting back on streaming costs, according to new research from All About Co...
09/12/2025
LAS VEGAS and NASHVILLE, Tenn. Shure technology played a critical role during the broadcast productions of the 59th Annual CMA Awards at the Bridgestone Arena i...
09/12/2025
Unveiling of new CV1, web-browser workflows and Milan roadmap for mission-critical AV environments
Nixer Pro Audio will return to Integrated Systems Europe (IS...
09/12/2025
Spring Forward Are you ready to spring forward? The following steps will automate your transition from Standard Time to Daylight Saving Time.
Ensure all WO Aut...
09/12/2025
Tuesday 9 December 2025
Judy Murray calls for PE to be a priority for all schoo...
09/12/2025
Kyocera and Rohde & Schwarz demonstrate OTA characterization of mmWave PAAM at C...
09/12/2025
Wuppertal December 9, 2025
Riedel and Racing Electronics Announce Strategic Pa...
09/12/2025
Verified: LinkedIn crosses 100M member milestone From LinkedIn Published on Dec 9, 2025 Categories: Company News, Featured News
LinkedIn Corporate Communi...
09/12/2025
Another year, another 12 months of amazing adventures.
We are pleased to bring you our Highlights of the Year 2025.
We've worked hard and played hard this...
09/12/2025
Original article published in TV Tech: https://www.tvtechnology.com/equipment/bmg-redefines-remote-production-through-cloud-connected-workflows
When I started ...
09/12/2025
DPA Microphones today announces the immediate availability of its new N-Series Digital Wireless Microphone System for customers throughout the U.S. In addition ...
09/12/2025
Jason, before we get into the detail, what first got you involved in retail media standards? And how did you come to chair IAB Europe's Retail and Commerce ...
09/12/2025
Current Rose of Tralee Katelyn Cummins has been revealed as the third contestant...
09/12/2025
An easier approach to recreate the powerful nerve-blocking molecule found in shellfish A Scripps Research-led study resolves the challenge of synthesizing saxit...
08/12/2025
SVG Summit 2025 Technology Exhibits Preview, Part 1By SVG Staff
Monday, December 8, 2025 - 6:56 am
Print This Story | Subscribe
Story Highlights
The 2025...
08/12/2025
2025 Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame: Bill Rasmussen, the Entrepreneur Who Drea...
08/12/2025
SVG Summit 2025 Preview: Live Production Innovation Workshop Goes Deep on ST 211...
08/12/2025
#GALSNGEAR Announces East, West Leadership Retreats for 2026By Ken Kerschbaumer
Monday, December 8, 2025 - 9:10 am
Print This Story | Subscribe
Story High...
08/12/2025
MediaKind Acquiring Harmonic's Video Business to Create New Streaming-Video ...
08/12/2025
Platinum White Paper: Sony HDR/SDR Camera Shading Techniques for Live Production...
08/12/2025
SVG Sit-Down: NESN's Kenny Elcock and Harmonic's Jean Macher Talk Next-G...
08/12/2025
Monsters Funday Football,' ESPN's Latest Live Animation Effort, Advances...