WarnerMedia, CBS Gear Up for 'Very Complex' March Madness Tournament

Almost a year after the world shut down, Turner Sports and CBS are ready to bring back the first major sports event that was canceled because of Covid-19. For the 10th year, the two companies have partnered with the NCAA for the annual Division I Men’s Basketball Tournament. March Madness coverage kicks off with Selection Sunday at 6 p.m. on CBS, with games beginning March 18 on TBS and truTV. “Sometimes [you] don't really appreciate what you have, until it's taken away from you,” Sean McManus, chairman of CBS Sports, told reporters on Wednesday. “Regrettably, a year ago, the NCAA tournament was taken away from us. And it was really heartbreaking. To have it back and to be able to talk about seeds and brackets and conference championships and the first four, it's like waking up on Christmas morning.” Turner and CBS had an entire year during the pandemic to prepare for the return of March Madness, which is going to look a little different from 2019. All 67 games will be staged entirely in Indiana, and 10 production teams will work the event, up from the usual eight. “We’ve learned so much from the past year in bubbles, and we think this makes the most sense,” Jeff Zucker, chairman of WarnerMedia news and sports, told reporters. “Looking at this last year, as we've worked through what the entire world has worked through, it's been both a challenge and an opportunity to think about new ways of doing things and new ways of storytelling” McManus pointed to CBS’ pandemic event productions including the Master’s, the PGA Championship, and a full NFL season including the Super Bowl, but noted that March Madness will be "very complex." “I don't want to compare it to anything else that we did. But I would say there's nothing that we've done since the pandemic began, that's been more complicated than the NCAA Tournament,” said McManus. “It’s a lot of programming and a lot of tonnage to put on the air for 11- and 12-hour days. The other events have been complex. Nothing's been more complex than the NCAA Tournament.” New additions to production this year include a virtual shot clock as well as a new graphics package. Viewers can also expect to see more robo cams on baskets than in past years. “We're focused on making sure that to the viewer at home, they're just getting a product that they've always been used to,” said Zucker. “We don't want the viewer to ever really know that we're taking all of those extra precautions so that it should be seamless for the viewer at home. So those technical challenges are really the big ones this year.” Ad demand remains high March Madness generated an estimated $910 million in national ad revenue in 2019 for CBS and WarnerMedia, according to Kantar. This year, McManus said that ad sales have been “remarkably strong” and the companies are “in really good shape. “We're just about sold out of the tournament. And I think the advertisers are looking forward to the great showcase that the NCAA tournament is,” said McManus. “I think if we get a good tournament, I think the ratings will be perfectly fine. And I think the advertisers will be satisfied with the amount of men and women who see their commercials.” Execs say they aren’t worried about the potential lack of top teams in the tournament this year affecting viewership, most notably Duke and Kentucky—who could potentially miss the tournament in the same year for the first time since 1976. “You obviously want the big-name brands in the tournament, if you can have them. But I think like what happens every year is that stories emerge,” said McManus. “If you have one of the traditional powerhouses, it helps your ratings, but we're going to focus on the teams that are in there and focus on the stories that are in there. And if the tournament develops, as it always seems to, I think we'll do fine from a viewership standpoint." A streaming opportunity ViacomCBS has been making a major play in the sports-streaming landscape with the newly rebranded Paramount+. All 24 games broadcast on CBS will also be available live on the streamer, and there will be live coverage for all 67 games on NCAA March Madness Live. “Pretty much any device that you have, whether it's a laptop, or phone or a tablet, whatever your provider is, you're basically going to be able to watch each and every game through all those devices into all of those platforms,” said McManus. WarnerMedia’s main digital focus is the March Madness Live app. The company's Bleacher Report and House of Highlights apps “will play a role, but this is really about March Madness Live for us,” said Zucker. NCAA March Madness Live Platform Doubles Down on Streaming and Connected TV