March Madness Television Schedule

Mar 1 2012

The most significant change to the NCAA Tournament this season -- you'll be able to see more of it. The only way to see the games you wanted in their entirety was to purchase a special package from a cable or satellite operator; without it, you were at the mercy of CBS, reduced to hoping they'd break away from the Duke game to show the end of your alma mater's nail-biter.

No more.

Starting this season, NCAA Tournament games will be broadcast by four different networks - CBS, TBS, TNT and TruTV - and game times will be staggered to allow viewers to catch more of the action.

Here's a look at how the new schedule will stack up. Actual matchups will be released on March 13.

(All times Eastern)

First Four

The new "first four" games will be broadcast on TruTV on March 15 and 16, with games at 6:30 PM and 9:00 PM both nights.

Second Round

The second round - which is what the NCAA is calling the "Round of 64" these days - is when fans will really start to see the benefit of the new television schedule - all four networks will be running a solid block of games from noon to midnight on March 17 and 18. Start times will break down as follows:

• CBS: 12:00 PM, 2:30 PM, 7:00 PM and 9:30 PM
• TNT: 2:00 PM, 4:30 PM, 7:15 PM and 9:45 PM
• TBS: 1:30 PM, 4:00 PM, 6:45 PM and 9:15 PM
• TruTV: 12:30 PM, 3:00 PM, 7:15 PM and 9:55 PM

TruTV will also broadcast the official tip-off show at 11 AM and 7 PM, and a wrap-up show at 12:30 AM.

Third Round

The preliminary schedule for the first weekend of March Madness features a CBS quadruple-header on Saturday, March 19.

Saturday Games

• CBS: 12:00 PM, 2:30 PM, 5:00 PM and 7:30 PM
• TNT: 6:00 PM, 8:30 PM
• TBS: 7:00 PM, 9:30 PM

Sunday Games

• CBS: 12:00 PM, 2:30 PM, 5:00 PM
• TNT: 6:00 PM, 8:30 PM
• TBS: 7:00 PM, 9:30 PM
• TruTV: 7:30 PM

Regional Semifinals

The Sweet Sixteen shifts to prime time on CBS and TBS on Thursday, March 24 and Friday, March 25. Preliminary schedule for both nights:

• CBS: 7:00 PM, 9:30 PM
• TBS: 7:15 PM, 9:55 PM

Regional Finals

When we reach the Elite Eight, all games return to CBS. The start times for Saturday, March 26 will be 4:20 PM and 6:55 PM. Sunday's starts will be at 2:10 PM and 4:55 PM.

The Final Four and National Championship Game

The schedule for the final weekend of March Madness will be familiar to fans. A Saturday evening doubleheader on CBS - games at 6 PM and 8:30 PM - and the National Championship Game on Monday, April 4, starting at 9 PM.

View the original article here

"Lin-Sanity" Boosts Knick Television Ratings

Jeremy Lin's out-of-nowhere emergence has had a huge effect on the Knicks' play. His impact on their television ratings has been even more impressive. I spoke about Lin's impact and the Knicks' television metrics with Stephen Master, Vice President of Sports for Nielsen.

Between Lin's first game as a rotation player - February 4, against the Nets - and last night's win over the Raptors, local television ratings for Knicks games are up 207 percent, Master told me. The Toronto game drew a 4.3 rating in New York - a remarkable number considering:

• the Raptors entered the game with a 9-20 record and aren't a big rival of the Knicks
• yesterday was Valentine's Day - a day you might assume many Knick fans would have plans in the evening
• and due to a long-running dispute between Cablevision - the Knicks' corporate parent - and Time Warner Cable, Knick games are not available to a significant portion of the cable subscribers in the team's home city.

Master also said that the 4.3 rating compares very favorably with the 4.2 average rating generated by New York Yankee games last season. The Yankees are typically the highest-rated team in the New York market (NFL clubs excluded, as nearly all NFL games are broadcast on network television) and did not have the same limitation on viewership that the Cablevision/Time Warner impasse has created.

View the original article here

March Madness Television Schedule

Dec 31 2011

The most significant change to the NCAA Tournament this season -- you'll be able to see more of it. The only way to see the games you wanted in their entirety was to purchase a special package from a cable or satellite operator; without it, you were at the mercy of CBS, reduced to hoping they'd break away from the Duke game to show the end of your alma mater's nail-biter.

No more.

Starting this season, NCAA Tournament games will be broadcast by four different networks - CBS, TBS, TNT and TruTV - and game times will be staggered to allow viewers to catch more of the action.

Here's a look at how the new schedule will stack up. Actual matchups will be released on March 13.

(All times Eastern)

First Four

The new "first four" games will be broadcast on TruTV on March 15 and 16, with games at 6:30 PM and 9:00 PM both nights.

Second Round

The second round - which is what the NCAA is calling the "Round of 64" these days - is when fans will really start to see the benefit of the new television schedule - all four networks will be running a solid block of games from noon to midnight on March 17 and 18. Start times will break down as follows:

• CBS: 12:00 PM, 2:30 PM, 7:00 PM and 9:30 PM
• TNT: 2:00 PM, 4:30 PM, 7:15 PM and 9:45 PM
• TBS: 1:30 PM, 4:00 PM, 6:45 PM and 9:15 PM
• TruTV: 12:30 PM, 3:00 PM, 7:15 PM and 9:55 PM

TruTV will also broadcast the official tip-off show at 11 AM and 7 PM, and a wrap-up show at 12:30 AM.

Third Round

The preliminary schedule for the first weekend of March Madness features a CBS quadruple-header on Saturday, March 19.

Saturday Games

• CBS: 12:00 PM, 2:30 PM, 5:00 PM and 7:30 PM
• TNT: 6:00 PM, 8:30 PM
• TBS: 7:00 PM, 9:30 PM

Sunday Games

• CBS: 12:00 PM, 2:30 PM, 5:00 PM
• TNT: 6:00 PM, 8:30 PM
• TBS: 7:00 PM, 9:30 PM
• TruTV: 7:30 PM

Regional Semifinals

The Sweet Sixteen shifts to prime time on CBS and TBS on Thursday, March 24 and Friday, March 25. Preliminary schedule for both nights:

• CBS: 7:00 PM, 9:30 PM
• TBS: 7:15 PM, 9:55 PM

Regional Finals

When we reach the Elite Eight, all games return to CBS. The start times for Saturday, March 26 will be 4:20 PM and 6:55 PM. Sunday's starts will be at 2:10 PM and 4:55 PM.

The Final Four and National Championship Game

The schedule for the final weekend of March Madness will be familiar to fans. A Saturday evening doubleheader on CBS - games at 6 PM and 8:30 PM - and the National Championship Game on Monday, April 4, starting at 9 PM.

View the original article here