Release

CBS SPORTS AND TURNER SPORTS ANNOUNCE 2012 NCAA® DIVISION I MEN’S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP TELECAST SCHEDULE

ALL GAMES TO BE BROADCAST NATIONALLY ACROSS

TBS, CBS, TNT AND truTV

          Turner Sports and CBS Sports announced today their television schedule for the 2012 NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship.  All 67 games will again be available live in their entirety across four national television networks: CBS, TBS, TNT and truTV, allowing viewers to watch and switch between all of the game action across the four networks.

          CBS Sports and Turner Sports will present fully integrated game and studio productions across all four networks as well as studio integration across TBS, CBS, TNT and truTV with pregame, halftime and post-game shows from studios in New York City and Atlanta. Studio shows will include The Road to the Final Four ®, Infiniti NCAA Tip-Off, AT&T At the Half and Inside March Madness® presented by Buick.

          The 2012 Division I Men’s Basketball Championship tips off in primetime with the NCAA First Four™ on truTV presented by Northwestern Mutual on Tuesday, March 13 and Wednesday, March 14. Coverage will conclude with the Final Four® games on Saturday, March 31, and for the 31st straight year, CBS Sports will broadcast the National Championship Game on Monday, April 2, at 9:00 PM, ET.

Additional highlights include (Complete telecast schedule attached):

  • CBS will air the Final Four and National Championship Game for for a total of 26 games throughout the tournament, including the second round, third round, Sweet 16® and Elite 8®.
  • Turner will air 41 games across its three television networks. TBS will air 16 contests, including games in the second round, third round and Sweet 16.
  • TNT will air 12 games, including second round and third round match-ups.
  • truTV tips off the tournament’s coverage airing all First Four games, as well as a total of 13 games during the First Four and second and third round games. It also will air the Reese’s College All-Star Game on Saturday, March 31, at 1:00 PM, ET.

         Coverage of the 2012 NCAA tournament wraps up with extensive live coverage from New Orleans, La., with the Final Four games and National Championship Game. Saturday’s Final Four coverage begins on CBS at 4:00 PM, ET with a two-hour Road to the Final Four®, followed by the broadcast of the two national semifinal games beginning at 6:00 PM, ET. truTV wraps up the day’s Final Four coverage with Inside March Madness presented by Buick.

         NCAA® March Madness® Live will provide live streaming video of every broadcast for the 2012 NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship starting with the NCAA Basketball Selection Show on Sunday, March 11, and continuing through the Men’s Final Four® and National Championship Game from New Orleans on March 31 and April 2.

About CBS Sports

CBS Sports, a year-round leader in television sports, broadcasts a portfolio of events on the CBS Television Network, including the NFL’s American Football Conference; THE NFL TODAY; college basketball, including the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship; golf, including The Masters® and PGA Championship; college football, including the SEC ON CBS; the U.S. Open Tennis Championships; and CBS SPORTS SPECTACULAR.  In addition, the division directs CBS Sports Network, a 24-hour national cable network; produces Inside the NFL for Showtime; and partners with CBS Sports.com in creating a recognized leader among sports Internet destinations.

About Turner Sports

Turner Sports, a division of Turner Broadcasting System, Inc., is an industry leader in televised and online sports programming, airing championship level sporting events on TBS, TNT and truTV, and managing some of the most popular sports sites on the Internet. Turner Sports’ television line-up includes the NBA, Major League Baseball, the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship, NASCAR and professional golf. The company’s digital portfolio includes SI.com, NASCAR.COM, NCAA.com, PGATOUR.COM, GOLF.com and PGA.com, as well as an accompanying collection of mobile websites and connected device apps. Turner Sports and the NBA also jointly manage NBA Digital, which includes NBA TV, NBA.com, NBA LEAGUE PASS, NBA Mobile, the NBA Game Time App, NBADLEAGUE.com and WNBA.com. 

About the NCAA

The NCAA is a membership-led nonprofit association of colleges and universities committed to supporting academic and athletic opportunities for more than 400,000 student-athletes at more than 1,000 member colleges and universities. Each year, more than 54,000 student-athletes compete in NCAA championships in Divisions I, II and III sports. Visit www.ncaa.org and www.ncaa.com for more details about the Association, its goals and members and corporate partnerships that help support programs for student-athletes. The NCAA is proud to have the following elite companies as official Corporate Champions—AT&T, Capital One and Coca-Cola—and the following elite companies as official Corporate Partners—Buick, Enterprise, Infiniti, LG, Lowe’s, Northwestern Mutual, Reese’s (Hershey’s), Unilever, UPS and Wheat Thins (Kraft).

NCAA, March Madness, Elite 8, Sweet 16, First Four, Final Four and Road to the Final Four are trademarks owned or licensed by the National Collegiate Athletic Association.

CONTACTS:

Jennifer Sabatelle         

CBS Sports

212-975-4120

jsabatelle@cbs.com

Dan Sabreen

CBS Sports

212-975-5936

dsabreen@cbs.com

Sal Petruzzi

Turner Broadcasting System, Inc.

212-275-6897

sal.petruzzi@turner.com

Eric Welch

Turner Sports

404-827-5417

eric.welch@turner.com

Gail Dent

NCAA

317-917-6117   

gdent@ncaa.org