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CBS IN THE EYE IF THE MARCH MADNESS STORM

     CBS will cover each game in the NCAA Men's basketball
tournament which begins Thursday.  CBS' strategy is to give
viewers home-market teams, but "make judgement calls on other TV
markets based on assumptions about regional interest and swing as
many people around as possible to catch the conclusion of games."
USA TODAY's Michael Hiestand questions why CBS' tournament
ratings "have been choppy" over the years, rather than
"indicating consistent annual growth."  The network paid $1.7B
for rights through 2002, which accounts for 85%-90% of the NCAA's
budget.  CBS' Al McGuire says the NCAA needs to be "more
competitive," adding that undergrads turning pro have hurt the
game's marketability.  McGuire notes the NCAA "needs to realize
the NBA is the enemy. ... The NCAA is in la-la land on this.
They need a summit meeting with the NBA because the sport needs
organization, not just everybody doing what they want" (USA
TODAY, 3/11).  In Tampa, David Whitley writes of the ratings
drop, "The more you see, the less you care. ... It didn't help
that this year's best college players are in the NBA.  The most
valuable performer remaining was Robert Goulet" (TAMPA TRIBUNE,
3/11).  Mitch Albom:  "The best college basketball game now ...
is the rookie game at NBA All-Star Weekend" ("Sports Reporters,"
ESPN, 3/10).
     DOLLAR FIGURE:  In 1970, the NCAA Men's tournament produced
$550,000 in TV revenue.  This year's total is $178.3M (N.Y. TIMES
MAGAZINE, 3/10 issue).
     MORE MONKEY BUSINESS:  On ESPN's "The Sports Reporters,"
Mike Lupica noted Jesse Jackson's reaction to comments made by
CBS analyst Billy Packer, remembering Jackson's '88 reference to
New York as "Hymie-Town."   Lupica:  "Could Packer have found a
better way to describe Allen Iverson?  You bet.  And Jesse
Jackson could have found a more useful way to get his name in the
papers.  Before you kick somebody else around, always be sure to
take the foot out of your own mouth first" (ESPN, 3/10).  In
Atlanta, Prentis Rogers notes that in an interview after the
Duke-Maryland game Friday, Maryland Coach Gary Williams told
Packer his players were running around "like monkeys" during
practice that week.  Packer to a straight-faced Williams:  "Funny
you should say that" (ATLANTA CONSTITUTION, 3/9).

SBJ Morning Buzzcast: March 25, 2024

NFL meeting preview; MLB's opening week ad effort and remembering Peter Angelos.

Big Get Jay Wright, March Madness is upon us and ESPN locks up CFP

On this week’s pod, our Big Get is CBS Sports college basketball analyst Jay Wright. The NCAA Championship-winning coach shares his insight with SBJ’s Austin Karp on key hoops issues and why being well dressed is an important part of his success. Also on the show, Poynter Institute senior writer Tom Jones shares who he has up and who is down in sports media. Later, SBJ’s Ben Portnoy talks the latest on ESPN’s CFP extension and who CBS, TNT Sports and ESPN need to make deep runs in the men’s and women's NCAA basketball tournaments.

SBJ I Factor: Nana-Yaw Asamoah

SBJ I Factor features an interview with AMB Sports and Entertainment Chief Commercial Office Nana-Yaw Asamoah. Asamoah, who moved over to AMBSE last year after 14 years at the NFL, talks with SBJ’s Ben Fischer about how his role model parents and older sisters pushed him to shrive, how the power of lifelong learning fuels successful people, and why AMBSE was an opportunity he could not pass up. Asamoah is 2021 SBJ Forty Under 40 honoree. SBJ I Factor is a monthly podcast offering interviews with sports executives who have been recipients of one of the magazine’s awards.

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