CBS and Turner's new $8.8B deal to continue televising the NCAA Tournament through '32 is "a big bet that sports will continue to hold value at a time when changing viewing patterns and emerging platforms are straining the traditional television networks and pay-TV businesses," according to Joe Flint of the WALL STREET JOURNAL. CBS Sports Chair Sean McManus said that "regardless of how people are getting content in the years ahead, the deal will be a success." McManus: "Whatever new platforms develop, we have all of those rights. If people are watching on a skinny bundle, a phone or Apple TV, we have the ability to exploit all of those rights going forward" (WALL STREET JOURNAL, 4/13). McManus said that CBS "started informal talks with Turner last summer and began negotiating with the NCAA in the fall and that agreement was reached about three weeks ago." He said, "Part of the reason this deal took a fairly long time to consummate was we wanted to make sure we had access to all of those rights." He noted that includes platforms "not yet thought of." USA TODAY's Erik Brady notes while the extension takes effect beginning with the '25 tournament, the NCAA will "begin receiving money from the new deal during the later years of the existing contract" (USA TODAY, 4/13). Turner President David Levy indicated that Turner and CBS "could find new ways to derive revenue from the event." He said, "If things do change in the ecosystem, we do have the right to go direct to the consumer. When this deal was done in 2010, there was no Snapchat, Vine or relationships with Facebook and Twitter. Now we are all over those. Those are all monetizable destinations" (VARIETY.com, 4/12).
DEAL KEY FOR NCAA: In N.Y., Marc Tracy notes the extension "commits to keeping the tournament in its current format, in which 68 teams compete through six rounds." The new deal, which like its predecessor will provide the NCAA "with a vast majority of its annual revenue, comes at a time when many college athletes and their advocates have sought a greater share of such windfalls than the amateur status of athletes permits." NCAA President Mark Emmert said that since the contract was "critical to the finances of more than a thousand athletic departments across three divisions it made sense to agree early to a contract extension with pre-existing broadcast partners." Emmert: "We needed to secure a revenue stream throughout what is likely to be an evolving media landscape. Some have said, ‘Why didn’t you wait?’ You can second-guess all of this, but for the member universities, this is a really, really important revenue stream" (N.Y. TIMES, 4/13). CBS Chair, President & CEO Les Moonves said, "The thinking is it's been a successful three-way partnership for six years so why not continue it." In L.A., Stephen Battaglio reported CBS structured the deal so that it would "be protected from any losses." McManus said that CBS has "been in profit in every year under the current arrangement with Turner," and that will "continue under the extension" (LATIMES.com, 4/12).
SHORTER SHOW: In K.C., Blair Kerkhoff notes one change that "could happen before the tournament begins" involves CBS' selection show. The two-hour selection show this year was "criticized not just for its length by the amount of time between announcing the region matchups." McManus said, "It’s safe to assume we’ll be a little more timely with the announcements of the brackets." Kerkhoff writes that way, a team on the bubble "wouldn’t have to wait until late in the program to know whether or not it’s included in the field" (K.C. STAR, 4/13).
