Travel fatigue and calling multiple tournament games in one day factored into Lundquist's decisionGetty Images
Longtime CBS broadcaster Verne Lundquist "will not be calling" games during the NCAA Tournament later this month, according to Justin Terranova of the N.Y. POST. A source said that Lundquist "felt it was the right time to step away following back surgery in November." Also factoring in was the "travel grind of March Madness and the challenges of calling four games in one day as announcers do during the opening round of the NCAA Tournament." Brad Nessler "will call the first two rounds of the tournament this year." Ian Eagle also will "call games through the regional finals for the first time, taking Lundquist’s spot alongside Jim Spanarkel" (N.Y. POST, 3/6).
CHANGE IS GONNA COME: CBS and Turner Sports have made several changes to their Selection Sunday coverage for the upcoming NCAA Tournament show itself, led by a shift of the main selection show from N.Y. to Atlanta. The two-hour show, beginning 6:00pm ET on Sunday, will now come from a newly built studio at Turner’s Atlanta HQ and be in front of a live audience for the first time. Hosts Ernie Johnson and Greg Gumbel will be joined by analysts Charles Barkley, Clark Kellogg, Seth Davis and Kenny Smith. That programming will be preceded by a four-hour social media preshow. The March Madness Selection Countdown will run from 2:00-6:00pm on official March Madness destinations on YouTube, Facebook and Twitter, as well as NCAA.com and Bleacher Report. Turner, again airing the Final Four, is also reviving the team-specific TeamCasts. Turner also has added a new whiparound highlights and look-in show to its upcoming March Madness Live (MML) streaming coverage. “Fast Break,” carrying presenting sponsorship from AT&T and Lowe’s, will contain whiparound coverage, live look-ins to in-progress games and real-time analysis during the first round action." Meanwhile, CBS Sports Chair Sean McManus and Turner President David Levy said tournament coverage will not ignore the ongoing FBI probe into corruption in college basketball. “We will cover this journalistically as we always do,” McManus said. “The game productions will be focused on those games, but we will cover this story with integrity in our studio programming. ... I don’t see the Department of Justice probe harming the popularity of the tournament and I think ratings will continue to be strong.” Levy added, “It’s disappointing and disturbing this is happening. But I think it’s good that a dialogue is happening" (Eric Fisher, Staff Writer).
I'M GOING SLIGHTLY MAD: BROADCASTING & CABLE's Jeff Baumgartner noted MML will stream live games and deliver other content "across a record 16 platforms." iStreamPlanet, the OTT platform acquired by Turner in '15, "will again provide the live streaming infrastructure, and support up to 60 frames per second." In addition to Turner Sports and CBS, live coverage of "all 67 tournament games" will be on MML, which "will also support a VR experience" (BROADCASTINGCABLE.com, 3/5).
