The most remarkable part of the first NCAA tournament final ever carried on cable TV can be seen in how unremarkable the change actually felt in Houston. One of the most thrilling championship games in tournament history saw TV ratings drop to record lows this year due in large part to the switch from broadcast to cable.
But on the ground in Houston, the way this year’s telecasts were produced for television felt like every other Final Four going back to 2011, when CBS and Turner first partnered on the event when it also was in Houston.
That surprised me. This was the first time the championship game would be carried on cable TV — the first time in more than 30 years that it would not be on CBS. Big sporting events have moved to cable before. But the current climate of cord cutting and cord shaving turned the NCAA tournament’s move into a big storyline going into the tournament, and the huge ratings drop for both Final Four semis and the championship game made the move a big storyline coming out of the tournament. After all, it’s not every day a major sports championship sees a 30 percent drop in its TV ratings.
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Bill Raftery, Jim Nantz, David Levy, Tracy Wolfson and Grant Hill were part of the Turner-CBS teamwork at the final.
Photo by: GETTY IMAGES
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I went to Houston this year because of the switch to cable, expecting it to be a bigger storyline at the event.
But the championship game’s move to cable was barely an issue in Houston. This was underscored by a conversation with CBS Sports Chairman Sean McManus, who was standing courtside an hour before the first Final Four semifinal game on Saturday. I joked about how it was surprising to see him for a Turner telecast, saying, “I figured that you’d be sipping a cocktail somewhere with your feet up.”
He smiled and quickly pointed out that he was still the executive producer of the games. “I’m still involved,” he said with a laugh.
Sure enough, the TBS production truck was filled with CBS producers, including McManus, production senior vice president Harold Bryant, coordinating producer Mark Wolff and director Bob Fishman. That’s why the CBS-Turner partnership is different from any other one in sports media. It didn’t matter that the final game was not on CBS for the first time since the early 1980s — these longtime CBS executives were producing the game the same way they have every year.
Just as impressively, Turner did not try to take ownership of the championship game. Turner executives were happy to have CBS’s team produce the final game, with the voice of CBS, Jim Nantz, on the call. For the average viewer, it felt like every other championship game CBS had carried for the past five years.
“The whole CBS organization has been great partners,” Turner President David Levy said. “As shocking as it may have been back in 2010 to put these two cultures together, we have done a tremendous job integrating everything. It just doesn’t replicate. I thought there would be a few others.”
Despite the unprecedented cooperation between the two companies, close observers could notice that Turner executives felt especially proud of the fact that they were about to crown a champion for the first time in the company’s history. Turner has had decades-long associations with the NBA and MLB. It has produced contests for the NFL, NASCAR and PGA Tour. Having Monday night’s championship awarded on TBS was something Turner executives have long wanted to see.
To demonstrate that point, Levy spoke of a handwritten note Turner founder Ted Turner sent him in 2010, after the rights deal was announced. It simply said, “Great f----in’ job. Ted.”
A couple of hours before the game, Levy wore a big smile as he walked on the perimeter of the court. “I hope I’m smiling this big after the game,” he said, a nod to the poor ratings from the two semifinal games.
After one of the most thrilling title games in NCAA tournament history, Levy’s smile was just as radiant.
John Ourand can be reached at jourand@sportsbusinessjournal.com. Follow him on Twitter @Ourand_SBJ.
