New York, NY – The national semifinal games of the men's NCAA Tournament will be broadcast by TBS for the next two years.
CBS, which had been the television home of the Final Four since 1982, will still air the national championship game in 2014 and 2015 before the two networks begin alternating coverage.
Under the lucrative 14-year agreement signed with the NCAA in 2010, CBS and TBS will broadcast the entire Final Four in alternating years, starting in 2016. TBS will air the national semifinal games and the championship game in 2016, followed by CBS in 2017.
"From the beginning, our partnership with Turner Sports has exceeded every one of our expectations," said CBS Sports chairman Sean McManus in a statement Tuesday. "Today's news represents another win-win arrangement that continues to help us extend the reach of this marquee property by combining the resources of our two organizations. As we have done since 1982, CBS is pleased to showcase the national championship game in 2014 and 2015."
TBS will also begin coverage of two of the four regional final games starting in 2014. CBS previously had exclusive rights to those games.
"Since the inception of our partnership, I don't think we could have envisioned such a seamless collaboration between our two companies both in front of and behind the cameras," said TBS president David Levy. "We are thrilled to have the opportunity to televise the Final Four national semifinal games and two of the Elite Eight games on TBS beginning next year, and for the network to televise its first national championship game in 2016."
The CBS-TBS partnership began in 2011, allowing every game of the men's NCAA Tournament to be televised on either CBS, TBS, TNT or truTV.
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