CBS Tried To Leave March Madness In A Basket On ESPN’s Doorstep Last Year

CBS would have to be counted crazy even among outhouse rats to consider giving up its golden-ticket stake in March Madness, right? Not exactly. According to the New York Times, at some point last fall CBS was considering paying ESPN to take the tournament broadcast rights off its hands in an effort to stem the network’s cashflow hemorrhage:

↵Central to CBS’s interest in paying ESPN to take over the tournament was what it owed the N.C.A.A. for the last three years of the $6 billion deal that started in 2003. In 2011 CBS was obligated to pay $657 million; in 2012 it rose to $710 million; and in 2013 it jumped to $765 million. Losses could have been at least $200 million a year. CBS was also looking at losing $50 million or more on its 2010 broadcast of the tournament.↵Instead of throwing the entire tourney over to the Worldwide Leader’s vast resources, CBS has instead partnered with Turner Sports, where the discerning college hoops fan will appreciate the lower-tier games of a 68-team field being broadcast on something called truTV, a real cable channel that people watch, whose shows include Bait Car, Las Vegas Jailhouse, and Conspiracy Theory With Jesse Ventura. Can’t hardly wait.