The alliance between CBS and Turner was supposed to bring college basketball’s Final Four and national championship game to TBS in 2016. New reports have surfaced suggesting that day may be closer than we thought.
CBS, Turner to start alternating Final Four broadcasts in 2014, according to reports
CBS and Turner originally agreed to start alternating coverage of the Final Four and the National Championship game in 2016, but it now appears that deal will start sooner -- much sooner.
Spruce Derden-US PRESSWIRE
According to John Ourand of Sports Business Daily, CBS and Turner are both in talks to begin that arrangement starting with 2014’s tournament.
CBS and Turner are still talking. Nothing's been signed yet. But several sources tell SBD that Turner is set to have the Final 4 next year.
— John Ourand (@Ourand_SBJ) March 12, 2013
Richard Sandomir of the New York Times has also reported on this story.
The original arrangement when the networks signed a 14-year agreement with the NCAA in 2010 would have had CBS air both the Final Four and the national title game through 2015, with various Turner networks carrying games through the Elite Eight. In 2016 TBS would finally get the championship game. From 2016 to 2024, the two would alternate covering either the national semifinals or the title game for the next eight years.
However, it appears the migration of important sporting events to cable has sped this up. Since the deal was signed, the BCS has begun airing on ESPN, more Major League Baseball playoff games are slated to migrate to cable in 2014, and the entire NBA conference finals are now on ESPN and TNT. With the date of Turner’s first Final Four moving up, TBS will now have access to either the national championship game or the Final Four matchups every year to go along with an MLB league championship series.
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