CBS Sports and Turner will hold on to their NCAA Tournament rights through 2032, as the two media companies just extended their NCAA agreements for an additional eight years. Together they will pay the NCAA $8.8 billion for the honor.
Under the terms of the new March Madness deal, Turner and CBS Sports will provide live coverage of all NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship games across any platform within their respective portfolios — including any future ones created over the life of the lengthy agreement.
All opening-, first- and second-round games will continue to be shown across TBS, CBS, TNT and truTV, with Turner and CBS splitting coverage of the regional semifinals and regional finals each year. Live coverage of the Final Four national semifinals and national championship will continue to alternate between CBS and Turner each year, with CBS broadcasting the games in 2017 and TBS televising them in 2018.
As has been the case under the latest contracts, more than 90 percent of the revenue generated from the extension will be used to benefit college athletes through programs, services or direct distribution to member conferences and schools, the NCAA specified.
“The extension of our current agreement will allow our more than 1,100 NCAA member colleges and universities to continue to support student-athletes on 19,000 teams across 24 sports,” said NCAA President Mark Emmert. “We have a diverse membership with varying resource levels, and this extension will assist our campuses as they provide pathways to opportunity in higher education and beyond for nearly a half a million young men and women each year.”
“The NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship has been a cornerstone of CBS Sports for more than three decades, and we are very pleased to extend our successful partnership with the NCAA and Turner under the same terms that have worked so well for us these past several years,” added CBS Sports Chairman Sean McManus. “This spectacular tournament continues to solidify CBS’s position as a leading broadcaster of signature championship events, delivering an unparalleled opportunity to present one of our nation’s most popular sports franchises. Best of all, this historic extension positions CBS for a profitable future as we fully maximize the value and exposure of this great event across all assets of our corporation, both current platforms and those created during the lifetime of the deal.”
“Our partnership with CBS and the NCAA has exceeded all of our expectations, and this new long-term agreement continues to align Turner with one of the premier sports properties that generates unrivaled fan engagement for more than three weeks every year,” said Turner President David Levy. “Our expansive rights provide us with a tremendous opportunity to build and pursue new business extensions while developing an even deeper connection with our fans across existing platforms, as well as those to be created in the future. As we pursue all of these opportunities, Turner is uniquely positioned to monetize these broad rights across every aspect of our business.”
15 Biggest Sports Scandals of 2015: From Deflategate to Domestic Violence (Photos)
Gilbert Arenas' Sexist Instagram Rant
Former basketball star Arenas invoked the wrath of the WNBA when he demanded sexier female players and suggested they dress like strippers instead of "cast members from #orangeisthenewblack."
The Sacramento Kings guard was punished by the league after he launched into a homophobic rant against veteran referee Bill Kennedy, who recently announced he is gay.
Not only did Rousey get her ass kicked and her championship taken by Holly Holm, she then got blasted for focusing too much on her TV and movie roles, and not enough on fighting.
Sportscaster Simmons' beef with ESPN went public last year when he called out network bosses over coverage of NFL commissioner Roger Goodell. The feud reached a boiling point in May and the parties parted ways -- but Simmons, who has since signed with HBO, has continued to criticize his former network, especially since its closure of Grantland in October.
Eighteen months after Dallas Cowboys defensive end Greg Hardy attacked his ex-girlfriend in a violent assault, police photos of her graphic injuries sent fans into a frenzy, prompting many to demand discipline from the team and the NFL.
Fans feared it was the end for former NBA star Odom when he was found unconscious in a brothel last October. He pulled out of a coma, but his road to recovery has been rocky as the former Laker still struggles to walk.
Colin Cowherd Should Cancel His Dominican Vacation
“I’ve never bought into that ‘baseball is just too complex,'” Cowherd said on his ESPN radio show in July. “A third of the sport is from the Dominican Republic. The Dominican Republic has not been known, in my lifetime, as having world-class academic abilities."
The former MLB star-turned-broadcast analyst was suspended by ESPN for posting racist tweets comparing Muslims to Nazis. “It’s said only 5-10% of Muslims are extremists. In 1940, only 7% of Germans were Nazis. How’d that go?” he wrote.
Most injuries happen on the field, but New York Jets QB Geno Smith got his jaw broken in the locker room by his own teammate following an altercation over money, $600 no less.
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NASCAR Lowers the Confederate Flag
Auto racing is a sport of the South, where many people still consider the Confederate flag to be an appropriate symbol of their culture. When the controversy over the banner hit peak publicity this year, NASCAR made the tough business decision to ban it from official events.
FIFA boss Sepp Blatter finally stepped down after becoming the main figure in an enormous soccer bribery scandal -- but it took a hell of a lot of media backlash to dethrone the futbol king.
A Penn State student tweeted the sports anchor a link to an article about the school’s fundraising efforts to fight pediatric cancer, which included the school rallying cry “We Are…”
Olbermann responded “…pitiful,” which angry tweeters took as a criticism of the school’s philanthropy efforts. As for why he called the charitable cause “pitiful,” the anchor said it was a simple rushed mistake, while saying social media is used as an alternative to “Wild West saloon brawling.”
Warren Sapp was arrested for soliciting a prostitute in 2015, hence his sad mugshot to the left. That frown was most definitely not turned upside-down when the former NFL great was canned by the NFL network.
Yes, Deflategate was 2015 -- even though it feels like years ago by this point. Brady allegedly instructed the New England Patriots' equipment manager to deflate his footballs, allowing for ease of passing and catching. He was initially suspended for four games, but that later was overruled by a federal judge.
During the big College Football Playoff bowl games on New Year’s Day, sportscaster Rome wrote on Twitter: “Is there anyone not in a marching band who thinks those dorks running around with their instruments are cool?” Apparently, there were lots of people who felt “those dorks” were cool, and that Rome’s comment was not.